PNB Capital lines up capital raising activities

The PNB Capital and Investment Corp., the investment arm of the Philippine National Bank (PNB), will embark on various financial advisory and capital raising activities next year.

PNB Capital chairman and president Ramon Bagatsing Jr. said these activities are designed to sustain the company’s earning performance for the past three years.

Bagatsing said they would embark on a number of institutional strengthening activities such as manpower development through training and seminars.

He said they would also adopt various corporate strategies towards strengthening the company’s competitive ability to enable it to thrive amidst present and future challenges.

Bagatsing said the company declared recently a P130-million cash dividend in favor of the bank. The dividend declaration, a first for the investment firm, translates to P26 per share.

The cash dividend, he said, reflects the earning performance of the company for the past years.

In 1999, PNB Capital posted a P128.1-million net income which was 94.8 percent higher than the P65.8-million earnings in 1998. Meanwhile, the firm’s total assets steadily rose from P509.2 million in 1997, P580.9 million in 1998 to P747 million in 1999.

PNB Capital provides investment banking services such as loan syndication, underwriting of equity/debt issues, project finance, bond flotation, asset securitization, debt paper-related transactions and financial advisory services.

Since the start of its operations in late 1997, PNB Capital has managed/participated with a combined volume of more than P76 million.

Among these projects are the $610-million one-year note facility for the Republic of the Philippines as arranger P4.23-billion warrants offering of Queenbee Resources relating to shares of Jollibee Foods Corp. as domestic lead underwriter; refinancing of $610-million facility for RP as joint lead manager and arranger; the tranche A offering of Fort Bonifacio Development Corp.’s P500-million short-term commercial paper as arranger lead underwriter and selling agent.

PNB Capital was the issue manager and lead underwriter for the initial public offering of Chinatrust (Philippines) Commercial Bank Corp., P465-million issue; issue manager and lead underwriter of East Asia Power Resources Corp., P2.26-billion rights offering issue; co-arranger for P600-million syndicated loan to Asian Hospital Inc.; and managing underwriter for the PNB, P9.47-billion and P10.31-billion rights offering respectively.

Their investment house also acted as co-advisor to the Asset Privatization Trust in the valuation of shares of the Philippine National Construction Corp. prior to its privatization.

The company provided consultancy services on the assessment of the financial performance of the Laguna Lake Development Authority, its financing and investments.