Ayala Life gets nod for capital hike

The Securities and Exchange Commission has approved the application of Ayala Life Fixed Income Fund Inc., an open-ended investment company, for the licensing of P3-billion worth of new shares.

The shares sought to be registered consisted of 30 million common shares with a par value of P100 per share. The additional shares bring to P12 billion the total outstanding shares of the Ayala-owned mutual fund firm.

A minimum of P100,000 worth of shares will be accepted for each new application. The company said it was ready to redeem the shares at the applicable net asset value per share.

Net asset value is computed by deducting all of the company’s debts from the market value of all its assets.

The fund’s net asset value per share as of end-September this year amounted to P146.18 or better than the 2001 level of P138.53.

The company plans to use proceeds from the offering to purchase securities in accordance with its investment policies and objectives.

Ayala Life’s strategy is to invest in short to medium-term government securities and build up its holdings of Philippine sovereign debt paper.

Ayala Life is managed by Bank of the Philippine Island’s asset and trust management group, which manages more than P100-billion assets.

Among the firm’s major shareholders are Manuel Bengson, Francisco Luna, Isagani de Castro, Ramon Madrid, and Adelbert Legasto.

Ayala Life reported a net income of P455.43 million for the first nine months of the year. Revenues, on the other hand, amounted to P719.46 million while expenses reached P276.54 million.

As of end-September this year, the company’s total assets stood at P12.56 billion, P8.47 billion of which in the form of government securities.– Zinnia dela Peña