Gotianum-owned Cyberzone to raise P6 B from fixed rate bonds

MANILA, Philippines -  Cyberzone Properties Inc., the Gotianun-owned BPO office space provider, is seeking to raise up to P6 billion from fixed rate bonds to fund its capital expenditure requirements for the second half.

In a prospectus filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Cyberzone, a 100 percent subsidiary of Filinvest Land Inc., said it plans to issue P5 billion in five year bonds plus an oversubscription option of P1 billion.

“Proceeds of the offer shall be used to partially finance its capital expenditure requirements for the third and fourth quarter of 2017 and to partially refinance its existing long-term borrowings,” Cyberzone said in its filing.

The company tapped Eastwest Banking Corp, BDO Capital & Investment Corp., BPI Capital Corp., and First Metro Investment Corp. as joint issue managers, joint book runners and joint lead underwriters.

Cyberzone is one of the largest providers of standard and build-to-suit BPO office spaces in the country with 276,168 square meters in total gross leasable area.

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

Cyberzone 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.

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

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

At present, it enjoys relatively high repeat business from its existing clients with about 90 percent of its current tenants being original tenants who have opted to either renew or extend their respective lease contracts.

As of the end of 2016, most of Cyberzone properties in Alabang and Cebu are fully occupied except Plaz@ B (99 percent occupied), iHub1 (85 percent occupied), Vector Two (86 percent occupied), Filinvest Two (79 percent occupied), Filinvest Three (44 percent occupied), Filinvest Cebu Cyberzone Tower 1 (59 percent occupied), and Vector Three (25 percent awarded), according to its filing.

The company posted a net income of P1.3 billion in 2016 compared to P789 million a year ago.