In the photo are (from left) BDO Capital Investment & investment Corp. President Eduardo V. Francisco, Robinsons Bank President and CEO Elfren Antonio S. Sarte, Robinsons Bank Chairman Lance Y. Gokongwei, BDO Unibank, Inc. Chairperson Teresita Sy-Coson, PDS Group President Ma. Theresa B. Ravalo, and Philippine Dealing & Exchange Corp. (PDEx) President and COO Antonino A. Nakpil.

13 August 2019, Makati Philippines – Robinsons Bank (RBank) lists PHP5 Billion Fixed Rate Bonds on the Philippine Dealing & Exchange Corp. (PDEx), twice as large from the planned base of PHP2.5 Billion. Maturing in 2021, its quarterly coupon has a 5.125% interest rate. This issue’s proceeds aim to sustain loan growth and boost long-term funding.

PDEx’s 21st listing for the year “marks the return of Robinsons Bank Corporation for its first bond issue under the ten-month old framework for listing and enrolling bank bonds,” noted PDEx President and COO Antonino A. Nakpil.

“The bank issuing community has been hyperactive and is the dynamo for new listing activity this year; accounting for PHP 165.72 Billion out of the PHP 242.64 Billion new listings so far for 2019. And it now sets the outstanding amount of listed bonds on PDEx to PHP 1.23 trillion, a 17% increase from year end 2018.This is a dynamic that we hope to sustain as we seek the SEC’s approval for our proposed framework for listing bonds under issuance programs,” Mr. Nakpil added.

For RBank’s part, Chairman Lance Gokongwei remarked: “This symbolic ringing of the bell is another milestone for Robinsons Bank. We are humbled by the trust of our partner clients and honored by the confidence they put in the Bank with our maiden peso bond issuance, evidenced by the 4x oversubscription over the P2.5B issue size. This is another confirmation that the Bank is now accepted in the capital market.”

The PhilRatings assigned an issue rating of “PRS Aa minus” with a “stable” outlook – a notch below the highest score.

PDEx Press Release_RBANK Bonds Due 2021_

In the photo are (from left) Philippine National Bank (PNB) Capital and Investment Corporation President Gerry Valenciano, Phoenix Petroleum Philippines, Inc. (PNX) Chief Finance Officer Ma. Concepcion de Claro, PNX Chief Operating Officer Henry Albert Fadullon, PDS Group. President Ma. Theresa Ravalo, PDEx President and COO Antonino Nakpil, and PNB Capital and Investment Corporation Senior Vice President Jojo Abad

05 August 2019, Makati Philippines -Phoenix Petroleum Philippines, Inc. (PNX) lists its Series B of PHP 3.5 Billion Commercial Paper on the Philippine Dealing & Exchange Corp. (PDEx). With a 7% discount rate and maturity period of 360 days, this issue’s proceeds will fund the firm’s business requirements, particularly the importation/sale of its petroleum products.

“It is part of PNX’s SEC-approved Commercial Paper program, which won the Best Debt Deal of the Year at the Asian Banking and Finance Awards in Singapore just last month,” said PDEx President and COO Antonino A. Nakpil.

“This is the 20th listing for 2019, and, as of today, the total amount of new debt listings stands at PHP 237.64 Billion, a 136% increase from the same period last year. The total outstanding amount of corporate debt listed on PDEx is PHP 1.23 Trillion, representing an 18% increase from the end of 2018,” added Mr. Nakpil.

On PNX’s part, Chief Finance Officer Ma. Concepcion de Claro said: “We value the opportunity to work with financial partners such as PNB Capital and list on the PDEx as this provides the venue to promote and seek alternative means of investor support for our Company to pursue our business strategies with confidence.”

PDEx Press Release_PNX CP Due 2020

In the photo are (L-R): First Metro Investment Corporation President Rabboni Francis Arjonillo, Philippine Savings Bank (PSBank) Senior Vice President & Treasurer Perfecto Ramon Z. Dimayuga, Jr., PSBank President Jose Vicente L. Alde, PDS Group President Ma. Theresa B. Ravalo, Philippine Dealing & Exchange Corp. (PDEx) President and COO Antonino A. Nakpil, Standard Chartered Bank Chief Executive Officer Lynette Ortiz, and Metropolitan Bank & Trust Company Assistant Vice President Susan Q. Antiporda.

24 July 2019, Makati Philippines – Philippine Savings Bank (PSBank) lists its Fixed Rate Bonds Due 2021 with a total issue size of PHP 6.3 Billion; approximately twice its initial target of PHP 3 Billion.

With a quarterly coupon rate of 5.6% p.a., this issue hikes the year-to-date total of new listings on PDEx to PHP 234.14 Billion; and the total tradable corporate debt instruments listed on PDEx to PHP 1.23 Trillion, a 17% increase from end 2018.

PDEx President and COO Antonino A. Nakpil stated that: “Over the past nine months, the bank bonds segment has already generated PHP 224.72 Billion worth of issues. Because of active market makers, interest has picked up in the secondary market as these instruments may also present as alternative investments within the interbank money market. The market making activity in this segment, outside of the traditional GS environment, is certainly a great feature that PDEx would like to see extended to the rest of the corporate bond market segments. This is a good development and one which PDEx will actively support to further blossom.”

PSBank President Jose Vicente L. Alde remarked: “We express gratitude to all our partners for making our first-ever bond issuance a success. We would also like to thank the investing public for their trust in the PSBank name, which has resulted in this overwhelming market reception. Indeed, it is a testament of confidence in our business initiatives, which we hope will continue to take the bank to a higher level of growth and share of market.”

This issuance is the first tranche of the PSBank’s PHP 40 Billion funding program supporting business expansion. This foray into bonds follows PSBank’s two previous Long-Term Negotiable Certificates of Time Deposit (LTNCTD) listings in 2017 and 2018.

PDEx Press Release_PSB Fixed Rate Bonds Due 2021

In the photo are (from left), China Bank Capital Corporation President Ryan Martin Tapia, The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Wholesale Banking Philippines Head Michael Brennan, Standard Chartered Bank Philippines Chief Executive Officer Lynette Ortiz, PDS Group President Ma. Theresa B. Ravalo, China Banking Corporation (CHIB) Chairman Hans Sy, CHIB President William Whang, CHIB Chief Operating Officer Romeo Uyan Jr., PDEx President and COO Antonino A. Nakpil, CHIB Chief Finance Officer Patrick Cheng, and Amalgamated Investment Bancorporation Executive Vice President, Chief Finance Officer Servando Alvarez Jr.

10 July 2019, Makati Philippines – China Banking Corporation (China Bank, stock symbol: CHIB) lists its initial issuance of PhP 30 Billion Fixed Rate Bonds on the Philippine Dealing & Exchange Corp. (PDEx), the second largest single bond issue to date.

“This is the first-ever Philippine bank bond with monthly coupon payments to be issued and listed, and a feature probably contributing to its being oversubscribed by six (6) times from the original PHP 5.0 Billion offer,” said PDEx President and COO Antonino A. Nakpil.

“With today’s 17^th listing, the level of new bond listings for 2019 now reaches PhP 226.74 Billion, with a total outstanding amount of listed corporate bonds to PhP 1.23 Trillion comprised of 176 securities from 49 issuers,” added Mr. Nakpil.

“We are very grateful for the overwhelming market response which reflects our clients’ confidence in China Bank,” said China Bank President William C. Whang.

“The success of a bond issue of this size in accessing the capital markets, following the successful two rounds of LTNCD that we issued in the previous years, is likewise a testament to the Bank’s institutional strength, as reflected in the investment grade credit rating given to China Bank in 2017 and recently affirmed by Moody’s,” he added.

This issue forms part of CHIB’s planned P75-billion fund raising program for the next three years to support its expansion and strategic initiatives.

PDEx Press Release_CHIB Fixed Rate Bonds Due 2021

In the photo are (from left) First Metro Investment Corporation Institutional Sales Department Head Peter Anthony Bautista, HSBC Wholesale Banking Head Michael Brennan, Metrobank Strategic Planning Division Head Jette Gamboa, PDS Group Head of Market Services Anne Bautista, and Metrobank Asset Liability Management Division Head Edgar Alan Guerrero.

03 July 2019, Makati Philippines – Metropolitan Bank & Trust Company (Metrobank) listed PhP 11.25 Billion of Series A Bonds Due 2021 on the Philippine Dealing & Exchange Corp. (PDEx) organized secondary market. This brought the year-to-date total of new listings to PhP 196.74 Billion, pushing PDEx’s total outstanding listed securities volume to PhP 1.2 Trillion.

This issuance, Metrobank’s second for the first half of 2019, has a 5.5% coupon rate paid quarterly over two years.

The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited (HSBC) acted as arranger and selling agent, with Metrobank and First Metro Investment Corporation as co-selling agents. #

In the photo are (from left), Deutsche Bank AG, Manila Branch (Deutsche Bank) Head of Global Markets Michael Chua, Deutsche Bank Managing Director & Chief Country Officer Enrico Cruz, Security Bank Corporation (SECB) Executive Vice President & Treasurer Raul Martin Pedro, SECB Senior Vice President and Chief Dealer Orencio Andre Ibarra III, Philippine Dealing & Exchange Corp. President & Chief Operating Officer Antonino Nakpil and SECB Head of Treasury Sales Jim Yap.

28 June 2019, Makati Philippines – Security Bank Corporation (SECB) lists its maiden issue of 2-Year Fixed Rate Bonds on the Philippine Dealing & Exchange Corp. (PDEx). The PhP 18 billion SECB Bonds form part of SECB’s PhP 50 billion Bond and Commercial Paper Program.

“We shall today close the first half of 2019 with this listing number fifteen (15) and PHP 185.5 Billion of new listings for the year, 124% higher than the same period last year, and the total outstanding face amount of listed bonds to PHP 1.19 Trillion. All but five of the first semester’s listings have been from bank issuers; and with PHP 380.80 Billion of bonds outstanding, the financial sector has the largest share by volume of issues among the listed instruments,” said PDEx President and COO Antonino A. Nakpil.

“One might say we shall emulate Security Bank’s brand promise of ‘Better Banking’ to its clients, by facilitating “Better Listing” for our community of bank issuers,” he added.

For his part, SECB Executive Vice President and Treasurer Raul Martin A. Pedro remarked: “This maiden issuance in the Peso Bond market is meant to diversify our funding sources, creating a path to tap the capital markets again in the near future in order to optimize our funding costs and continue our focus on delivering best in class returns to our shareholders. It is the largest single issue of the Bank to date.”

Present in the listing ceremony were SECB Executive Vice President and Treasurer Raul Martin A. Pedro, SECB Senior Vice President and Chief Dealer Orencio Andre Ibarra III, SECB Senior Vice President and Head of Treasury Sales Jim Yap, and the sole lead arranger, Deutsche Bank AG, Manila Branch (Deutsche Bank) led by its Managing Director and Chief Country Officer Enrico Cruz.

PDEx Press Release_SECB Bonds Due 2021 Continue reading →

18 June 2019, Makati Philippines – Aboitiz Equity Ventures, Inc. (AEV) returned to the Philippine Dealing & Exchange Corp. (PDEx) organized secondary market with PhP 5 billion fixed rate bonds issued in two (2) tenors — Series A 6.0157% 5-Year Bonds Due 2024 and Series B 6.3210% 10-Year Bonds Due 2029.

This fourteenth listing for 2019 brings the year-to-date total of new listings to PhP 167.49 billion and the total level of tradable corporate debt instruments to PhP 1.17 trillion issued by 49 companies, comprised of 175 securities.

PDEx President and COO Antonino Nakpil said in his welcome remarks: “We are always delighted to see an issuer return for listings as these reaffirm the infrastructure’s role in fostering the relationship between Issuers and their Investors. Today’s listing is the first from a holding company for the year and marks only the fifth from a non-banking entity thus far. The bank bond issuance locomotive is powering a train with many cars. So getting this issuance through and between a slew of bank bond issues speaks well of both the loyalty of AEV’s bondholders as well as the quality of its finance professionals and advisors.”

For his part, AEV Senior Vice President, Chief Financial Officer and Corporate Information Officer Manuel Lozano remarked: “Across the group, we recognize the important role our food business plays in building nations by providing quality food on the table. With our business model well-positioned at the beginning of the food value chain, we are given the opportunity to nourish populations and contribute towards food security, one of the United Nations’ Global Sustainability Development Goals.”

The event was graced by AEV officers led by SVP, Chief Financial Officer and Corporate Information Officer Manuel Lozano, SVP and Group Treasurer Gabriel Mañalac, and First Vice President and Deputy Group Treasurer Maria Veronica So. Representatives from issue participants — BDO Capital & Investment Corporation First Vice President Jose Eduardo Quimpo II, First Metro Investment Corporation President Rabonni Arjonillo, BDO Unibank, Inc. – Trust Investments Group Vice President Michael Munsayac, BDO Unibank, Inc. Executive Vice President Cecilia Tan and Metropolitan Bank & Trust Company Vice President Eriberto Pedro Antonio Roxas — were also in attendance.

PDEx Press Release_AEV Bonds Due 2024 and 2029

04 June 2019, Makati Philippines – Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation (RCBC) returns to the PDEx organized market for the second time this year for its PhP 8 billion Fixed Rate ASEAN Sustainability Bonds Due 2021, the first peso bond issuance in the Philippines under RCBC’s recently established Sustainable Finance Framework.

This another pioneer issuance and listing of RCBC has itself sustained demand by bond investors as suggested by the oversubscription level of 1.6 times the planned issue amount of PhP 5 billion.

In his welcome remarks, PDEx President and COO Antonino A. Nakpil said: “We note that this issuance was made under RCBC’s recently established Sustainable Finance Framework, and this is the first bond issue from the Philippines aligned with the ASEAN Sustainability Bond Standards 2018, as well as the International Capital Market Association’s (ICMA) Sustainability Bonds Guidelines 2018. Most importantly, the bond complies with the SEC’s own Guidelines for the Issuance of Sustainability Bonds just released last 25 April 2019, kudos indeed to RCBC for this quick response to the SEC’s challenge for financial institutions to channel financing toward projects that meet environmental and social needs.”

RCBC Senior Executive Vice President and Treasurer Horacio E. Cebrero III remarked: “We are proud of these sustainable issuances as it demonstrates not just the Bank’s but also the investors’ commitment to the evolving efforts to uphold social and environmental responsibility in all business activities. We are likewise proud of the pioneering effort the Bank has introduced through sustainable financing options. It has enabled RCBC to expand engagement with various existing and potential stakeholders by opening up opportunities for new investors and lenders to participate in the Bank’s transition to a more sustainable future, and by supporting the focus of regulators in key priority projects such as the development of capital markets, innovations and financial inclusion.”

Today’s listing brings the year-to date total of new listings to PhP 162.49, a 102% increase from same period last year. The total volume of bank issues listed on PDEx now stands at PhP 359.08 Billion, increasing the total level of tradable corporate debt instruments to PhP 1.174 Trillion, issued by 49 companies with 174 securities.

The ceremony was held at the PDS Group Assembly Hall and was also graced by RCBC Deputy CEO Eugene S. Acevedo and ING Bank N.V., Manila Branch Managing Director Johnson Sia.

Press Release – RCBC Fixed Rate ASEAN Sustainability Bonds Due 2021

03 June 2019, Makati Philippines – Union Bank of the Philippines (UnionBank) returned to the PDEx organized secondary market for the listing of its 3-year PhP 5.8 billion second bond issuance. This followed UnionBank’s maiden issuance of PhP 11 billion in December 2018.

UnionBank President and CEO Edwin Bautista led the ringing of the ceremonial bell to herald the start of trading of the UnionBank Bonds Due 2022.

Today’s listing brings the year-to-date volume of new listings to PHP 154.5 Billion and the total corporate tradable debt instruments listed or enrolled at PDEx to PHP 1.166 Trillion, an 11% increase from year end 2018.

Philippine Dealing & Exchange Corp. President and COO Antonino Nakpil remarked: “We note that this second bond issuance of Union Bank was oversubscribed and upsized from the initial size of PHP 3 Billion. We trust that this would clearly dispel any notion that Union Bank’s support from its bondholders is virtual.”

“As we have said previously, we are keen observers of Union Bank’s progress as it leads its peer banks in exploring the bounds and applications of the new financial technologies in banking and payment systems, the so-called digital transformation. We monitor these developments with the belief that all advances in the payments space will apply to and cascade into the area of settlement systems and ultimately have the potential to reshape the market frameworks as we know them today,” Mr. Nakpil added.

For UnionBank’s part, Senior Executive Vice President, Treasurer and Chief Financial Officer Jose Emmanuel Hilado said: “UBP is happy to list the 3-Year P 5.8 B Peso Corporate Bond which was upsized from the original P 3 B issue amount. This will be an on-going program for the Bank due to the regulatory incentive of having a lower reserve requirement at 6% versus the usual 17%. This also provides local investors with an alternative investment product that can be traded in the secondary market.”

Other key executives present during the listing ceremony include UnionBank Financial Controller Francis Albalate and Deputy Treasurer Raquel Palang. Lead Arrangers and Bookrunners led by The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited Head of Wholesale Banking Michael Brennan, Senior Vice President and Head of Global Markets Dondi Baltazar and ING Bank N.V., Manila Branch Diversified Corporates Director Rowena P. Bayoneta and Financial Markets Sales Director Jessica Chico were also in attendance. #

Press Release – UBP Series B Fixed Rate Bonds Due 2022

17 May 2019, Makati Philippines – SM Prime Holdings, Inc. (SMPH), one of the largest property developers in Southeast Asia, returned to the PDEx organized secondary market to list its PhP 10 Billion 3-Year Series J Fixed Rate Bonds, the final tranche of its Shelf Registered Bond Program of PHP 60 Billion approved by the SEC in 2016.

Today, SM Prime’s total outstanding listed issues stand at PHP 100 Billion or 9% of the total outstanding listed bonds on PDEx, and bring the SM Group’s total outstanding listed amount to PHP 243.34 Billion or 21% of the total PHP 1.17 Trillion outstanding listed corporate securities on PDEx.

PDEx President and COO Antonino Nakpil remarked: “The scheduled returns to the debt market by SM Prime and its peers within the Issuer community are continuing reaffirmations of the depth of the domestic investor market and the value of establishing a loyal base of bondholders. These leaderships by the veteran issuers such as SMPH are key highlights to be made to any would-be corporate bond issuer of fixed income, as we strive to expand the community toward a multiple of the current 49 listed corporate bond issuers.”

SM Prime Chief Finance Officer John Ong said in his message: “The net proceeds of the issue will help finance our capital expenditure program for the construction of new malls; expansion and redevelopment of existing malls and new office projects for the period 2019-2021.”

“At this point, allow me to reiterate SM Prime’s commitment of being a catalyst for economic growth, delivering innovative and sustainable lifestyle cities, thereby enriching the quality of life of millions of people. Ending 2018, SM Prime has 72 malls in the Philippines offering 9.5 million square meters (sqm) of gross floor area (GFA) and seven malls in China with 1.3 million sqm of GF,” he added.

The event was graced by SM Prime CFO John C. Ong, SM Investments Corporation Treasurer Marcelo Fernando, Jr., BDO Capital & Investment Corporation President Eduardo Francisco, First Metro Investment Corporation President Rabonni Arjonillo, China Bank Capital Corporation President Ryan Tapia, China Banking Corporation CFO Patrick Cheng, BPI Capital Corporation President Rhoda Huang, and Bank of the Philippine Islands Corporate Products and Support Head Reggie Cariaso. #

Press Release SMPH Series J Bonds Due 2022