CIMB named Best Bond House in Southeast Asia at the Alpha Southeast Asia 16th Annual Best Deal and Solution Awards 2022

19 December 2022

Seven awards across bonds, equity, ESG/green bonds and Islamic finance attest to CIMB’s continued leadership in wholesale banking in the region

Kuala Lumpur: CIMB Investment Bank Berhad and CIMB Thai Bank PCL (collectively “CIMB” or “the Group”) have been recognised with seven awards from the Alpha Southeast Asia 16th Annual Best Deal and Solution Awards 2022, a key industry awards platform recognising the best investment banking and Islamic finance practitioners in the region. The awards acknowledge CIMB’s excellence in structuring, execution and client service in bonds, equity, ESG/green bonds, and Islamic finance. 

The complete list of awards is as follows:

Equity

• Best IPO for Retail Investors in Southeast Asia & Best Deal of the Year for Minority Shareholders in Southeast Asia 2022: Farm Fresh’s RM1,063 million (US$254 million) IPO

• Best Equity/IPO Deal of the Year in Thailand 2022: Thai Life Insurance THB37,067 million (US$1 billion) IPO

ESG/Green Bonds

• Best Sovereign Bond & Best Green Sukuk of the Year 2022: Republic of Indonesia’s US$3.25 billion Green Sukuk

• Best Sustainability-linked Transaction of the Year 2022: BTSG PCL’s THB31 billion Sustainability-linked Bonds (CIMB Thai in 3rd Tranche)

Islamic Finance

• Best SRI Sukuk & Best Local Currency Sukuk of the Year (Malaysia) 2022: TNB Power Generation’s RM1.5 billion (US$341.5 million) Sustainability Sukuk Wakalah

• Best Islamic Finance Deal & Most Innovative Islamic Finance Deal of the Year 2022: Amanat Lebuhraya Rakyat’s RM5.5 billion (US$1.2 billion) Sustainability Sukuk Murabahah

Marquee Award

• Best Bond House in Southeast Asia 2022

Novan Amirudin, Co-Chief Executive Officer, Group Wholesale Banking of CIMB Group said, “We are honoured to be recognised as among the best in the industry across the region, continuing our track record of outstanding execution and delivery for clients in meeting their wide range of requirements through the strength of our established wholesale banking franchise. Our award for Best Bond House in Southeast Asia acknowledges the experience and expertise across our regional ASEAN network business, combined with a commitment to top client service in executing some of the finest deals in the region. We share these successes with our clients, without whom these awards would not have been possible, and thank them for their continued support. Moving forward, we will continue to work towards realising our Forward23+ strategic plan to be the leading focused ASEAN Bank.”

CIMB’s win as Best Bond House in Southeast Asia 2022 marked a standout year for its Debt Capital Markets franchise with many high-profile mandates, leading the competition with a volume of US$11.9 billion in nominal value, 507 issues and 10.32% market share for ASEAN Local Currency Bonds during the award period of 1 September 2021 to 1 December 2022. During this period, CIMB also successfully launched and priced the world’s largest ever USD-denominated Green Sukuk tranche and the first sustainability sukuk from the highway sector in Malaysia. CIMB has ranked No. 1 in ASEAN local currency bonds for more than a decade.

CIMB’s Equity House led the competition in Malaysia, raising a total apportioned value of US$773.3 million between 1 December 2021 to 30 November 2022, with US$116.4 million of that coming from IPOs. A highlight of CIMB’s Equity awards was Farm Fresh’s RM1,063 million (US$254 million) IPO, Malaysia’s largest listing on the Main Market of Bursa Malaysia since July 2021, which was supported by 30 cornerstone investors, the highest number in a Malaysian IPO ever. Meanwhile, Thai Life Insurance’s THB37,067 million (US$1 billion) IPO was Thailand’s largest ever insurance IPO and the largest IPO in Thailand for the award period. It was also the largest insurance IPO ever in Southeast Asia since 2000.

In ESG/Green Bonds, CIMB successfully launched and priced a US$3.25 billion Global Sukuk Offering (Global Trust Certificates) for the Republic of Indonesia, including a US$1.5 billion Green Sukuk tranche. This was the largest Global Sukuk deal by the Republic of Indonesia in history, the largest ever Green Sukuk tranche printed globally, and the largest issuance from Indonesia at the time of the issuance.

Meanwhile in Islamic finance, TNB Power Generation’s RM1.5 billion (US$341.5 million) Sustainability Sukuk Wakalah was the company’s inaugural Sustainability Sukuk Wakalah offering, with its Sustainability Sukuk Framework accorded a Gold rating by MARC Ratings Berhad. Amanat Lebuhraya Rakyat’s RM5.5 billion (US$1.2 billion) Sustainability Sukuk Murabahah was the largest RM-denominated corporate sustainability Sukuk, the first sustainability Sukuk from the highway sector in Malaysia; and the largest RM-denominated corporate Sukuk at the time of the issuance.