Aberdeen Standard Asia Focus PLC Announces New Long Term Fixed Rate Borrowing
October 20, 2020 at 08:26 pm IST
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Aberdeen Standard Asia Focus PLC announced that it has agreed terms to extend and secure the company's long-term borrowings through the issuance of a £30 million 15 year Senior Unsecured Loan Note at an annualised interest rate of 3.05%. The Loan Note will be unsecured, unlisted and denominated in sterling. The Loan Note shall rank pari passu with the Company's other unsecured and unsubordinated financial indebtedness. The company intends to use the proceeds of the Loan Note to repay, and cancel in full, the company's £20 million Revolving Credit Facility, of which £11.2million is currently drawn. The remainder will be available for the company's investment manager, Aberdeen Standard Investments, to invest on behalf of the company. An additional £35 million will also be available for drawdown by the company for a five-year period. The Board's current intention would be to only draw this down to repay any of the company's existing convertible unsecured loan stock, either at their redemption in 2025, or before. This will be kept under review. The minimum drawdown would be in tranches of £10m and the exact terms of such a borrowing would be agreed at the time of drawdown. The company will pay no fees on this facility, other than minimal legal fees. The Board believes that it is in the long-term interest of the Ordinary shareholders to take advantage of the current low interest rates prevailing in today's market to extend, and secure, the company's debt profile beyond the CULS redemption date. It will provide the Manager with greater flexibility and additional cash resources to take advantage of investment opportunities that are expected to arise over the coming period. Asia remains the principal engine for growth in the world and one of the most exciting regions for true active investing in smaller companies. Since the company's inception 25 years ago, the opportunity to uncover tomorrow's leading businesses and to access domestic growth remains as strong as ever. The region's dynamism has accelerated in recent years and, as a result, the company's portfolio has evolved, with a gradual but very conscious shift in invested capital away from more mature businesses that have proven their success to more nascent opportunities in areas such as technology, healthcare and industrials. Once the initial drawdown is completed and the RCF has been repaid, the company's borrowings are expected to total approx. £66.7m, providing an extra approx. £18.7m of cash for investment.
abrdn Asia Focus plc is a United Kingdom-based closed-end investment company. It aims to attract long-term private and institutional investors wanting to benefit from the growth prospects of Asiaâs smaller companies. Its investment objective is to maximize total return to shareholders over the long term from a portfolio made up predominantly of quoted smaller companies in the economies of Asia excluding Japan. It may invest in a diversified portfolio of securities, including equity shares, preference shares, convertible securities, warrants and other equity-related securities, predominantly issued by quoted smaller companies spread across a range of industries and economies in the investment region. Its investment region includes Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Korea, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Pakistan, The Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam, together with such other economies in Asia. Its investment manager is abrdn Asia Limited.