BDO’s P5-B bonds offered until Jan. 19
BDO Unibank, Inc. has returned to the debt market, eyeing at least P5 billion to expand its sustainable finance capacity.
The Sy family-led bank told the local bourse on Wednesday that it has rolled out its fifth Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) peso-denominated sustainability bonds.
This came after a successful P286.7-billion funds raised across its four prior such offerings since January 2022.
According to the firm, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) confirmed that the proposed issuance complies with the requirements set forth under the Asean Sustainability Bond Standards and the SEC Asean Sustainability Bond Circular.
“The net proceeds will be used to support the bank’s lending activities and diversify funding sources and will be used and/or allocated by the Bank to finance and/or refinance eligible assets as defined in the Bank’s Sustainable Finance Framework,” BDO said.
The projects would include those related to renewable energy, green buildings and pollution prevention, among others.
The notes have a tenor of three years and carry a rate of 5.7125 percent per year. It requires a minimum investment of P500,000, with additional placements in P100,000 increments.
The offer period runs from Jan. 7 to Jan. 19.
BDO tapped Standard Chartered Bank as the sole arranger for this new peso-denominated fixed-rate sustainability bond issuance.
BDO Unibank and Standard Chartered Bank act as the selling agents, while BDO Capital & Investment Corp. serves as the financial advisor.
The group’s sustainability bond issuances have been seeing strong demand from both retail and institutional investors.
Last July alone, BDO raised P115 billion, described as the single largest debt paper issuance seen in corporate Philippines.
The bank saw an improvement in its bottom line in the first three quarters of last year as its lending operations expanded, reaching P3.5 trillion. Its earnings went up 4 percent to P63.1 billion, its highest nine-month figure.
