BDO UNIBANK, Inc. has raised P115 billion from its latest offering of peso-denominated sustainability bonds.
“BDO successfully raised P115 billion for its fourth peso-denominated ASEAN Sustainability Bond issue, twenty-three times oversubscribed against the original offer of P5 billion,” the bank said in a disclosure to the stock exchange on Tuesday.
The bonds were issued, settled, and listed on the Philippine Dealing and Exchange Corp. on Tuesday.
The public offering for the bonds was initially set to run from July 9-22 but was closed earlier than planned amid strong demand.
“The issuance saw robust participation from both retail and institutional investors that prompted the early close of the offer period on July 14 after only four days,” BDO said.
“The net proceeds of the issuance are intended to finance and/or refinance eligible assets as defined in the bank’s Sustainable Finance Framework, support the bank’s lending activities, and diversify the bank’s funding sources.”
The bonds have a tenor of 1.5 years and carry a coupon rate of 5.875% per annum.
They were sold at a minimum investment amount of P500,000 and in additional increments of multiples of P100,000 thereafter.
ING Bank N.V. Manila Branch was the sole arranger and sustainability coordinator for the issuance. It also acted as a selling agent along with BDO.
Meanwhile, BDO Capital & Investment Corp. was the financial advisor for the transaction.
The issuance marks BDO’s fourth tranche of peso-denominated ASEAN Sustainability Bonds following the P55.7-billion issue in July 2024, the P63.3-billion tranche in January 2024, and the P52.7-billion issuance in January 2022.
The bank last week said it has funded P1.04 trillion worth of projects under its Sustainable Finance Program launched in 2010, including those in the energy, infrastructure, water, transportation, and community development sectors.
BDO booked a net income of P20.895 billion in the second quarter, steady from the same period a year prior, as higher expenses offset increases in both its net interest and non-interest earnings.
This brought its first-half net income to P40.76 billion, up by 3.12% year on year.
BDO’s shares went down by 50 centavos or 0.34% to close at P148.50 apiece on Tuesday. — A.M.C. Sy
