Manila Water eyes first sustainability bond issue

MANILA, Philippines — Ayala-led Manila Water Co. Inc. is planning to debut a US dollar-denominated sustainability bond to support its capital expenditure program and refinance its existing debts.

In a regulatory filing, Manila Water said it would issue dollar-denominated senior unsecured notes subject to market conditions.

The notes qualify as International Capital Market Association Sustainability Bonds and ASEAN Sustainability Bonds.

This means that the proceeds of the bonds will be exclusively applied to finance or refinance a combination of both green and social projects that respectively offer environmental and social benefits.

Manila Water recently established a sustainable financing framework with DNV GL, an international accredited registrar and classification society in Norway, providing a second party opinion.

“Net proceeds from the issue of the notes are intended to refinance debt and finance programmed capital expenditure for 2020 to 2021, pursuant to the sustainable financing framework,” Manila Water said.

The projects include those that relate to sustainable water and wastewater management, terrestrial and aquatic biodiversity conservation, and affordable basic infrastructure.

The sustainable financing framework is aligned with the Green Bond Principles 2018 and Social Bond Principles 2018.

The joint lead managers and joint bookrunners for the transaction are Ayala-led BPI Capital Corp., Citigroup Global Markets Singapore Pte. Ltd., Credit Suisse Singapore Ltd., The Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corp. Ltd. in Singapore, Mizuho Securities Singapore Pte. Ltd., and UBS AG Singapore Branch.