MANILA, Philippines - SM Investments Corp. led Philippine corporates in the issuance of the first corporate bond out of the Philippines in 2009. Citi, together with Barclays Capital, acted as Joint Lead Manager and Joint Bookrunner in the issuance of the US$500million 5-year bond offering with a 6% coupon. It is the largest bond ever issued by SM Investments into the US Dollar bond market and is the largest to be raised by a Philippine corporation since the Asian financial crisis in 1997.
Citi Country Officer Sanjiv Vohra said: “The strong local and regional demand is testimony to the markets’ resurging confidence and recognition of a good name. We are proud to have brought SMIC back to the market. The success of the issue certainly bodes well for future issues.” SM president Harley Sy commenting on the transaction said: “We are very pleased with the outcome of the issue, which was successfully executed with the tightest pricing ever achieved by a Philippine corporate. This made our return to the bond market well timed to capture investor demand.”
SM Investments is an investment holding company and one of the largest conglomerates in the Philippines with businesses in shopping mall development, retail merchandising through its department stores, supermarkets, hypermarkets and wholesale operations, banking and financial services, real estate development, hotels and entertainment.