DBS attracts record crowd

Asia's private client network is said to have represented about 80% of a $1.5 billion regional order book that propelled the global book above the $2.8 billion mark. The huge level of demand helped lead the perpetual non-call 10 offering to be upsized from $500 million to $725 million on pricing yesterday (Wednesday), with total proceeds of $782 million raised, once an S$100 million ($56.6 million) tranche is taken into consideration.

The simultaneous Singapore dollar-denominated issue, which was viewed by the bank as a means of further developing the domestic bond market, similarly attracted healthy demand, with books closing three times oversubscribed at the S$300 million level. Led by DBS, Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley Dean Witter, the domestic tranche was priced at par with a coupon of 5.35%, stepping up to 252bp over the Singapore swap offer rate if the deal is not called in year 10.