The Securities and Exchange Commission is optimistic about the recovery of the Philippine capital market as companies continue with their planned fund-raising activities amid the new coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
The SEC said in a statement over the weekend investors appetite from recent bond offerings from several companies remained strong despite the current market environment.
“We are optimistic that the Philippine capital market will make a strong recovery from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic,” said SEC chairperson Emilio Aquino.
“We take the success of recent fundraising activities as one indication of the investing public’s continued confidence in the strength and resilience of our corporate sector, capital market and economy as a whole, especially with the reinforcements coming from the government,” Aquino added.
Aboitiz Power Corp. recently announced plans to proceed with the issuance of the fourth tranche of its P30-billion, fixed-rate bonds under a shelf registration with the SEC.
The power generation and distribution company looks to issue P9.55 billion worth of fixed-rate retail bonds within the quarter or the next.
Several companies that recently completed their public offerings as the country entered a state of public health emergency also received positive response from investors.
Bank of the Philippine Islands on March 27 announced the issuance of P33.9 billion worth of bonds, with a tenor of 1.5 years and an interest rate of 4.05 percent yearly.
Strong investor demand allowed the bank to increase the P5-billion base offer more than six times and end the offer period 11 days ahead of the March 17 schedule.
SM Prime Holdings Inc. issued bonds worth P15 billion on March 25. The public offering, which ran from March 2 to 13, comprised of five- and seven-year bonds with 4.8643 percent and 5.0583 percent in annual interest, respectively.
The bond offering by Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. was oversubscribed twice after running for only three days and closing ahead of its March 27 schedule.
The bank raised P7.05 billion on April 7 from the issuance and listing of two-year bonds carrying a coupon of 4.848 percent per annum. The bonds form part of the bank’s P100-billion bond and commercial paper program.
“COVID-19 has killed thousands, disrupted businesses and livelihoods, and slowed down economies. In these trying times, ensuring that the capital market continues to operate efficiently and reliably becomes as crucial as ever,” Aquino said.
