JG Summit Holdings Inc., the listed flagship firm of taipan John Gokongwei, raised $750 million from an offshore bond deal overnight, the largest international private corporate bond issue by a Philippine company.
In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange on Thursday, JG Summit said the bonds were issued by wholly-owned offshore unit JGSH Philippines Ltd. And were priced at 4.375 percent, the lowest yield ever for a 10-year US dollar-denominated bond.
Parent JG Summit has placed it guarantee on the senior unsecured notes due 2023.
Proceeds from the offering will be used for general corporate purposes.
Citigroup, Credit Suisse, and HSBC were the joint lead managers and bookrunners for the bond float.
JG Summit, which has a market capitalization of P257.61 billion, wants to enlarge its presence overseas with plans to acquire food and beverage firms within the ASEAN region and real estate properties across the globe to ensure a steady stream of projects.
The group, through its 36.1-percent controlling interest in United Industrial Corp. Ltd., has exposures in Singapore and China’s real estate markets – particularly in Chengdu, Tianjin, Shanghai, and Beijing.
United Industrial holds a portfolio of 2.2 million square feet of office space and a million square feet of retail space in Singapore.
Its popular commercial landmarks include the UIC building, Singapore Land Tower, SGX Centre, The Gateway, Stamford Court, Marina Square, a massive shopping and hotel complex in the Marina Bay, and West Mall, a suburban shopping complex.
JG Summit, through food and beverage unit Universal Robina Corp. is looking at expanding in Asia by setting up shop in Myanmar. Universal Robina expects international operations to grow as big as its domestic business in five years.
From a 29-percent contribution to the company's food group sales in 2003, URC overseas operations accounted for 39 percent of total sales last year.
URC products are currently available in Thailand, China, Vietnam, Indonesia and Malaysia. — VS, GMA News
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