BDO raising at least ₱5 billion to support green financing activities
Nestor V. Tan, President and CEO of BDO Unibank, Inc.
Sy-led top lender BDO Unibank Inc. has started the public offer of the fifth tranche of its peso-denominated fixed-rate sustainability bonds, with a minimum aggregate issue size of ₱5 billion.
The bank said its latest peso-denominated Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) sustainability bond offering comes after it raised a total of ₱286.7 billion from the previous four issuances since January 2022.
The net proceeds will be used to support the bank’s lending activities and diversify funding sources, and will be used or allocated by the bank to finance or refinance eligible assets as defined in its sustainable finance framework.
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has likewise confirmed that the proposed issuance complies with the requirements set forth under the ASEAN sustainability bond standards and the SEC ASEAN sustainability bond circular.
The proposed issuance has a tenor of three years and bears a coupon rate of 5.7125 percent per annum. The minimum investment amount is ₱500,000, with additional increments of ₱100,000 thereafter.
The offer period will run from Jan. 7 to 19, 2026, while the issue, settlement, and listing date will be on Jan. 26.
Standard Chartered Bank (StanChart) is the sole arranger of the proposed issuance, with BDO and StanChart as selling agents, and BDO Capital & Investment Corp. (BDO Capital) as financial adviser.
BDO has consistently raised several times the minimum amount of ₱5 billion in its previous issuances, which had shortened offering periods due to oversubscription.
In July last year, BDO raised ₱115 billion for its fourth peso-denominated ASEAN sustainability bond issue, 23 times oversubscribed against the original offer of ₱5 billion.
The issuance saw robust participation from both retail and institutional investors, prompting the early close of the offer period after only four days.
The bank’s fourth ASEAN sustainability bond issuance had a tenor of 1.5 years and a coupon rate of 5.875 percent per annum.
-edited by James A. Loyola