FDC okays Filinvest Land’s purchase of P1.2-B bonds

Filinvest Development Corp. (FDC), the listed investment holding company of Chinese businessman Andrew Gotianun, approved the purchase of P1.2 billion of five-year convertible bonds issued in 2002 by its realty unit Filinvest Land Inc. (FLI).

In the same disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE), FDC said its board also approved the amendments to the terms and conditions of the bonds which include the extension of their maturity to December 2010 from December 2007.

The new terms will allow FLI to allocate more funds for its expansion program plan over the next few years.

The bonds, convertible to shares of FLI, were acquired by FDC from Reco Grandhomes Pte. Ltd. They may be redeemed anytime without penalty.

The underlying shares for conversion totaled 640 million, which are supposed to come from the unissued portion of FLI’s authorized capital.

Reco Grandhomes is managed by GIC Real Estate Pte. Ltd., a subsidiary of the Government of Singapore Investment Corp. Pte. Ltd. It already held a five-percent stake in FLI prior to the bond issuance, which would have raised its stake to 13 percent at full conversion.

In a separate disclosure, FDC said its board confirmed the holding firm’s authority to negotiate, enter into and sign a commitment letter addressed to Sun Life of Canada governing the terms of its P400-million loan with the said institution.

FDC intends to take advantage of the liquidity of the market and avail itself of interest savings by using the proceeds of the loan to pay off existing obligations of FDC and/or its subsidiaries with higher interest.

FLI has set aside P10 billion over the next five years for the development of new projects including Timberland Sports and Nature Club in Timberland Heights, Laeuna de Taal in Tagaytay, and the new Asenso Business Parks.

It plans to develop a 12-hectare property in Mactan Island into a residential and leisure project.