Hong Kong’s Airport Authority mulls up to $1.5 billion bond sale

Airport Authority Hong Kong is considering raising as much as $1.5 billion in its second dollar bond offering in two months, according to people familiar with the matter.

The airport operator kicked off a series of investor calls Wednesday for the potential offering, said the people who are not authorized to speak publicly and asked not to be identified. The sale, to be launched as early as Thursday, would consist of 10-year and 30-year tranches, they said.

The borrower last tapped the dollar bond market in December, drawing strong demand for its $1.5 billion debut perpetual bond even as passenger air traffic plunged in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. Hong Kong is currently battling the fourth wave of Covid-19 cases in the city.

Passenger traffic at the Hong Kong International Airport tumbled 88% in 2020 from a year earlier, while flight movements slumped 62%, the authority said in a Jan. 15 press release.

The airport operator’s latest proposed offering came after Hong Kong sold its second U.S. dollar-denominated green bond on Tuesday. The city’s government priced $2.5 billion of securities in a three-part deal consisting of five-year, 10-year and 30-year green notes.