KUALA LUMPUR (Sept 3): Pelaburan Hartanah Bhd (PHB), a state-owned asset management company, said on Tuesday it has sold RM1.5 billion sukuk murabahah, which was snapped up by investors.

The issuance involves RM1.4 billion sustainability sukuk and RM100 million sukuk, with tenures ranging from one to seven years, PHB said in a statement. The sukuk was priced at annual profit rates of between 3.49% and 3.91%.

The issue was oversubscribed 2.2 times, with a closing book order of around RM3 billion, and received demand from pension funds, insurance companies, asset managers and financial institutions, the company noted.

Proceeds from the sustainability issuances will be used to refinance “eligible projects towards climate and wider environmental benefits, or measurable social improvement and impact”, PHB said.

PHB, a subsidiary of Yayasan Amanah Hartanah Bumiputera, is a property investment company mandated by the government to increase Bumiputera participation in the ownership of prime commercial real estate assets in Malaysia.

The company manages Amanah Hartanah Bumiputera, a RM5 billion shariah-compliant unit trust fund.

The sukuk murabahah programme consists of Islamic medium-term notes and Islamic commercial papers with a combined limit of up to RM5 billion. The programme is structured around shariah-compliant tawarruq-based murabahah principles.

“Strong demand for this issuance reflects investor confidence in PHB’s financial strength and strategic role in realising the government mandate that has been assigned to us,” said PHB chief executive officer Mohamad Damshal Awang Damit.

The programme will allow the company to expand its shariah-compliant investment portfolio through asset acquisitions, refinance existing borrowings, and support future financing needs, he added.

Affin Hwang Investment Bank is the issue’s sole principal adviser, lead arranger and sustainability sukuk adviser. It is also one of the joint lead managers for the transaction, alongside AmInvestment Bank, Bank Islam Malaysia and Bank Muamalat Malaysia.