First Metro lists P7B worth of corporate bonds on PDEx

First Metro Investment Corp., the investment banking arm of the Metrobank group, listed on Wednesday morning P7 billion worth of corporate bonds on local fixed income exchange Philippine Dealing and Exchange Corp. (PDEx).

The issuance is composed of P2 billion in seven-year bonds with an interest rate of 5.75 percent a year and P4 billion in five-year bonds carrying an interest rate of 5.5 percent a year. The fixed rate FMIC corporate bonds will fall due in November 2017 and August 2019.

The First Metro bonds were more than 40 percent oversubscribed, driving up the issue size to P7 billion from the original size of P5 billion.

“It generated interest from banks, foundations, insurance and trust companies, retirement and mutual funds, corporations, high-net-worth individuals and retail buyers,” FMIC president Roberto Juanchito Dispo said in a statement.

“The biggest demand came from retail investors, as 65 percent of the bonds were sold to them through the trust departments of 11 banks that participated in the debt sale,” he said.

The bonds qualified for exemption from registration under the Securities Regulation Code.

FMIC is the first investment house to have its debt listed on PDEx, debuting in December 2011 with the listing of the first fully principal-covered corporate bond issue secured by government securities, which was structured for listing and public distribution.

Standard Chartered Bank is the sole bookrunner and underwriter for this transaction.—Doris C. Dumlao