Megaworld seeks to tap foreign bond market anew

Tycoon Andrew Tan-led property developer Megaworld Corp. is venturing into the overseas bond market for the first time in five years.

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange on Monday, Megaworld said it had hired American investment bank JP Morgan to arrange a series of fixed income investor meetings in Singapore and Hong Kong starting April 3.

“A proposed Regulation S US dollar denominated securities offering may follow, subject to market conditions,” the disclosure said.

Regulation S—often referred to as ‘Reg S’—are bonds or stocks that are issued in the Eurobond market for international investors.

They may not be offered, sold or delivered within the United States.

The securities, if issued, are expected to be unrated by credit rating agencies.

The last time Megaworld tapped the offshore bond market was in 2013, when it raised $250 million through a deal that achieved the lowest yield among 10-year dollar corporate bond deals carved out of the Philippines and cheapest borrowing of this tenor among unrated issues in Southeast Asia.

The 10-year offshore bond issue was then priced at 4.25 percent a year.

During the last 28 years of doing business in the property space, the Megaworld group has built over 660 residential developments, 54 office towers and 15 lifestyle malls in 22 townships and integrated lifestyle communities across the Philippines.

In Fort Bonifacio alone, Megaworld is set to deliver about P30 billion worth of new residential units this year, marking a record-high turnover for the company. —DORIS DUMLAO-ABADILLA