September 5, 2019 | 12:03 am [ bworldonline.com ]
BANK OF THE Philippine Islands will issue $300 million in green bonds as part of its medium-term note program. — BW FILE PHOTO
BANK OF THE Philippine Islands (BPI) will issue $300-million in ASEAN green bonds, which will be part of its medium-term note (MTN) program.
The bank said in a disclosure on Wednesday that it priced the issue at 99.641 with a re-offer yield of 2.577% on Sept. 3.
The senior unsecured fixed-rate bonds, which will mature by Sept. 10, 2024, will carry a coupon of 2.5% per annum to be paid semiannually.
The bank said the proceeds from the issuance will be used to fund green projects eligible under BPI’s Green Finance Framework.
BPI said the offering was over four times oversubscribed, with the order book allocated mostly to Asia and the rest to Europe.
“By investor type, more than half of the offering was allocated to asset managers and fund managers, around one-third to banks, financial institutions and private banks, and the remainder to insurance companies, pension funds and other investors,” BPI said in the statement.
The transaction is expected to be settled on Sept. 10. The bonds will be listed on the Singapore Exchange.
This issuance is another drawdown from its $2-billion MTN program, the bank said.
BPI Capital Corp. is the sole global coordinator for the transaction. Meanwhile, BPI Capital, Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Citigroup, Credit Suisse, Mizuho Securities and UBS are the joint lead managers and bookrunners.
The bank last Friday said it will issue its first two-year, 100-million Swiss franc-denominated, negative-yielding green bond, proceeds of which will be used to fund environmental projects also under its Green Finance Framework.
It priced on Aug. 29 its first ASEAN green bond amounting to 100 million Swiss francs at 100.040% with a re-offer yield of -0.02%.
This is the first Swiss franc-dominated issue out of the Philippines carrying an annual coupon rate of 0.00%.
The bonds will be issued on Sept. 24 and are due on Sept. 24, 2021.
The Swiss franc-denominated issue will also be drawn from its MTN program.
BPI’s Green Finance Framework was launched in June, providing guidelines for any green bonds or loans issued by the bank including the evaluation and selection of eligible projects, management of proceeds, and reporting, among others.
The lender established its $2-billion medium-term note program in June last year.
In its maiden drawdown from the MTN, BPI raised $600 million in August last year via five-year senior unsecured fixed-rate bonds quoted at 4.25%.
The Ayala-led lender posted a net income of P7.01 billion in the second quarter, up 46.8% from a year ago.
BPI shares closed at P87.75 apiece on Wednesday, gaining 75 centavos or 0.86%.
________________________________________
