AYALA Land Inc. expects to close this week a P14-billion borrowing from the International Finance Corp. (IFC) that will finance the company’s sustainability push.
Augusto Bengzon, Ayala Land chief finance officer, said the sustainability bond will likely be closed in the next 48 hours.
This comes after the company raised P6 billion through the sales of the Asean sustainability bond, which it listed in the Philippine Dealing and Exchange Corp. Thursday.
Bengzon said the IFC sustainability bond issue will complete the firm’s plan to raise P20 billion from sustainability-linked securities.
“What we’re doing is dual markets. First is the capital market side (Asean bond offering) or public market, and the other…is on the private loan market side. We’re hoping to close another first for Ayala
Land say the next 24 to 48 hours to make this a really comprehensive first-time sustainability-linked offering for us,” he said.
“IFC is calling it a bond… We’re calling it a loan. They’re calling it a bond which they will take down in its entirety but they don’t intend to sell it. So, we’re looking to package it as a sustainability-linked (instrument)… If they classify it as a bond on their side, maybe that’s what we will submit to the SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission),” he added.
Bengzon said this is the first time the company is transacting with the IFC.
“This is the first time we (have) come to terms and signed on the dotted line. The big difference is they’re quite optimistic about the prospects of the Philippines. Secondly, they’re willing to extend financing to us in local currency. In the past, they want to extend it in US dollars, which we have no need for because we want to keep our balance sheet hedged naturally so we prefer local currency financing,” Bengzon said.
