By Iris Gonzales (The Philippine Star) |
Updated May 23, 2016 - 12:00am
MANILA, Philippines – Two property
developers are planning to issue this year another tranche of homestarter
bonds, an innovative instrument that allows retail investors to build up funds
for full or partial down payment they can use to acquire units in the future.
Vista Land & Lifescapes Inc. and
Ayala Land Inc. (ALI), both listed on the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE), are
eyeing to issue the bonds in the second half, officials said in separate
interviews.
“We intend to do another tranche of
(the) Homebuilder bonds,” said Manuel Paolo Villar, Vista Land president and
chief executive officer.
Villar said the bonds may have a tenor
of five years and may be a combination of one time payment and the usual
monthly incremental payments.
“We’re seeing if we want to restructure
that,” he said, adding that many investors prefer the one time payment of lump
sum.
VLL has an approval from the Securities
and Exchange Commission for P2.5 billion of Homebuilder Bonds, of which P500
million was already sold in 2012.
Similarly, ALI, the listed property and
mall developer of the Ayala Group, is looking to issue another round of its
pioneering homestarter bonds worth P2 to P3 billion.
In an interview, ALI chief financial
officer Jaime Ysmael said the the company is planning to do that this year.
The instrument enables bondholders to
build up full or partial downpayment to buy a residential unit in the future.
“We’re looking at (another round)
possibly this year,” he said.
With a total amount of P2 to P3 billion,
ALI is looking at issuing a three-year offer.
“It’s not a fund raising activity,”
Ysmael said, adding that it is more to help prospective home buyers raise funds
for a seed money that would help them acquire a residential unit in the future.
The coupon rate may be 3.5 percent to
four percent, same as in previous rounds of homestarter bonds.
“The rate and terms will be almost the
same,” he said.
For a three-year instrument, Ysmael said
a 3.5 to four percent rate is attractive enough.
ALI first launched the innovative
instrument in 2006, making it the first property company to issue such types of
bonds.
It has been issuing the bonds regularly,
saying that it has been an effective savings instrument for many bondholders.
In the past, eligible investors
including the targeted retail investors, can buy a minimum of P50,000 worth of
the bonds and in multiples of P5,000 or P10,000 thereafter.
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