‘Bigger’ bond issue eyed later this year – NLEX Corp
NLEX Corp. is planning to return to the bond market later this year to raise a portion of the P16 billion needed for the construction of the North Luzon Expressway and South Luzon Expressway ( NLEX- SLEX) connector road. “We do have an intention of coming back to the market and a public bond issuance is one of the options that we will consider,” said
Rodrigo Franco, president of NLEX
Tollways Corp. (MPTC).
“Hopefully, by the latter part of this year, we will go back to the bond market and raise a bigger amount of money, this time to fund … the NLEX-SLEX connector road,” Franco said during the listing of the P6 billion bonds issued by NLEX Corp. at the Philippine Dealing and Exchange Corp. on Wednesday.
The NLEX-SLEX connector road is a P23-billion all-elevated project spanning eight kilometers above the tracks of Philippine National Railway (PNR) from the C3/5th Avenue Interchange in Caloocan City to the Polytechnic University of the Philippines in Sta. Mesa, Manila.
The project is expected to help decongest the worsening gridlock along Epifanio delos Santos Ave.
Franco said initial phases of construction are already underway but the full-blast process will commence early next year.
NLEX Corp. successfully raised P6 billion, inclusive of a P2-billion overallotment portion, from the first tranche of its P25- billion fixed-rate bond program under shelf registration with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Proceeds of the bond issue will be used for the construction of the P6.6-billion R-10 Section project, a 2.6-km elevated toll road which will extend the C3 Road exit ramp of Segment 10 to R-10 Road near Port Area, Manila.
The company issued two types
Series A and B, with tenors of seven and 10 years, respectively. Series A bonds have an interest rate of 6.6407 percent per annum while Series B will yield 6.9000 percent annually.
Both instruments shall be paid every fourth day of July, October, January and April of the year until such bonds mature.
BDO Capital and Investment Corp. was the issue manager and bookrunner for the transaction, while also acting as joint lead underwriter along with First Metro Investment Corp.