SMC plans P10-B bond offering

Conglomerate San Miguel Corp. (SMC) plans to raise as much as P10 billion from a fresh offering of local bonds with a likely tenor of five years.

In a brief chat on the sidelines of the UN Global Compact-Global Reporting Initiative, SMC senior vice president Sergio Edeza said the conglomerate was set to meet with qualified investors on Thursday to discuss the proposed bond foray.

Edeza said proceeds from the proposed P10-billion bond float would be used to cover some maturing debt.

The offering is also part of SMC’s existing P60-billion bond shelf registration approved by the Securities and Exchange Commission in March. SMC has yet to file a prospectus for this tranche.

In June, SMC availed itself of a P16-billion fixed-rate, seven-year term loan for general corporate purposes.

In the first semester of 2019, the SMC group paid P11.25 billion of maturing obligations funded by cash generated from operations, according to the company’s regulatory filing.

The infrastructure business, Petron Corp. and energy business paid a total of P4.27 billion, P4.07 billion and P2.19 billion, respectively, of their maturing long-term debt in the first six months. San Miguel Yamamura Packaging Corp., Can Asia Inc. and San Miguel Yamamura Asia Corp. paid a total amount of P714 million of their maturing long-term debt.

Meanwhile, Edeza said SMC was still waiting for the official notice of award for its P735.6-billion proposed brand-new international airport in Bulacan.

The SMC will raise funds for airport construction in stages and in line with the construction progress, he said.