Sy-led BDO Unibank Inc. has cut short the offer period for its third peso-denominated Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Sustainability Bond issue following strong demand from both retail and institutional investors.
In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE), the bank said it decided to close the offer period early, on July 16, 2024, even though it was originally set to run from July 8 to 19, 2024.
The latest ASEAN Sustainability Bonds have a tenor of 1.5 years and a coupon rate of 6.325 percent per annum. They will be issued, settled, and listed on July 24, 2024.
The net proceeds of the issuance are intended to finance and/or refinance eligible assets as defined in the Bank’s Sustainable Finance Framework and diversify the Bank’s funding sources.
ING Bank N.V., Manila Branch was the Sole Arranger, while BDO and ING were the Selling Agents. BDO Capital & Investment Corporation was the Financial Advisor.
BDO said earlier that it plans to raise a minimum of P5 billion from its third peso-denominated fixed-rate ASEAN sustainability bonds offering which marks another significant step in the bank’s commitment to sustainability.
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) confirmed that the proposed issuance complies with the ASEAN Sustainability Bond Standards and the SEC ASEAN Sustainability Bond Circular.
"This marks the Bank’s third Peso-denominated Sustainability Bond following a P52.7 billion issue in January 2022 and P63.3 billion issue in January 2024," BDO said.
Last January, BDO upsized its second ASEAN Sustainability Bond issue by more than 12 times to raise P63.3 billion on the back of strong demand from retail and institutional investors.
The bank said the original P5 billion offering saw a rapid build-up in orders resulting in the shortening of the offer period by a week to Jan. 16, 2024.
This is the bank’s largest single issuance, surpassing its first ASEAN Sustainability Bonds issue, which amounted to P52.7 billion, in January 2022.
The peso-denominated sustainability bonds bear a coupon rate of 6.025 percent and are due in 1.5 years. The issue, settlement, and listing date is on Jan. 29, 2024.
The net proceeds of the issuance are intended to diversify the Bank’s funding sources, and finance or refinance eligible assets as defined in the Bank’s Sustainable Finance Framework.
The P52.7 billion BDO raised in 2022 was more than 10 times the original offer of P5 billion due to very strong demand from retail and institutional investors.