Linklaters recently acted as international legal advisor to the managers on the inaugural FTZ bond offering by CapitaLand China Trust, the largest China-focused real estate investment trust (REIT) in Singapore. The CNY 600m 3.8% bonds due 2026 were issued in the China (Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone (FTZ) and are recorded in China Central Depository & Clearing Co., Ltd. (CCDC). This landmark transaction represented the first ever FTZ bond issuance by a Singapore-based issuer and a Singaporean REIT.

FTZ bonds offer foreign issuers with a gateway to access a unique Renminbi investor pool and product, and this transaction is expected to further promote the internationalisation of China’s FTZ bond market.

Linklaters was the international legal advisor to the managers on the transaction, which included CMB International, DBS Bank Ltd. and OCBC Bank which acted as the joint global coordinators.

The Linklaters team was led by capital markets partner Michael Ng, supported by senior associate Xiaoming Zhong.

Linklaters’ capital markets partner Michael Ng commented: “We are honoured to have assisted on CapitaLand China Trust’s inaugural FTZ bond issuance and to contribute to the advancement of the Shanghai FTZ bond market as well as its co-operation and development with international financial markets.”

Having worked on the first ever FTZ bond offering in 2019, Linklaters has extensive experience and commercial knowledge in advising clients on their strategic transactions in the FTZ bond market. Linklaters also recently advised on Yuexiu Real Estate Investment Trust’s issuance of CNY 1.5bn bonds in the FTZ, the first ever issuance of FTZ bonds by a REIT issuer.