SL Agritech plans R1.5-B commercial paper float

SL Agritech Corporation (SL Agritech), a leading producer of hybrid rice seeds and premium rice in the Philippines, is planning to raise R1.5 bilion through the issuance of commercial papers.

In line with this, SL Agritech was assigned an issuer rating of PRS Aa (corp.) by Philippine Rating Services Corporation (PhilRatings).

A company rated PRS Aa (corp.) differs from the highestrated (PRS Aaa) corporates only to a small degree, and has a strong capacity to meet its financial commitments relative to that of other Philippine corporates.

In arriving at the rating, PhilRatings considered SL Agritech’s leading position in the Philippine rice industry, its positive growth prospects as supported by the introduction of new products and international expansion, and its sustained profitability.

SL Agritech’s operations are divided into two major business segments — the production of hybrid rice seeds and the production of premium rice.

It is the largest local hybrid rice seed producer in the Philippines. SL-8H, SL Agritech’s flagship product, is estimated to have an 80 percent market share.

In an effort to capture a larger market share, SL Agritech recently introduced two new hybrid rice seed varieties, the SL-12H and the SL-18H. These varieties, however, are still on limited distribution, taking into account on-going external adaptability testing.

Although SL Agritech maintained that it would continue to prioritize serving the domestic market, the firm will, at the same time, explore opportunities for international business expansion, particularly in India and China, two of the largest rice markets in the world.

SL Agritech has already started to export to neighboring countries such as Indonesia, Vietnam and Bangladesh.