Arthaland seeks to raise P3B from green bond offer

Boutique property developer Arthaland Corp. launched Wednesday a pioneering bond offering worth as much as P3 billion, raising fresh funds for its growing portfolio of green developments.

The five-year green bonds due 2025 were priced to yield 6.3517 percent per annum, based on the certificate of permit to sell issued by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

“We are very pleased with the overwhelming positive response toward our green projects. With this offer, Arthaland will be the first non-bank corporate issuer of SEC-registered Asean green bonds in the Philippines. This demonstrates our unwavering commitment to sustainability,” said Arthaland president Jaime Gonzalez. Green bonds are IOUs used to raise funds for projects with clear environmental benefits.

The base offer is worth P2 billion but Arthaland has the option to upsize by another P1 billion in case of excess demand.

Arthaland executive vice president and treasurer Leonardo Arthur Po said the offering would run from Jan. 22 to 28. The bonds will be listed on the local fixed income platform on Feb. 6.

The joint lead underwriters and joint book runners are BDO Capital & Investment Corp. and ING while PNB Capital & Investment Corp. is colead manager.

The offer is part of Arthaland’s P6 billion worth of green bonds under shelf registration at the SEC. This means that after this tranche, the property developer can return to the bond market within a three-year period.

Green bonds are similar to traditional bonds in terms of deal structure, but they have different requirements for reporting, auditing and proceeds allocations.

Arthaland, a partnership between the Po and Gonzales families, is building a portfolio worth P60 billion in line with its goal of scaling up its footprint by five times over a five-year period. This will translate to a development portfolio with a gross floor area of at least 500,000 square meters by 2024. —DORIS DUMLAO-ABADILLA