STATE-OWNED Land Bank of the Philippines (LandBank) and the Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) are preparing to return to the capital markets later this year to support lending programs and projects, top officials said.
LandBank President and CEO Lynette Ortiz told reporters on Tuesday that they were looking at another P50-billion bond offering, “perhaps toward the end of the year,” given the success of a recent sustainability bond sale.
“This year, hopefully, we get to do it another time, but it really depends on what we see in the pipeline,” she added.
DBP President and CEO Michael de Jesus, meanwhile, also told reporters that they were planning bond issuances this year to support funding requirements.
“We have planned more bond issuances this year,” he said.
“We’re looking at about P15 to P20 billion, maybe in the second half.”
Last December, DBP Executive Vice President Carel Halog said the bank was interested in borrowing P10 billion to P50 billion and issue a bond with a medium-term tenor.
DBP previously raised P8.25 billion via a dual-tranche, peso-denominated bond offering last July.
LandBank’s Agriculture, Sustainability, Environment and Socioeconomic Development (Asenso) bonds, meanwhile, had raised P50 billion and went beyond the bank’s original P30-billion target.
The securities, which came in two tranches with tenors of 1.5 years and three years, were listed last week.
Ortiz said the bank was open to offering longer maturities and added that the final decision would hinge on investor demand and overall market conditions.
“For the second one, we’ll see. We need to listen to what investors also need,” she said.
“If it is for project finance, then hopefully it will be a bit longer than three years, but it really depends on the market.”
Ortiz said the next issuance could take place toward the latter part of the year, possibly around the end of the third quarter or early in the fourth quarter.
While no firm target size has been set, she said LandBank was considering another P50-billion offering given the strong investor response to the Asenso bonds.
“If we could raise the same size again, why not?” Ortiz said.