Investor appetite prompts PLDT to sell more notes

MANILA, Philippines - The Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT), the country’s largest telecommunications firm, said it decided to sell more debt – in the form of five-, seven-, and ten-year fixed rate notes (FXNs) – owing to strong investor appetite. Instead of selling P3 billion worth of notes as originally planned, PLDT “decided to raise the issue amount to P5 billion," the company said in a press statement disclosed to the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE). Proceeds from the facility will be used to finance capital expenditures, the same statement said. The company formally executed its notes facility agreement on Thursday with First Metro Investment Corp (FMIC). FMIC, the investment banking arm of Metropolitan Bank and Trust Co., the Philippines’ largest lender, was chosen as the sole arranger of the deal. Seventeen financial institutions, including a mix of insurance companies, Philippine banks, and provident funds, participated in the transaction, the statement said. “The FXNs oversubscription is a testament to the strength of the PLDT name. Amidst these very challenging times and as flight to quality remains to be an investor’s utmost concern, this PLDT deal which raised P5 billion in record time is a success by any measure. The mix of participating lenders, and the fact that we saw equally strong interest in the longer tenor with 10-year maturity comparable to the shorter tenors, affirms high investor confidence in PLDT’s future prospects," FMIC President Francisco C. Sebastian said. For its part, PLDT chairman Manuel V. Pangilinan said that he was pleased over “the enthusiastic response to our fixed rate notes issue, despite the global credit tightening and an increased demand for local funds to serve the requirements of other Philippine corporates." PLDT is “equally pleased that the peso debt market is proving to be a reliable funding source for the PLDT Group during this period, as evidenced by this issue as well as the equally successful P5 billion notes issue of our subsidiary, Smart Communications, Inc., last December 2008," Pangilinan added. Shares of PLDT rose by P10.00 to P2,190 during Thursday’s trading at the PSE. - GMANews.TV