AT&T Launches Maiden Bond in Taiwan; Seeks to Raise Up to $1.5 Billion

   By Fanny Liu 
 

TAIPEI--AT&T Inc. (T) is selling up to US$1.5 billion of bonds in Taiwan, one of its underwriters said Monday, as ample liquidity continues to lure foreign debt issuers to the island.

The 30-year bond, the U.S. telecom giant's first in Taiwan, will carry a coupon rate of 4.7%, said Yvonne Chu, a vice president at Masterlink Securities Corp. She said the bond will be priced later this week and listed on Taiwan's bond exchange Nov. 10.

Taiwan has seen a raft of foreign issuers, mostly banks, tap its bond market since August. Most of them issued debt in U.S. dollars or Chinese yuan.

A new rule in Taiwan, passed in May, allows insurers to exclude foreign-currency denominated products from their overall overseas investment cap, which has created fresh demand for foreign bonds, analysts say. Chinese debt issuers are also being drawn to Taiwan as its yuan deposits grow.

AT&T is the second non-financial foreign bond issuer in Taiwan. The last first was Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ), which on Sept. 23 sold US$870 million of bonds at a yield of 4.80%.

More banks are expected to tap Taiwan's bond market toward year-end, said Huang Bing-jing, deputy chief executive at Taiwan's GreTai Securities Market, an over-the-counter bond exchange.

Write to Fanny Liu at [e-mail]

Subscribe to WSJ: http://online.wsj.com?mod=djnwires