SM Prime plans P25B bond offer

Photo from smprime.com

MANILA, Philippines–Local property giant SM Prime Holdings Inc. has obtained approval from its board to raise as much as P25 billion from a peso-denominated bond offering to the retail market.

The bonds will be offered with tenors of five years and 6 months, seven and/or 10 years, SM Prime said in a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange on Monday.

“The proceeds of the bonds will be used to finance capital expenditures for the expansion of the company’s malls, offices and hotel operations,” the disclosure said.

The board of directors also authorized the management to negotiate and finalize the terms and conditions, including pricing, tenor and any increase in issuance amount, and execute any and all documents necessary, to implement the retail bond issue.

This offering is part of SM Prime’s earlier announced plans to raise around $740 million through a mix of peso and US dollar borrowings this year to fund its expansion here and in China.

Apart from the peso bond issuance, Lim said, SM Prime is also looking to raise $300 million from a syndication of US dollar debt to fund landbanking and mall development in China.

All told, SM Prime has earmarked about P70 billion for capital spending this year.