Philippines raises $1.39-B of debt from 'samurai' bond sale
MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines on Wednesday marked its return to the “Samurai” debt market after an eight-year break and this time, it has sold $1.39 billion (¥154.2 billion) in yen-denominated bonds, the Department of Finance said.
It was also the first time in almost 20 years that the country has issued Samurai bonds on a stand-alone basis. The government previously planned to raise about $1 billion from the issue.
With an overwhelming demand from both onshore and offshore investors, the Philippines was able to secure the largest issuance size of a senior Samurai bond for the year, Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III said.
Under the multi-tranche transaction, the 3-year, 5-year and 10-year debt papers fetched coupon rates of 0.38 percent, 0.54 percent and 0.99 percent, respectively.
“This successful return to the Samurai bond market is the latest proof of the deepening investor confidence in the Philippine economy under the Duterte presidency,” Dominguez said.
For her part, National Treasurer Rosalia de Leon said 2018 has been a “trailblazing year” for the Philippines in the international capital markets.
“The Republic has a track record of very tight pricing in US Dollar markets, and we will be uncompromising in measuring against that benchmark in approaching new markets,” De Leon said.
“Pricing on today’s offering is very compelling and we were able to print the maximum deal size we were seeking,” she added.
The Samurai bond sale follows the Philippines’ maiden “panda” bond offer, which raised 1.46 billion renminbi, or about $230 million. Proceeds from both issues will be used to fund infrastructure projects under the Duterte administration’s ambitious “Build, Build, Build” program.
The Philippine government is also looking into issuing US-dollar denominated global bonds. — Ian Nicolas Cigaral
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