Vista Land raising $150M

MANILA, Philippines - The real estate unit of the Villar family is raising $150 million this year, taking advantage of low interest rates to pay existing debts.

“We are looking to refinance roughly $150 million in debt that we have because it’s maturing in 2015,” said Manuel Paolo A. Villar, president and CEO of Vista Land & Lifescapes Inc.

Villar said the refinancing program will be achieved through a combination of bonds and corporate notes.

The country’s largest homebuilder has $150.34 million in corporate notes that will mature on Sept. 30, 2015. The notes carry an interest rate of 8.25 percent per annum.

In October, subsidiary VLL International Inc. completed the issuance of $100 million worth of five-year corporate notes with a coupon rate of 6.75 percent.

Aside from the refinancing, Villar said Vista Land would complete in the first half its maiden retail bond issuance.

Early this month, the company’s board of directors approved the issuance of P3 billion retail bonds, with an over-allotment option of up to P2 billion to cater to strong demand.

Proceeds of the maiden retail bond offering will “partially finance the commercial development projects of its subsidiaries,” Vista Land earlier said.

Vista Land will introduce to the market P28 billion worth of projects this year, two-thirds of which are under middle income brand Camella Homes.

In 2013, the country’s largest homebuilder launched 35 projects with an estimated value of P26.1 billion, 31 of which are in the low and affordable segment.

Vista Land also allotted P21 billion for capital expenditures this year, up 22 percent from P17.2 billion in 2013.

Profits of the company jumped 15 percent to a record P5.06 billion last year from P4.38 billion in 2012 as real estate sales climbed 23 percent to P20.02 billion.

Vista Land is the holding company of five business units: luxury brand Brittany, upper middle income segment Crown Asia, Camella Homes, Communities Philippines and condominium builder Vista Residences.