Officials hail fearless first-of-the-year transaction amid market volatility

MANILA, Philippines - Finance officials hailed the successfully concluded liability management transaction, as the Philippines marked its return to the international capital markets with a showing consistent with its now emergent sterling reputation.

"It took courage and conviction to pursue strategic transaction in the midst of global market volatility. Strong economic fundamentals and track record of well placed deals allowed the RoP to be the first issuer in the global dollar market and to execute a $2 billion 25-year bond at an all time low coupon of 3.95%," Finance Secretary Cesar Purisima said.

This is reminiscent of the award-winning 1-day Accelerated Switch Tender Offer conducted last Jan. 10, 2014, hailed by FinanceAsia to be an innovative case of proactive liability management.

"As the reputation of the [Philippines] gains steam in the international markets, we are proud to be the first to issue global bonds in the dollars space," Purisima added.

Treasurer of the Philippines Rosalia de Leon reported on the success of the transaction, saying, "Cash orderbook reached $7.9 billion or 15 times oversubscribed, while liability management orderbook reached $6.1 billion in market value terms. The size of the final deal is $2.0 billion, of which $1.5 billion were used to switch and retire old bonds $500 million in new money will be used for funding the budget."

"Notably, we attracted new name investment grade-only investors in this transaction. This robust response from the international markets reflects that our manifest confidence in the strength of the Philippine economy and liability management strategy," she added.