Robinsons Land to sell P1.5-B receivables

Robinsons Land Corp. (RLC), the property arm of Gokongwei flagship JG Summit Holdings Inc., has entered into an agreement with Home Funding Inc. (HFI) for the sale of up to P1.5 billion worth of receivables.

HFI is a special purpose company formed pursuant to the Securitization Act of 2004.

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange, RLC said the receivables, will come from certain contracts to sell with the company’s buyers for securitization.

The agreement effectively provides covered buyers with an additional option for long-term financing on their condominium purchase.

The assignment of receivables will be implemented in several tranches subject to certain conditions, including the approval by the Securities and Exchange Commission of the securitization plan, RLC said.

Securitization is a financial transaction in which assets are pooled and securities representing interests in the pool are issued. Assets that can be securitized include auto loans, student loans, mortgages, credit card receivables, lease payments, accounts receivables and corporate or sovereign debt.

In a typical arrangement, the owner or originator of assets sells those assets to a special purpose vehicle (SPV).  This may be a corporation or some form of partnership established specifically to facilitate the securitization. It may hold the assets or collateral on its balance sheet or place them in a separate trust. In either case, it sells bonds to investors, the proceeds of which will be used to pay the originator for the assets.

RLC earlier forged a strategic alliance with JP Morgan Chase Bank NA to tap the cash management services of the New York-listed global financial services company.

According to RLC, the increased efficiency to be brought about by JP Morgan’s cash management services will expedite clearing periods for international checks, resulting in much-quicker turnaround time and convenience for the property firm’s growing number of buyers based in the US, Europe and Asia.

RLC has earmarked P10 billion for its capital expenditures this year which include the construction of six new malls, new office buildings and residential subdivisions.

Its latest project within Bonifacio Global City is Trion Towers, a Three-tower, high-rise condominium project which would rise on a one-hectare property at the corner of McKinley Parkway and 8th Avenue. Each tower would have 49 stories and house 700 residential units.

Construction of the project will start this year and is expected to be completed in three years.

RLC would launch another high-rise residential project geared towards the upper income market in a one-hectare lot near Forbes Park.