SMC sets timetable for P30-B bond offer

DIVERSIFIED conglomerate San Miguel Corp. (SMC) has set the listing of its P30-billion fixed rate bond issuance this March.

In an investors’ briefing in Mandaluyong on Tuesday, China Bank Capital Corp. President Ryan Martin L. Tapia said the issuance will run from March 2 to 8, with listing at the Philippine Dealing and Exchange Corp. on March 15. The offer will have a base size of P20 billion and over-allotment option of up to P10 billion,

Prior to this, the company will announce the interest rate for the bonds on March 1, with final allocation to be disclosed on the same date.

Included in the offer are five-year series E bonds due 2023, seven- year series F bonds due 2025, and 10-year series G bonds due 2028.

China Bank Capital Corp. is one of seven banks that SMC has engaged to arrange the offer. The others are BDO Capital and Investment Corp., BPI Capital Corp., First Metro Investments Corp., ING Bank, SB Capital Investment Corp., and Standard Chartered Bank.

Local debt watcher Philippine Ratings Services Corp. assigned a Prs AAA rating for the issue — the highest on its credit rating scale — which indicates the issuer has the capacity to meet its financial obligations. The company also gave the issue a stable outlook, meaning the rating is unlikely to change in the next 12 months.

The bond offer is the third tranche of SMC’s shelf registration program registered at the Securities and Exchange Commission worth P60 billion. The company raised P20 billion during the first tranche’s listing last March 1, 2017, and P10 billion from the second tranche last April 7.

The company has been conducting refinancing activities as a hedging mechanism against foreign exchange losses, given expectations on the Philippine peso’s continued depreciation. On Tuesday, the peso was valued at P51.46 against the dollar.

SMC’s attributable profit stood at P20.9 billion in the first nine months of 2017, 19% lower year on year. Revenues, meanwhile, stood at P596.9 billion for the period.

Shares in SMC lost 2.71% or P4 to finish at P143.50 each at the Philippine Stock Exchange on Tuesday. —