Drug maker United Laboratories sells $125 million of CBs

United Laboratories International, a Hong Kong-listed Chinese manufacturer of generic Western drugs, yesterday raised Rmb790 million $125 million from the sale of convertible bonds. Being the first Asian CB since Rexlot Holdings’ $105 million Hong Kong dollar-denominated deal on September 21 and only the second trade since early August, the deal attracted a lot of attention as market participants look for a possible reopening of the CB market.

True, Temasek Holdings issued S$650 million $513 million worth of bonds exchangeable into Standard Chartered shares in mid-October, but given Temasek’s unique triple-A rating, that deal, while successful, was seen to have little bearing for the overall equity-linked market.

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