Indonesia: Our choice as Borrower of the Year 2011

This year, we have chosen to announce our Borrower of the Year separately from the rest of our end-of-year awards. We came to our decision after canvassing opinion among participants in the debt capital markets and will present the award at our annual Achievement Awards dinner in Hong Kong in February.

The Republic of Indonesia is the clear winner for 2011. It had another good year as an issuer, topped by a well received $2.5 billion sovereign bond that gathered a solid $6.9 billion order book and stood out as Indonesia’s biggest ever single tranche. Although the deal did not include a much-awaited 30-year tranche, its flawless execution and strong performance in secondary markets made it noteworthy.

Investors were still hungry for exposure to Indonesia after that landmark deal and the sovereign further expanded its investor base with a second sukuk — a $1 billion issue that gathered a $6.5 billion order book strongly anchored by Middle Eastern accounts. Notably, Indonesia paid significantly less than its A2-rated European peer Italy, which sold a bond the same week.

Indonesia also reached a landmark moment in its decade-long transformation from an inexperienced and somewhat messy international borrower into one of the most savvy repeat issuers in the region. After much anticipation, on December 16, the country finally regained its investment-grade status when Fitch lifted its rating to BBB-. Moody’s and Standard & Poor’s are expected to follow suit before long.

Indonesia, as well as the banks and law firms that have worked on transactions we selected in 2011, will be honoured at an awards dinner at the Four Seasons hotel in Hong Kong on February 2. If you would like to book a table at the event, please contact Amber Gordon at [email protected].