ALI kicks off P6-B bond sale

MANILA, Philippines - Property giant Ayala Land Inc. (ALI) has kicked off the sale of P6 billion worth of bonds that will complete the company’s P21-billion multi-series bond offer.

The fresh capital will allow the property arm of the Ayala conglomerate to finance its huge capital spending for its projects, company executives said.

In a regulatory filing, ALI said it started yesterday the offer of P4-billion bonds due 2020 and P2-billion bonds due 2033.

“The bonds carry a coupon rate of 4.625 percent and six percent, respectively,” ALI said, adding that the 2033 bonds represent the longest tenor for a domestic corporate bond to date.

The public bond offering runs from Sept. 30 to Oct. 4, which will be followed by its listing in the Philippine Dealing and Exchange Corp. (PDEx) on Oct. 10.

“[Proceeds of] ALI retail bonds will be used to fund part of our capital expenditure program for landbanking and investment property development,” ALI president and CEO Antonino T. Aquino said.

The real estate firm has earmarked P65.5 billion this year for the completion of ongoing developments and the launch of 69 new projects with a combined value of P129 billion.

“We decided to do [the bond offering] as ALI instead of Alveo Land Corp. and Avida Land Corp.,” ALI chief finance officer Jaime Ysmael said in a text message to reporters.

In August, ALI listed P15 billion, 10-year bonds at the PDEx. Affordable housing unit Avida and upper to middle-income brand Alveo were earlier targeted to raise a combined P6 billion.