SMIC to issue $ bonds for capex, debt refinancing

MANILA, Philippines - SM Investments Corp. (SMIC), the holding company of the Sy family, will issue 10-year dollar bonds to raise funds for capital expenditures and to refinance existing debt, the company said in a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) yesterday.

SMIC said its board has approved the bond issuance, and has tapped Citi and Standard Chartered Bank as joint lead managers and joint bookrunners.

“The offering is intended to be used for general corporate purposes, including refinancing of existing debts,” SMIC said.

SMIC investor relations chief Cora Guidote said the company has yet to determine the amount of the debt issuance.

Furthermore, SMIC said its board also authorized management to negotiate with Citi and Standard Chartered Bank to finalize the amount, terms and pricing of the bond issue subject to prevailing market conditions.

The issuance of the dollar bonds comes after the company announced in February that its board approved a P15-billion bond sale, which receive the top PRS Aaa rating from Philippine Rating Services Corp. (PhilRatings).

In June 2012, SMIC also tapped the debt market when it raised P15 billion through the sale of peso-denominated fixed-rate bonds maturing in seven and 10 years.

For the whole year, SMIC has allotted P80 billion for its capital expenditures, bulk of which will be allotted for SM Prime Holdings Inc., the country’s largest mall operator.

At present, SM has 48 malls all over the country and currently has five in China, with plans to open another within the year. 

SMIC is the holding company for its real estate, retail and banking businesses but aside from its core business, the Sy family is also expanding in other areas such as energy and infrastructure.

It also has interests in mining and gaming.