Southern Bank Berhad SBB, Malaysia's ninth largest lender is planning to raise about $150 million from a lower tier 2 subordinated debt deal. Goldman Sachs is mandated for the offering, which is aimed to re-balance the bank's capital ratio following a special issue of Bumiputra shares.
The Ministry of Finance approved a 280.2 million Bumiputra share issue at the end of April and on completion at M$1.74 per share, the transaction will boost the bank's CAR by just over 2%. At the end of 2003, the bank reported an overall CAR of 11.8% of which tier 1 capital comprised 8.77%.
The subordinated debt transaction is not believed to be imminent...
