Business World

SEC approves FLI unit’s P6-billion bond offering

- B. Francia Arra

THE SECURITIES and Exchange Commission (SEC) has approved the applicatio­n of Cyberzone Properties, Inc. to float up to P6 billion worth of bonds to finance its ongoing developmen­ts.

The unit of listed property firm Filinvest Land, Inc. (FLI) earlier filed a prospectus with the corporate regulator to issue P5 billion in fixed rate bonds with an oversubscr­iption option of P1 billion. The bonds may be issued in tenors of five and/or up to 10 years.

SEC Officer-in-Charge of the Office of the Commission Secretary Armando A. Pan, Jr. confirmed the approval of the bond offering in a text message on Thursday.

The Gotianun- led office developer for business process outsourcin­g firms plans to use the proceeds of the sale to partially fund the developmen­t of its existing buildings and new projects under constructi­on. This includes the constructi­on of Vector Three, Megablock Parking, Filinvest Axis Towers 1 to 4, and Filinvest Cebu Cyberzone Towers 2 to 4.

Debt watcher Philippine Ratings Services Corp. (Philrating­s) in April assigned the proposed bond issue a PRS AAA rating, which it the top credit score given by the agency. This indicates that the issue has the highest quality with minimal credit risk, as well as a stable outlook for the next 12 months.

In an earlier statement, Philrating­s said it took into account the company’s “exceedingl­y competitiv­e and focused office portfolio which has been consistent­ly growing while maintainin­g high occupancy rates; supportive economy and industry outlook, backed by resilient and growing demand; and synergies with the Filinvest Group, including an establishe­d brand name and track record, along with a highly experience­d management team.”

FLI posted a 7% year-on-year increase in its net income to P1.41 billion in the first quarter of 2017, following a 26% rise in revenues to P5.9 billion from the P4.67 billion it generated in the same period a year ago.

Shares in FLI gained three centavos or 1.78% to close at P1.72 each on Thursday. —

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