Cebu Holdings raises P5B from maiden bond issuance

MANILA, Philippines - The Cebu-based affiliate of property giant Ayala Land Inc. (ALI) has completed its debut in the bond market, raising P5 billion to support project developments.

Cebu Holdings Inc. (CHI) listed Thursday its P5 billion bonds due 2021 in the Philippine Dealing & Exchange Corp. (PDEx), the country’s fixed income trading platform.

“We are pleased to welcome the newest member of our issuer community, CHI, with its maiden debt issuance and listing in the PDEx bourse,” said PDEx chairman and CEO Cesar B. Crisol.

With the listing of CHI, the 10th corporate bond listing for this year, PDEx already exceeded the total amount of listings in the banner year of 2012, hitting a total volume of P114.8 billion in new listings, Crisol said.

“We are bullish about Cebu now especially that major infrastructure projects are being put on line like the Mactan-Cebu international airport and the bus rapid transit system which Cebu needs,” said CHI director Emilio J. Tumbocon.

CHI’s P5-billion bonds secured the top PRS Aaa rating from Philippine Rating Services Corp. (PhilRatings).

“Obligations rated PRS Aaa are of the highest quality with minimal credit risk.  The obligor’s capacity to meet its financial commitment on the obligation is extremely strong,” PhilRatings said.

Total outstanding amount of corporate bonds listed in PDEx now stands at P425.76 billion, showing a compounded annual growth rate of 87 percent from 2008.

“We hope that CHI, as has been the approach of ALI, will return to list in the registered market to optimize investor value and contribute to greater economic development,” Crisol said.

The Cebu-based firm is the company behind Cebu Business Park, the largest operating integrated, masterplanned, mixed-use IT park in the country. CHI’s subsidiary Cebu Property Ventures and Development Corp. is the owner and developer of Cebu IT Park, which is home to over 70 percent of Cebu’s IT/business process outsourcing companies.

CHI was created in 1988 to transform the urban landscape of Cebu and help realize its economic potential. Cebu is one of the fastest expanding economies in the southern area of the Philippines with a gross regional domestic product growth of 7.3 percent last year, driven by the business process outsourcing sector.