By Zinnia B. Dela Peña (The Philippine Star) Updated August 12, 2009 12:00 AM [ philstar.com ]
MANILA, Philippines - The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has approved Robinsons Land Corp.’s proposed additional issuance of P3 billion worth of bonds with an oversubscription option of P2 billion.
The planned bond issue was assigned a rating of PRS Aaa, which means that the issuer’s capacity to meet its financial commitment on the obligations is extremely strong.
Proceeds from the issue will be used to fund the real estate firm’s capital expenditures.
The company initially raised P5 billion from a bond offering, which was more than four times oversubscribed. The bonds carried a yield of 8.5 percent per annum and a tenor of five years and one day.
The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corp. Ltd. (HSBC) and SB Capital Corp. were the joint issue managers while BDO Capital & Investment Corp. BPI Capital Corp., HSBC, and SB Capital were the joint underwriters.
RLC, a member of JG Summit Holdings, Inc., is one of the country’s leading real estate developers in terms of revenues, number of projects and total project size. It is engaged in the development and operation of shopping malls and hotels, and the development of mixed-use properties, office and residential buildings, as well as land and residential housing developments, including socialized housing projects located in key cities and other urban areas nationwide.
RLC is allotting a combined P10 billion in 2010 and 2011 to complete the construction of ongoing and future high-rise residential projects which include the first tower of its joint venture with Security Land located on Ayala Ave., the second tower of Sonata Private Residences in Ortigas Center, the second tower of Trion Towers in Bonifacio Global City, an additional building in Woodsville and the first tower of the Magnolia Residences.
Magnolia Residences is envisioned to be a self-contained community located in a five-hectare property in New Manila.
For fiscal year 2009, RLC has allotted P8.7 billion for its total capital expenditures, 38 percent of which is going to residential buildings, 37.7 percent for commercial centers, 14.4 percent for office buildings, six percent for housing and land development, and 3.9 percent for hotels.
The capex will be funded from existing cash, cash generated from operations, pre-selling and additional borrowings.
RLC is building three more new malls located in Davao, Tacloban, and General Santos, which will increase net leasable area by 71,000 square meters or 10 percent from previous year.
RLC’s shopping mall network will increase to 26 by the end of September this year from the 21 the previous year.
Aside from this, RLC will continue to take advantage of the resilient demand for office space by allotting leasable area for BPOs as needed in its malls. It started construction of Robinsons Cybergate Plaza, which will have 20,000 square meters of net leasable office area.
To cater to a wider section of potential clients, RLC launched a new concept in the hospitality business with its budget Go Hotels, offering affordable and value-for money accommodation. These hotels will rise in RLC’s malls and 24-hour convenience stores.
_____________________________________________________________________________________
