BIZ BUZZ: Yen loans for Ayala soon?
If there’s anything that Ayala Corp.’s 191-year history has taught us, it’s that there is always room for growth and opportunities.
This time, the country’s oldest conglomerate just made some space for yen-denominated loans in the future to help it bankroll other growth initiatives “at competitive rates.”
How so?
Well, just last week, the Japan Credit Rating Agency Ltd. (JCR) assigned an “A-“ foreign currency long-term issuer rating to Ayala, allowing it to stand side by side with the Philippine sovereign rating.
“This is an affirmation of Ayala’s strong credit and further enhances funding sources amid the current market volatilities,” Ayala treasurer Estelito Biacora said in a statement on Monday.
The A- rating with a stable outlook essentially enhances Ayala’s ability to tap credit and capital markets and affirms its capacity to repay debt.
“When we have widened access to capital, we are more able to build businesses that enable people to thrive,” Biacora added.
Ayala’s next-generation leaders gave us a glimpse of the next nine years leading toward the company’s 200th year, and maybe a yen-denominated loan is already somewhere in the blueprint. —Meg J. Adonis
