MANILA, Philippines — SM Prime Holdings Inc., the Sy family’s listed integrated property developer, is still considering additional fundraising activities this year following its successful P25-billion oversubscribed bond offering.
“We’ll keep our options open because based on our capex requirement for the year, we still have certain requirements,” SM Prime chief finance officer John Ong told The STAR in an interview.
SM Prime is looking at a P100-billion capital spending this year to support its various programs and expansion initiatives.
Last May, SM Prime announced the establishment of a $3 billion multi-issuer European Medium Term Note (EMTN) program.
Jointly established by SM Investment Corp.’s wholly owned subsidiary SMIC SG Holdings Pte. Ltd. and SM Prime’s wholly owned subsidiary SMPHI SG Holdings Pte. Ltd., the EMTN program will allow the companies to tap the offshore bond market to fund its continued growth and expansion.
“The EMTN program is an added option for funding so we do not limit ourselves to local. We also have foreign funding options in which the EMTN is a foreign option,” Ong said.
“So we’ll look at whether to tap the local (market) or we can also look at other options like EMTN. It can be in the second half (this year) or early next year,” he said.
To fund its capital expenditures this year, SM Prime recently raised P25 billion from a fixed rate bond offer.
The issuance is part of SM Prime’s P100-billion shelf registration of fixed rate bonds approved by the Securities and Exchange Commission last May 23.
Ong said the bond offering was met with strong demand, resulting in a three-fold oversubscription.
The bonds were listed at Philippine Dealing & Exchange Corp. yesterday.
“We take immense pride in celebrating another significant achievement, the successful listing of SM Prime’s fixed rate retail bonds Series V, W and X. And these bonds which are due in the years 2027, 2029 and 2031, respectively, have been met with overwhelming demand from the investing public,” Ong said.
The bonds were rated PRS Aaa, the highest rating assigned by Philippine Rating Services Corp.
“The highest credit rating of PRS Aaa with s Stable Outlook as awarded to us by the Philippine Rating Services Corp. is a further endorsement of our financial strength and our ability to deliver on our promises,” he said.
After the recent opening of SM City Caloocan, SM Prime is scheduled to open three additional new malls this year, SM City J Mall in Cebu, SM City San Fernando, La Union and SM City Laoag.
The company is likewise making significant progress in its ongoing reclamation project in Pasay City.
SM Smart City is envisioned to be a mixed-use development similar to the success of the Mall of Asia reclamation project.
“As we embark on our next chapter of the journey, we reaffirm our commitment to be a catalyst for economic growth, delivering innovative and sustainable lifestyle cities and enriching the quality of lives of millions of people across the Philippines,” Ong said.