SMIC scales up bond float to P20B via option

SM Investments Corp. (SMIC) will exercise its option for the purchase of P5 billion oversubcription on its issuance of the Se­ries G Bond that will bring to P20 billion the bonds it recently issued.

The bonds are priced at 5.159 percent and are due 2023.

SMIC reported to the Philippine Stock Exchange Inc. (PSEI) and the Philippine Dealing System (PDS) that the initial offer size of only P15 billion of the Series G bond issue “was met by strong demand from a wide spectrum of investors ranging from individuals in the retail market to banks, investment funds, pen­sion funds, insurance companies and other corporates.”

The decision to exercise the oversubscription option of P5 billion was arrived at in consultation with the joint lead under­writers and bookrunners, SMIC reported.

Joint issue managers of the bond float are BDO Capital and Investment Corp. and China Bank Capital Corp., which also acted as joint lead underwriters and joint bookrunners together with BPI Capital Corp. and First Metro Investment Corp.

SB Capital Investment Corp. acted as co-lead underwriter of the bond issue.

SMIC will fully exercise the issue’s P5 billion oversubscrip­tion option at the end of the offer period.

The proceeds from the bond float, representing the maiden issue of the SMIC total P50 billion bond shelf registration with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), is intended to finance future investments and strategic acquisitions of the firm’s core businesses’ property, retail and financial services.

The Philippine Rating Services Corp. (Philratings) has given its highest assigned rating of Aaa for the Smic G Series bonds, which rating denotes that the bonds’ obligations are of the high­est quality with minimal credit risk, and that the issuing compa­ny’s capacity to meet its financial commitment on the obliga­tions is extremely strong.

“SM is one of the more responsible companies in the coun­try due to its progressive approach in business and its com­prehensive sustainability programs for its host communities through SM Foundation and SM Cares,” SMIC said.

SM’s retail operations enjoy a strong brand franchise con­sisting of The SM Store; a strong portfolio of leading specialty retailers including Ace Hardware, SM Appliances, Homeworld, Our Home, Toy Kingdom, Watsons and others; and its food re­tail chains, namely: SM Supermarket, SM Hypermarket, Save­more and WalterMart stores.

SM’s property arm, SM Prime Holdings, Inc., is one of the largest integrated property developers in the Philippines with interests in mall, residential, commercial and tourism devel­opment. SM’s interests in banking are in BDO Unibank, Inc. (BDO), the country’s leading bank and in China Banking Cor­poration (China Bank), the sixth largest private bank. Combined, these two banks have a network of over 1,400 branches nation­wide. RIZA LOZADA