PLDT eyes offshore bond market

MANILA, Philippines — Telecommunications and digital service provider PLDT Inc. plans to tap the offshore bond market, depending on market conditions.

In a stock exchange filing, PLDT said it has mandated Credit Suisse and UBS as joint lead managers and joint bookrunners to arrange a series of fixed income investor calls which commenced yesterday.

It said an offering of a long 10 and 30-year dual tranche dollar-denominated Regulation S-only senior notes may follow, subject to market conditions.

The notes, if issued, are expected to be rated BBB+ by S&P, the telco said.

PLDT said no public offering of the securities would be made in the US, the Philippines, or in any other jurisdiction where such an offering is restricted or prohibited.

“The securities referred to herein, if the proposed offering proceeds, will not be registered under the US Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or the securities laws of any state of the United States or the Philippines or any other jurisdiction,” PLDT said.

“If the proposed offering proceeds, no securities may be offered or sold within the United States absent registration or pursuant to an exemption from, or in a transaction not subject to, the registration requirements of the Securities Act and the rules and regulations thereunder and the securities will only be offered and sold outside the United States in offshore transactions in reliance on Regulation S under the Securities Act,” it said.

S&P Global Ratings yesterday assigned its BBB+ long-term issue rating to the proposed issuance of dollar-denominated senior unsecured notes by PLDT, subject to review of the final issuance documentation.

S&P expects PLDT to use the proceeds to refinance debt maturing this year and 2021, prepay outstanding loans, and partially finance capital expenditure.

“We equalize the rating on PLDT’s proposed senior unsecured notes with the issuer credit rating on the company. This is because we do not view PLDT’s capital structure as having material structural or contractual subordination risks,” S&P said.

PLDT earlier said that its original capex guidance for the year of P83 billion would probably be pared down, with anywhere between 20 and 25 percent of the budget deferred, following the impact of the coronavirus disease 2019 or COVID-19 pandemic on its network rollout.

The company posted a new high in its quarterly revenues in the first quarter period as it expanded nine percent year-on-year to P41 billion, while telco core income fell five percent to P6.9 billion.