SINGAPORE, April 30 (Reuters) -
* Trafigura said on Monday it has become the first international commodity trading house to tap on China’s capital market and has raised 500 million yuan ($79 million) by issuing its first yuan-denominated bond
* The first tranche, part of Trafigura’s 2.35 billion yuan Panda Bond programme, was placed in the interbank market under a private placement format for a 3-year maturity, the company said in a statement
* “We have planted the Trafigura flag in a fast-growing debt market and intend to become a recurring issuer,” Christophe Salmon, chief financial officer, said
* “This promising market will offer Trafigura an additional source of liquidity on an ongoing basis, supporting the growth of our trading business and investments,” he said
* Bank of China and ICBC were the lead bookrunners on this transaction, Trafigura said ($1 = 6.3325 Chinese yuan) (Reporting by Florence Tan; Editing by Gopakumar Warrier)
