KUALA LUMPUR (March 29): Malaysia Rail Link Sdn Bhd (MRL) issued RM350 million worth of Islamic medium-term notes (IMTN) on Tuesday (March 29).

According to the Bond and Sukuk Information Exchange (BIX) website, the IMTN will pay a semi-annual coupon rate of 3.48%, with the first coupon payment date targeted for Sept 29, 2022, while the last coupon payment date will be March 29, 2027.

The RM350 million IMTN has a tenure of five years and will mature on March 29, 2027.

In a response to queries by theedgemarkets.com, MRL said the proceeds from the issuance will be used for capital expenditure and general working expenses in relation to the ECRL project.

MRL is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Minister of Finance Inc, and is the project and asset owner of the East Coast Rail Link (ECRL).

Scheduled for completion by December 2026, the ECRL will cut travel time and is expected to link Kota Baru with Gombak in approximately four hours.

Maybank Investment Bank Bhd is the lead arranger for the RM350 million tranche, according to the BIX.

"The ECRL project has achieved overall progress of 27.82% as at February 2022. The percentage of progress involves works across four states, namely Kelantan, Terengganu, Pahang, and Selangor," said MRL in its reply.

Last month, MRL chief executive officer Datuk Seri Darwis Abdul Razak said land acquisition works for the ECRL project in Terengganu and Pahang were also progressing smoothly, reaching 89% progress and were expected to be concluded in 2023.