Golden Agri taps into renewed interest for CBs

The pricing of three convertible bond issues on Thursday last week offered further proof that the Asian CB market has indeed sprung back to life after a very slow first half of the year.

The deals, led by a $400 million offering by Singapore-listed Golden Agri-Resources, came after four CBs were completed in the region in August and bring the year-to-date equity-linked issuance to $6.8 billion. This still leaves a big gap to the $19.7 billion raised in 2011 as a whole, but $1.1 billion of issuance in just five weeks does suggest a return of confidence that bodes well for the next few months.

CB bankers...