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Runner Automobiles is going to issue bonds of Tk 2.65 billion to expand its customer base and build a rooftop solar plant for its three-wheeler manufacturing plant.
The board of directors has given its consent to the proposal for raising funds through debt securities under the name of Runner Auto Internationally Certified Sustainability Bond, said the company in a filing with the Dhaka Stock Exchange on Thursday.
The indicative issue size of each bond is $25 million. The bonds will be unsecured, redeemable, non-convertible, guaranteed and sustainability bonds.
The fund would be raised through private placement to potential investors, such as banks, insurance companies, financial institutions, corporate houses, non-resident Bangladeshis, and high net worth individuals.
The yield of the bonds will range from 8.5 per cent to 9 per cent per annum with a seven-year maturity.
The company said the proceeds from the bond issuance will be used to expand its customer base through a credit support mechanism for its gas- and battery-run three wheelers.
Part of the collected fund would be used to set up a 4 MW rooftop solar power plant.
Runner's Bajaj-branded three-wheeler manufacturing plant went into operation in February this year.
GreenDelta Capital will be the lead arranger and advisor to the bond issuance while DBH Finance will be the trustee.
The debt security is going to be the first-ever sustainable bond certified by Moody's and guaranteed by GuarantCo, an international organisation, for any company of Bangladesh, said the company in a statement.
Meanwhile, Runner Automobiles suffered losses in the last three quarters through March this year due to a persistent decline in sales in its two major segments -- two-wheelers and trucks.
Losses amounted to Tk 525 million for the first nine months of the current fiscal year while the company made a profit of Tk 444 million in the same period the year before.
Listed in 2019, Runner Automobiles' stock has been languishing at the floor price of Tk 48.40 since October last year.
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