FLI raising P10B in new bid to tap debt market

Gotianun-led Filinvest Land Inc. (FLI) is returning to the local debt market to raise as much as P10 billion from the public offering of four- and six-year bonds, mostly to retire maturing debt and fund expansion programs as the domestic economy reopens from pandemic-induced lockdowns.

The bonds due 2025 carry an interest rate of 4.5030 percent per annum, while the bonds due 2027 carry a yield of 5.2579 percent per annum, FLI disclosed to the Philippine Stock Exchange on Thursday.

This latest bond offering will be the second tranche carved out of its P30-billion bond shelf registration approved by the Securities and Exchange Commission last year. An initial P8.1 billion was already issued last year from this shelf registration, which gives FLI leeway to issue the bonds within a three-year time horizon.

For this latest offering, FLI has mandated BDO Capital & Investment Corp., BPI Capital Corp., China Bank Capital Corp., East West Banking Corp., First Metro Investment Corp., RCBC Capital Corp. and SB Capital Investment Corp. as joint lead underwriters and bookrunners for the offering.

There is no specific offering date as of press time, but the underwriters expect to complete the bond deal before Christmas.

Based on FLI’s prospectus, about P5.3 billion of the net proceeds would be used to repay maturing bonds, which have a coupon rate of 5.4 percent per annum, this December.

The rest will be used for capital outlays for residential, mixed-used estate and office developments alongside new land acquisitions.

FLI recorded a net income attributable to equity holders of the parent company of P3.2 billion at end-September, up 21 percent compared to the same period last year.