SEC okays P3-B bond offer of ALI

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has approved the P3-billion bond offering of Ayala Land Inc. (ALI) on the back of the high marks the bond issue received from leading credit rating agency Philratings.

ALI has increased by another P1 billion its previously announced P2-billion five-year bond float after participating underwriters showed a strong interest in it.

Philratings has stamped the bond issue an ‘Aa’ rating’ considering ALI’s strong business franchise and balanced asset portfolio of good quality, conservative capital structure and well-defined business strategy that deliver stable earnings and above-average debt coverage measures.

It added that the encouraging pre-selling performance of recent development project and the high tenant take-up rate in new commercial centers reinforce the expectations of improvement in prospective earnings.

"While the large amount of debt maturing in the current year raises significant liquidity and refinancing concerns, these risks have been largely addressed by ample cash reserves and recent debt-raising exercise," Philratings said.

It cited that ALI has a substantial cash balance at end-2001, augmented by a P1.06 billion long-term fixed rate note issue in February to cover the P4-billion convertible LTCPs that matured last March 19. Further, the company has ample alternative funding sources to cover the remaining P2-billion LTCPs due on April 23.