DoubleDragon set to hold retail bond offering

Property developer DoubleDragon Properties Corp. plans to raise about P10 billion from a fresh retail bond offering later this year to cover the remaining capital outlays needed to achieve its target leasing portfolio by 2020.

DoubleDragon is also on track to breaching its P1-billion net profit target for this year from P623 million (including minority interest) last year, company co-chair Edgar Sia II told reporters after the company’s stockholders meeting.

By 2020, DoubleDragon aims to build one million square meters of leasable space, the bulk of which will come from a chain of 100 community malls under the “CityMalls” brand.  These malls have a footprint of 5,000 to 10,000 square meters and are mostly built in second- and third-tier cities.

To date, the company has secured 51 prime commercial sites or more than half of the lots needed for the rollout of CityMalls as well as office developments DD Meridian Park and Jollibee Tower.  Its landbank has so far reached 65 hectares, accounting for two-thirds of its development requirement through 2020.

“We might do a retail bond towards the end of the year for our capex (capital expenditure) requirements for next year,” Sia said.

“That would most likely be the last fund raising in relation with our plan to have one million square meters of leasable space. If we raise more after that, that will be for future projects,” he said.

Since going public in 2014, DoubleDragon has raised P15.4 billion from the issuance of corporate notes and P10 billion in equity through the issuance of preferred shares.

The Philippine Stock Exchange has approved the listing of the preferred shares on July 26.

By the time DoubleDragon hits its target commercial property portfolio by 2020, net profit is seen rising to P4.8 billion.

Asked about rising competition in the community mall development space, Sia said: “We think we are still ahead in terms of execution.”

Sia said his company had two advantages: familiarity with the local areas and actual business presence in those cities.

“I think we still have a comfortable gap over the other players,” Sia said.

DoubleDragon is also seen to benefit from the thrust of newly elected President Duterte—the first president to hail from Mindanao—to develop the countryside.