Khazanah looking for Islamic bonds worth S$500 million

SINGAPORE, (July 28, 2010) - Fresh from winning its bid to take control of Singapore's healthcare group Parkway Holdings, Malaysia's sovereign wealth fund Khazanah Nasional Bhd has hired three banks to help it sell Singapore dollar-denominated Islamic bonds, according to Bloomberg News.

CIMB Investment Bank Bhd., DBS Bank Ltd. and Oversea- Chinese Banking Corp. will arrange a so-called benchmark sale of five- and 10-year sukuk, a source told Bloomberg. Benchmark typically means at least S$500 million (US$366 million).

After facing contesting bids from India's Fortis Group, Khazanah on Monday offered S$3.5 billion to take full control of Parkway.