JG SUMMIT Holdings, Inc. is looking to issue dollar-denominated bonds through an offshore subsidiary and has tapped several banks to arrange the offering.

In a disclosure to the exchange Tuesday, the Gokongwei-led holding firm said its wholly owned subsidiary JGSH Philippines, Ltd. is planning to issue US dollar-denominated fixed-rate notes with a benchmark issue size.

It has mandated UBS, Credit Suisse and Standard Chartered Bank as joint bookrunners and joint lead managers for the proposed unrated Regulation S offering.

A Regulation S offering means the securities will be executed in countries outside the United States. This method can be used to issue equity or debt securities to raise capital.

The planned amount of JGSH Philippines’ offering as well as the proposed use of proceeds were not disclosed as of Tuesday.

JG Summit will act as guarantor of the notes. Its board of directors has authorized its management to “determine the extent of its participation as a guarantor as well as to finalize the terms and conditions of such guarantee.”

For the first quarter, JG Summit reported a 71% profit drop to P1.9 billion due to the impact of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic to its business units.

It has reduced its capital expenditure allocation for this year by 30% to P58 billion to help manage cash flow and control liquidity. This means deferring some projects and pre-delivery payments that were originally slated for 2020.

Shares in JG Summit at the stock exchange were up P2.35 or 3.76% to P64.85 each on Tuesday. — Denise A. Valdez

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