October 5, 2018 – Ayala Land, Inc. (ALI) issued and listed anew on the Philippine Dealing and Exchange Corporation (PDEx)an P8 billion 5-year bond with a coupon rate of 7.0239% per annum (the “Bonds”).
The Bonds represent the final tranche of the company’s P50-billion three-year debt securities program approved by the Securities and Exchange Commission(SEC) in March 2016 under the shelf registration rules that took effect in November 2015. “We are grateful to the SEC for having introduced shelf registration in the country. Since then, issuance timelines have been compressed by a month to about 60 days on the average, or even as short as 30 days in the case of follow-on issues.The significance of this speed to market advantages only all the more underscored by the volatility we all experience in the markets today, where the timing of issuances has never been as crucial. Due largely to the P50-billion debt securities program, we have (i) fixed up to 90% of our debt portfolio which will insulate us against rising interest rates, (ii) secured up to 95% of our debt in stable term funding, and (iii) sourced up to 60% of our debt from the capital markets with a wide range of tenors making our maturity towers manageable,” ALI Chief Finance Officer and Treasurer Augusto D. Bengzon said.
The Bonds were rated PRS Aaaand assigned a Stable Outlook by the Philippine Rating Services Corp. Obligations rated PRS Aaa are of the highest quality with minimal credit risk while a Stable Outlook denotes that the rating assigned will likely be maintained in the next twelve months.Proceeds from the offer have been earmarked for project development as ALI builds more sustainable mixed-use large-scale estates around the country. Seven investment banks, namely BDO Capital& Investment Corporation, BPI Capital Corporation, China Bank Capital Corporation, East West Banking Corporation, First Metro Investment Corporation, PNB Capital& Investment Corporation and Standard Chartered Bank,comprised the Joint Lead Underwriters and Joint Bookrunners for the Bonds. This is the largest syndicate of underwriters assembled by ALI since 2014 which was put together by the company to ensure wide distribution while achieving tight pricing for the issue. The Bonds were priced at the low-end of the spread range of 50 basis points over benchmark.
