SINGAPORE: Singapore Exchange (SGX) Friday welcomed the listing of Astrea V Private Equity (PE) Class A-1 bonds issued by Astrea V Pte Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of Azalea Asset Management Pte. Ltd., which is itself wholly owned by Temasek Holdings (Private) Limited. The Astrea V PE bonds began trading on SGX today. [the_ad id=”31605″]Astrea V PE bonds comprise three classes of bonds — Class A-1, Class A-2 and Class B. The Class A-1 bonds, with an annual coupon rate of 3.85% paid semi-annually and due on 20 June 2029, are listed and traded on the SGX-ST Mainboard. The Class A-1 bonds have an offer size of S$315 million, comprising a public offer tranche of S$180 million and a placement tranche of S$135 million. The bonds have a mandatory call after 5 years if conditions are met, and a 1% one-time interest step-up will be offered if the bonds are not redeemed after 5 years.

The Class A-2 and Class B bonds are listed on SGX’s wholesale bond market.

Astrea V PE bonds are backed by cash flows from a diversified portfolio of PE funds. It is the second Astrea PE bond that offers retail investors access to PE fund investments through a fixed income structure, and comes on the back of the successful issuance of Astrea IV PE bonds last year.

Astrea V’s portfolio assets worth US$1.3 billion cover 38 underlying PE funds, invested in 862 companies across diversified sectors globally.

Margaret Lui, Chief Executive Officer of Azalea Investment Management Pte. Ltd., the Manager of Astrea V, said, “We are pleased to have broadened our investor base with the successful launch of Astrea V. The Astrea PE Bonds, fixed income products based on cash flows from well diversified portfolios of PE funds, introduce PE funds to retail investors via a conservative investment grade structure. With the strong interest in such products, we hope to be able to offer opportunities for retail investors to invest in the higher risk but higher returns classes of Astrea bonds.”

Chew Sutat, Executive Vice President and Head of Equities and Fixed Income, SGX, said, “We are delighted to welcome the return of Astrea PE bonds, which have provided additional investment options for retail investors and allow issuers to broaden their investor base. We are also encouraged by strong investor interest and will continue our efforts to bring more fixed income investment opportunities to the market.”