Cnooc, the Chinese state-run oil company, has joined the global rush to raise cheap corporate credit, with a $4bn bond, the biggest international issue in Asia in a decade.
The group has placed the largest international bond to date by a Chinese state enterprise and done so in a bumper week for global US dollar corporate bonds with US groups Apple and IBM also selling mega-issues.
Cnooc said in a statement: “The offering consists of $750m of 1.125 per cent guaranteed notes due 2016; $750m of 1.75 per cent guaranteed notes due 2018; $2,000m of 3.0 per cent guaranteed notes due 2023; and $500m of 4.250 per cent guaranteed notes due 2043.”