MANILA – SM Prime Holdings Inc. (SM Prime) has set the interest rates for its peso-denominated Series M, 2.5-year retail bond at 2.4565 percent due in 2023, and Series N, 5-year retail bond at 3.8547 percent due in 2026.
SM Prime issued an aggregate principal amount of PHP5 billion of the Series M and N bonds, with oversubscription option of an additional PHP5 billion.
“The proceeds of the retail bonds will allow SM Prime to continue its expansion plans in its core business, which will further drive the company’s growth,” SM Prime chief finance officer John Nai Peng Ong said in a statement Tuesday.
The retail bonds are offered by SM Prime to investors through underwriters from Jan. 25 to 29 following the receipt of the Permit to Sell from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
The retail bonds are set to be issued on Feb. 5, 2021.
The proposed issuance is the second drawdown from SM Prime’s PHP100-billion debt securities program under shelf registration registered with the SEC in Markets and Securities Regulations Department (MSRD) Order No. 6, Series of 2020.
Similar to its previous bond issues, the SM Prime Series M and N bonds have been rated PRS Aaa by Philippine Rating Services Corporation (PhilRatings). A rating of PRS Aaa is the highest rating assigned by PhilRatings.This rating is given to long-term debt securities with the smallest degree of investment risk. This also indicates SM Prime’s strong capability to meet its financial commitment.
The SM Prime bonds’ joint issue managers are BDO Capital & Investment Corporation and China Bank Capital Corporation, which are also acting as joint lead underwriters together with BPI Capital, First Metro Investment Corporation, and SB Capital Investment Corporation. (PR)
