Posted on 08:42 PM, April 06, 2010 [ Businessworld Online ]
THE HOME Guaranty Corporation (HGC) has reset its bond sale after it could not get the necessary regulatory approvals in time.
HGC President Gonzalo Benjamin A. Bongolan told reporters yesterday the state housing agency’s sale of P5.5 billion in seven-year bonds would now take place within the second quarter, instead of this month.
The planned bond issue, Mr. Bongolan said, still needs approval from the Department of Finance (DoF), the Monetary Board of the central bank and the Office of the President before it could take place.
The bond issue would enjoy a national government guarantee.
“We hope it can be done before the end of the second quarter,” he said.
The issue size, Mr. Bongolan added, may be reduced depending on the amount approved by the authorities. The DoF, he said, wanted the issue size reduced to P2.5 billion.
Proceeds of the bond sale would be used to refinance HGC’s maturing obligations totaling P3 billion and to help finance its operations.
The last time the HGC issued bonds was in 2006 when it raised P12 billion from the sale of seven-year bonds for its requirements for low-cost housing projects.
The HGC, a government-owned and controlled corporation, was created in 2000 through Republic Act No. 8763. It provides guarantees against credit risks in housing, covering both housing loans of home buyers and those of property developers. -- L. D Desiderio
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