Taiwan Cement Corp (TCC, 台灣水泥) yesterday said it has issued US$549 million worth of global depositary receipts (GDRs), which are to be listed on the Luxembourg Stock Exchange on Thursday.
It is the first time that Taiwan Cement has sold GDRs since its listing on the Taiwan Stock Exchange in February 1962.
The GDR sale was the largest in value for any Taiwanese firm raising funds overseas over the past five years, and also the largest by a local cement maker since 2010, the company said.
Taiwan Cement said it has issued 87.50 million GDRs representing 437.5 million common shares.
Each GDR is priced at US$6.27, an equivalent of NT$38.4 per common share.
“The proceeds from the sale will be used to invest in overseas subsidiaries, which will help them repay part of their loans,” the company said.
“The GDR funds will also be used to improve the company’s financial structure, which should lower its borrowing costs,” it added.
The sale is part of Taiwan Cement’s fundraising activity, worth up to NT$40 billion (US$1.3 billion) this year, announced by the company in June.
In addition to the GDR sale, Taiwan Cement is expected to sell company bonds overseas or issue new shares in the local market.
The company has benefited from rising cement prices in China.
It posted NT$2.95 billion in net profit in the first quarter of this year, up 253.88 percent from a year earlier, with earnings per share of NT$0.69, compared with NT$0.23 a year earlier.
Shares in Taiwan Cement yesterday fell 3.32 percent to close at NT$39.35 in Taipei trading.
They have risen 11.66 percent since the beginning of this year, compared with the 3.67 percent gain on the broader market over the same period.
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