SM Investments to sell bonds for expansion

MANILA, Philippines - SM Investments Corp. (SMIC), the Sy family’s holding company, will sell bonds and use the proceeds to bankroll its expansion projects. SMIC will issue fixed-rate bonds of up to P10 billion, the company said in a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE). It has already appointed BDO Capital and Investment Corp. as lead underwriter and issue manager, the company said. Besides expansion projects of the holding company and its subsidiaries, proceeds will also be allotted for “general corporate purposes," the company said. Pricing, terms, conditions, as well as the size of the offering will soon be decided by the company’s management. SMIC’s earnings reached P140 billion last year, 15.6 percent higher than the previous year. The income hike was brought about by a 19 percent rise in revenue that was boosted by retail and real-estate sales. The company’s retail business grew by 17 percent to P114.8 billion while real-estate operations fetched P3.8 billion, a 91 percent hike. SMIC last year also reported extraordinary gains from the sale of San Miguel Corp. shares, which more than offset losses as some of its investments were marked to market. The holding company’s core businesses include retail merchandising, shopping malls, banking and financial services, and property. Shares of SMIC rose P2.00 to P200 during Friday’s trading at the PSE. - GMANews.TV