Filinvest unit raises P6 B from bond offering

MANILA, Philippines -   Cyberzone Properties Inc. (CPI) has successfully raised P6 billion from the issuance of fixed rate bonds to fund its capital expenditure requirements for the second half.

The company listed yesterday its 5.5 year fixed rate bonds at the Philippine Dealing Exchange Corp., the country’s fixed income exchange.

CPI, a wholly owned subsidiary of FIlinvest Land Inc., owns and manages office buildings which cater mainly to technology based companies including those engaged in business process outsourcing and knowledge process outsourcing.

Investors gobbled up the bonds with total demand reaching 2.65 times the base size of P5 billion approved for the public offering.

CPI president Joseph Yap said due to the strong demand, the company opted to exercise the authorized oversubscription option to a maximum of P1 billion, allowing CPI to issue P6 billion worth of bonds.

“The proceeds from this bond issue will be used to finance CPI’s aggressive build-up program involving the construction and operation of five additional buildings in Northgate CUberzone in Filinvest City, Alabang and three new towers in Cuberzone Cebu in Lahug, Cebu City in the next three years. We continue to be optimistic about the BPO industry and the overall office leasing market,” Yap said.

Local debt watcher Philippine Rating Services Corp. (PhilRatings) assigned the newly issued retail bonds a credit rating of PRS Aaa, the highest rating possible.

The company pegged the interest rate for the 5.5 year bonds at 5.0496 percent per annum.

BDO Capital & Investments, BPI Capital, EastWest Bank, and First Metro Investments Corp. serve as joint issue managers, book runners and lead underwriters while PNB Capital & Investments and SB Capital are the co-lead underwriters for the bond offering.

Yap said the company’s portfolio now consists of 18 operational buildings with 239,823 square meters of GLA.

“This year, we expect three new buildings – Vector Three and Axis Tower One in Northgate Cyberzone Alabang and Tower 2 in Cyberzone Cebu – to be operational. These will add almost 103,000 sqm of GLA or a 43 percent increase,” Yap said.

By 2020, CPI’s total GLA is expected to increase to 493,720 sqm,”  Yap said.

FLI entered the office space leasing industry in 2001 with a specific focus on serving BPO companies.

CPI was able to take advantage of the incentives offered by the government to spur the growth of the BPO sector. It is registered with the PEZA as an Economic Zone Facilities Enterprise, which entitles the company to certain tax benefits and non-fiscal incentives.

As such, the company became one of the first to operate a major BPO-centric lease provider outside Makati, Bonifacio Global City, and Ortigas. Thus, it established Northgate Cyberzone, an 18.7-hectare PEZA-registered IT park in Alabang, Muntinlupa.

Among its clients are Accenture, Convergys, HSBC, Genpact and AIG, some of the most recognized players in the BPO space.