Vista Land sets P20-B fixed-rate bond offer

MANILA, Philippines - Vista Land & Lifescapes Inc., the mall and property development arm of the Villar family is planning to raise P20 billion through the issuance of fixed-rate retail bonds under shelf registration.

The company told the local bourse yesterday it is preparing to offer and sell to the public peso-denominated fixed-rate retail bonds with an aggregate amount of up to P20 billion.

The bonds will be registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission under shelf registration, to be issued in tranches within a period of three years.

 An initial offering will amount to P3 billion worth of bonds, with an oversubscription option of up to P2 billion.

 Vista Land said the initial tranche would be issued in up to two series, namely Series A bonds, due seven years from issuance and Series B bonds due 10 years from issuance.

“The management of the corporation to determine such other terms and conditions of each issuance of the bonds as may be advantageous to the corporation and in accordance with the scope of authority given by the board including, but not limited to, the determination of the interest rate of the initial offer bonds, and the subsequent offerings out of the shelf registration of the bonds,” the listed firm said.

Under shelf registration, issuers have the option to register and sell issues under the same regulatory documents securities, which they do not intend to sell right away.

Securities to be issued in tranches may be registered for an offering to be made on a continuous or delayed basis for a period not exceeding three years.

For this year, Vista Land is allotting P35 billion for capital expenditures,16 percent higher than previous year.

Of that amount, P26 billion will be used for property development while the remaining P9 billion will go to Starmalls.

Vista Land is targeting to launch 30 projects this year, higher than the 20 projects inaugurated last year.

The company has an established presence in about 100 cities and municipalities across 37 provinces and intends to focus on the development of integrated urban developments combining lifestyle retail, prime office space, universities, healthcare, themed residential developments and leisure components.