KUALA LUMPUR (Mar 16): Retailer Asia Brands Bhd, which owns brands such as Anakku, Audrey, Aimer, Elle, DIESEL, BUM and Disney, will raise RM100 million through the issuance of Islamic medium term notes (MTNs).

In a statement today, Asia Brands (fundamental: 0.6; valuation: 1.2) said the Islamic securities were issued by its wholly-owned subsidiary Anakku Sdn Bhd, pursuant to a RM200 million Islamic MTN programme with tenor of up to 15 years which were fully subscribed by a number of key financial institutions.

The proceeds from the issuance will be used to finance its investment activities, capital expenditure, working capital requirements and other general corporate purposes of the Issuer and/or related companies of Asia Brands.

"We have chosen unrated sukuk because of the shorter time to issuance given rating is not required and as it is a more cost-efficient route,” said its chief executive office and executive director Cheah Yong Hock in the statement.

Kenanga Investment Bank Bhd is the principal adviser or lead arranger and facility agent for the sukuk programme.

Asia Brands shares closed down 1.01% at RM2.95, bringing a market capitalisation of RM233.4 million.

(Note: The Edge Research's fundamental score reflects a company’s profitability and balance sheet strength, calculated based on historical numbers. The valuation score determines if a stock is attractively valued or not, also based on historical numbers. A score of 3 suggests strong fundamentals and attractive valuations.)