(29 July 2014 – Hong Kong) LT Commercial Real Estate Limited (“LT Commercial” or the "Company") (Stock Code: 00112) is pleased to announce that the Company entered into a placing agreement (the “Agreement”) with China Galaxy International Securities (Hong Kong) Co., Limited ("China Galaxy Securities"), the placing agent, to issue up to HK$400 million worth of bonds with a tenor of eight years.

 

According to the Agreement, the initial bonds with an aggregate principal amount up to HK$200 million will be placed by the Company with an annual interest rate of 8%. The bonds will be direct, unconditional, unsubordinated and unsecured in nature. At the same time, the Company may issue HK$200 million worth of additional bonds according to market responses to the initial bonds. The net proceeds from the placement of all the bonds will be approximately HK$384 million, assuming additional bonds will be placed in full. The Company intends to use the net proceeds to develop real estate projects and for general working capital of the Company. China Galaxy Securities acts as the placing agent.

 

Mr. Yang Longfei, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of LT Commercial said, “The bond financing will definitely enhance the Company's financial strength, and sustain its long-term development and business growth. In recent months, the Company has signed letters of intent with several local government authorities in Xingtai and Baoding, Hebei Province and Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, to explore the potential for developing new commercial real estates. The Company will continue to look for quality commercial projects to expand the scale of its business, while strengthening its image as a professional commercial real estate operator for world-class cities.”

 

Mr. Dixon Chan, Executive Director and Deputy Chief Executive Officer of LT Commercial added, "This is the first time for the Company to issue unsecured and unguaranteed bonds. At the beginning of this year, the Company and Mr. Yang Longfei issued HK$800 million worth of convertible bonds and exchangeable bonds to ICBC International. The interest rate per annum of the bonds this time is lower than that of the convertible bonds. In the future, the Company will continue to explore other financing sources actively, including equity financing and strategic investment partnerships. We will also put effort into optimizing its capital structure while leveraging various financing sources in order to accelerate the development of the Company's commercial real estate projects in mainland China. This will help bring greater returns for shareholders and investors.”