Property developer SM Prime Holdings Inc. has set the interest rates for its P30-billion retail bond offering that will support the conglomerate’s expansion plan.
SM Prime said in a disclosure to the stock exchange Tuesday it pegged the interest rates for Series P, five-year retail bonds at 5.6141 percent per annum; Series Q, seven-year retail bonds at 6.1175 percent per annum; and Series R, 10-year retail bonds at 6.5432 percent per annum.
SM Prime said the bond offering will have a base size of P15 billion, with an oversubscription option for an additional P15 billion.
The retail bonds will be offered from April 7 to 13 to investors through joint issue managers BDO Capital & Investment Corp. and China Bank Capital Corp., which are also joint bookrunners and joint lead underwriters together with BPI Capital Corp., East West Banking Corp., First Metro Investment Corp., RCBC Capital Corp. and SB Capital Investment Corp.
The bonds are set to be issued and listed on the Philippine Dealing & Exchange Corp. on April 22.
“SM Prime will use the proceeds of these latest retail bonds issuance to pursue the expansion plans set for the company’s property portfolios, including malls, residential developments, offices, and hotels, which will drive further growth to the Company as well as to the communities we serve,” SM Prime chief finance officer John Nai Peng Ong said.
The property firm plans to launch this year four new malls and expand five existing malls that will add 300,000 square meters of additional gross floor area to its portfolio. It also plans to launch 15,000 to 20,000 residential units this year.
The P30-billion retail bond offering represents the fourth tranche to be issued under the company’s P100-billion bond shelf-registration program approved by the Securities and Exchange Commission in February 2020.
Similar to its previous bond offerings, the SM Prime Series P, Q and R bonds were rated PRS Aaa by Philippine Rating Services Corp. A rating of PRS Aaa is the highest rating assigned by PhilRatings, denoting that such obligations are of the highest quality with minimal credit risk and the issuing company ‘s capacity to meet its financial commitment on the obligations is extremely strong.