SBI Royal Securities, led by chief executive Kenji Nakanishi, remained the domestic investment shop to beat over the past year.
In virtually all critical areas – from trading volume to deal quality to innovative corporate finance solutions – SBI was the standout performer. The firm leveraged its experience and deep relationships to complete deals as global market turmoil persisted.
Nakanishi’s team also harnessed its deep relationships with the Asian Development Bank and international credit guarantee providers to help Cambodia create a more vibrant and liquid bond market.
Two deals stand out. First, SBI completed a landmark bond issuance deal for Royal Railway that many traders in southeast Asia doubted would ever happen. The $34 million sale was in two tranches. One was a 10-year, $10 million plain bond with a 7% coupon rate and maturing in 2032: the other a $24 million 100%-guaranteed bond by GuarantCo with a credit rating of AA- from Fitch and A1 from Moody’s Investors Service.
The sale’s success owed much to SBI’s tight relationship with GuarantCo, a subsidiary of the Private Infrastructure Development Group (PIDG), which works on infrastructure projects, specifically, on helping devise optimal capital structures to tackle financial, technical, and environmental questions.
Nakanishi