(The following statement was released by the rating agency)SINGAPORE/SYDNEY, April 07 (Fitch) Sinopec's successful issuance of USD2bn in floating-rate notes as part of its recent USD5bn bond issue represents an important template on how large deals can be structured to combat concerns about the US Federal Reserve's tapering and attract a wider range of investors, Fitch Ratings says.  The USD1.5bn of three-year and USD500m of five-year floating-rate notes catered to investors concerned about the potential for interest rates to rise over the mid-term. Notably, the total floating-rate issuance of USD2.0bn was as high as the total fixed-rate issuance for the same maturities. Sinopec issued USD1.25bn of three-year and USD750m of five-year fixed-rate notes. Sinopec also issued a USD1.0bn ten-year fixed-rate note, bringing the total issuance on this occasion to USD5bn - Asia's biggest in 11 years.Sinopec drew strong interest from investors, with USD17bn in reported demand for the USD5bn offer, even after the company tightened pricing. Issuing a sizeable proportion of floating-rate notes, as opposed to fixed-rate notes only, enabled the company to achieve stronger pricing, resulting in a win-win situation for both investors and the issuer in this instance. Fitch believes investor interest in floating-rate instruments is particularly high for the medium term or three- to five-year tenor. In the case of short-term notes, investors have reasonable certainty from the Fed's forward guidance, while for terms beyond five years, higher US dollar interest rates are already reflected in the steep Treasury curve. The floating-rate option for medium-term debt addresses the uncertainty of interest rates in this space of the yield curve, and enables certain investors to match their funding costs. Fitch does not expect this just-completed deal by Sinopec to force smaller debt issues from Asia into offering floating-rate notes. However, floating-rate medium tenor notes may become more common place for larger debt offerings. Sinopec's deal precedes a large expected pipeline of bond issues by a number of state-owned entities, especially in the energy and utilities sector, from China, India and Indonesia. Contact:Buddhika PiyasenaHead of APAC Energy and Utility RatingsCorporate Ratings Group+65 6796 7226 Fitch Ratings Singapore Pte Ltd6 Temasek Boulevard#35-05 Suntec Tower FourSingapore 038986Matt JamiesonHead of APAC ResearchCorporate Ratings Group+61 2 8256 0366Fitch Australia Pty Ltd, Level 15, 77 King St, Sydney, NSW 2000Media Relations: Iselle Gonzalez, Sydney, Tel: +61 2 8256 0326, Email: iselle.gonzalez@fitchratings.com; Leslie Tan, Singapore, Tel: +65 67 96 7234, Email: leslie.tan@fitchratings.com.Additional information is available on 
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