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The City and County of Honolulu said Thursday it has completed a two-day sale of about $250 million in tax-exempt general obligation bonds to finance construction costs of the rail project.
Fitch Ratings and Moody’s Investor Services affirmed the city’s existing general obligation bond ratings at “AA+” and “Aa1,” respectively — both with “stable” outlooks.
“The excellent bond ratings given to Honolulu by Fitch and Moody’s is further evidence that the city continues to be fiscally prudent, while also being responsive to the needs of our residents,” Mayor Kirk Caldwell said in a statement. “In awarding its ratings, Fitch highlighted the city’s ‘strong revenue framework, affordable long-term liabilities, and robust operating performance,’ while Moody’s pointed to a healthy financial profile ‘with long-term structural balance and sound reserve levels resulting from a strong management team and conservative budgeting practices.’”
The debt on a majority of the bonds will be repaid by collections from dedicated sources of funding for the rail project, including Oahu’s half-percent surcharge to the general excise tax and a portion of the transient accommodations tax.
The Department of Budget and Fiscal Services, which conducted investor outreach for the sale, received over $220 million in orders during a one-day retail-only order period Tuesday and an additional $80 million of orders during an institutional order period Wednesday. The city secured an interest cost of 2.68 percent for the entire transaction.
ON THE MOVE
Coldwell Banker Pacific Properties has hired Cherie H. Dang as an independent real estate associate at its Kahala office. Dang is a designated Senior Real Estate Specialist with 11 years of experience in real estate.
The University of Hawaii John A. Burns School of Medicine has announced the following promotions:
>> Mariana Gerschenson has been promoted to associate dean from director for research at JABSOM. She also serves as a professor, who oversees JABSOM’s Diabetes Research Center. Prior to joining UH in 2002, Gerschenson was a program officer in Maryland at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda.
>> Dr. Takashi Matsui has been promoted to chairman from professor and associate chairman of anatomy, biochemistry and physiology at JABSOM. He is a cardiovascular research expert. Prior to joining UH in 2010, Matsui served as an assistant professor at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School.
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