I wrote an article in 2019 when Astrea V was launched, I was not thrilled with PE bond offering such a low yield of 3.8% back then. But since the pandemic last year, the broad market interest rate has dropped to an even more ridiculous level. So PE-Backed Astrea Bond does appeal to some investors who are willing to take some risks nowadays.
Today, Azalea Asset Management, an indirect subsidiary of Temasek Holdings, is launching a new series of Astrea bonds backed by private equity (PE), Astrea VI Bond.
Do note that even if the Astrea bonds are “perceived” to be safe due to their association with Temasek, they are not without risks. You can take a look at the price performance of Astrea V below during a crisis last year.
I also talked about the risk of rising interest rates lately and you can see that even the US Treasury Bond prices can have a free fall when the interest rates start to climb.
If you do not know what is PE-backed bond, this article from Bondsupermart can give you a good idea. You can also visit the official Azalea website for more information.
There are three tranches in this Astrea VI bond issuances. The bond tenure is 10 years, both A-2 and B are callable, meaning that Azalea can redeem the bond in March 2026. Here is the summary of the 3 tranches.
- Class A-1 SGD Bonds (retail) – Initial Price Guidance (IPG): 3.25% area – private placement via your bond broker, retail tranche via ATM – Final Price: 3.00%
- Class A-2 USD Bonds – IPG: 3.625% area – Final Price: 3.25%
- Class B USD Bonds – IPG: 4.65% area – Final Price: 4.35%
The public offer is SGD $250K A-1 trache. Retail investors can apply A-1 tranche via ATM from March 10 to March 16. But there is also a private placement for the A-1 tranche that closes today. The bidding of the private placement will determine the coupon to be offered to retail investors.
If you want to participate in the private placement or wholesale bond offer, you need to be an Accredited Investor. Generally, you may have a much higher chance of allocation than applying the public offer via ATM.
Below are the details of the 3 Astrea VI bond offers. Sign up below to receive quick updates for such offers in the future.
ASTREA VI Class B 10YÂ – IPG @ 4.65% area
| Bond Issuer | Astrea VI Pte Ltd |
| Bond Currency | USD |
| Price Guidance | 4.65% area |
| Tenure | 10 Years |
| Expected Issue Ratings | BBBsf (Fitch) |
| Denomination | USD 200,000 / USD 200,000 |
| Seniority | Senior Secured |
| Exchange Listed | SGX |
| Coupon Type | Fixed |
| Â Features | – |
ASTREA VI Class A-2 10NC5 – IPG @ 3.625% area
| Bond Issuer | Astrea VI Pte Ltd |
| Bond Currency | USD |
| Price Guidance | 3.625% area |
| Tenure | 10 Years (Scheduled Call Date: March 2026) |
| Expected Issue Ratings | Asf (Fitch) |
| Denomination | Non-Accredited Investors: USD 200,000 / USD 50,000 |
| Accredited Investors: USD 50,000 / USD 50,000 | |
| Seniority | Senior Secured |
| Exchange Listed | SGX |
| Coupon Type | Fixed |
|  Features | Callable (First Call Date: March 2026) |
| Coupon Step (1% if not called on March 2026) |
ASTREA VI Retail bond Class A-1 10NC5 – IPG @ 3.25% area
| Bond Issuer | Astrea VI Pte Ltd |
| Bond Currency | SGD |
| Price Guidance | 3.25% area |
| Tenure | 10 Years (Scheduled Call Date: March 2026) |
| Expected Issue Ratings | A+sf /A+ (sf) (Fitch / S&P) |
| Denomination | Non-Accredited Investors: SGD 200,000 / SGD 10,000 |
| Accredited Investors:: SGD 10,000 / SGD 10,000 | |
| Seniority | Senior Secured |
| Exchange Listed | SGX |
| Coupon Type | Fixed |
| Â Features | Callable (First Call Date: March 2026) |
| Coupon Step (1% if not called on March 2026) |
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