Chinabank makes P30B as investors gobble firm’s maiden bond offering

Sy family-led China Banking Corp. has raised P30 billion from a local bond market debut, which was upsized to accommodate brisk demand from investors.

The offering was one of the single largest corporate bond issuances in the local market to-date, thus seen by the bank as a testament to its strong placement capabilities, client support and distribution reach.

The Chinabank bonds, due January 2021 and carrying an annual interest rate of 5.7 percent per annum, were listed on the Philippine Dealing & Exchange Corp. on Wednesday.

“We are very grateful for the overwhelming market response which reflects our clients’ confidence in Chinabank’s fundamental strength and future prospects,” Chinabank president William Whang said in a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange.

Whang said the issue was oversubscribed, prompting the bank to upsize the amount to P30 billion from P5 billion originally.

This bond issue forms part of Chinabank’s planned P75-billion fundraising program for the next three years to support its expansion and strategic initiatives.

Like many of its local peers, tapping the bond market allows Chinabank to diversify its funding base and reduce reliance on volatile deposits.

Chinabank is also looking at another fundraising via the issuance of up to P20 billion worth of peso-denominated long-term negotiable certificates of deposit in the fourth quarter of the year. —DORIS DUMLAO-ABADILLA