Herbert Smith Freehills has advised China Merchants Bank Co. Ltd. Hong Kong Branch on the second drawdown of its US$5 billion Medium Term Note (MTN) Program established in 2014.

The second drawdown consisted of RMB1 billion Formosa bonds, issued and listed in Taiwan, and another RMB1 billion worth of Lion City bonds, issued and listed in Singapore. The Formosa bonds have a 4.05% coupon and will mature in 2019 while the Lion City bonds have a 3.95% coupon and mature in 2017.

The net proceeds of the drawdown notes will be used for working capital and general corporate purposes.

The Herbert Smith Freehills team on the deal was led by Hong Kong partner Kevin Roy, who was assisted by consultant Cindy Kao in Hong Kong, and senior associate Gareth Deiner and associate Nupur Kant in Singapore.

HSBC was the lead manager on the transaction.

Herbert Smith Freehills was advisor to China Merchants Bank on the establishment of its MTN Program and the first drawdown of US$500 million last June.

The firm has advised China Merchants Bank on a number of its equity and debt offerings including a US$165 million bond issuance in 2014. Last year, the firm also represented the bank on its 680,423,172 H-share rights issuance which raised approximately US$1 billion in Hong Kong and its US$4.5 billion Shanghai Stock Exchange listing of A-share rights.