Wednesday, April 1, 2020

Aboitiz Power slates ₱9.55-B bond issuance

Published March 31, 2020, 10:00 PM By Myrna M. Velasco
https://business.mb.com.ph/2020/03/31/aboitiz-power-slates-%E2%82%B19-55-b-bond-issuance/

Listed firm Aboitiz Power Corporation is scheduling its fourth tranche of bond issuance this year which is targeting to raise proceeds of up to P9.55 billion, including a leeway for oversubscription.

The company, in its disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE), has indicated that it filed its application for the bond offer with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Monday (March 30).

Aboitiz Power said the bonds are “expected to be issued in the second or third quarter of 2020 – in one or two series.” The company is likewise eyeing to list the bonds at the Philippine Dealing and Exchange Corporation (PDEx).

The firm had designated BDO Capital & Investment Corporation and First Metro Investment Corporation (FMIC) as joint issue managers; while joint lead underwriters are BDO Capital & Investment Corp., FMIC and China Bank Capital Corporation. At the same time, BDO Unibank Inc.-Trust and Investments Group had been named as the trustee.

The Aboitiz firm qualified that the targeted capital raising is part of the firm’s P30 billion fixed rate retail bonds that had been under its 2017 shelf registration program with the SEC.

The proceeds, it said, “will be used to reimburse equity infu¬sions”, primarily for the construction of the 1,336-megawatt Dinginin coal-fired power plant in Bataan province, its joint venture project with the Ayala group.

The Dinginin power facility’s first unit of 668MW is anticipated to reach commercial operations in June this year; while the second phase is expected to be on stream next year. The project-developer firms have not issued any advisory yet if the Dinginin plant’s operations will be moved given the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) in Luzon that affected work schedules in array of establishments and industries.

In a separate development on Monday (March 30), Aboitiz Power announced that it declared cash dividend to stockholders as of record date of March 20, 2020 and such shall be payable on April 3 this year.

It has cautioned though that even if the payment date remains unchanged, there might still be delay on when the dividends will be received by the qualified stockholders given the prevailing lock¬down in Luzon; as well as the community quarantines being enforced in other parts of the country.

Aboitiz Power advised the PSE and its investing public that “the distribution of cash dividends through check delivery will be delayed,” with it specifying that “the declaration of enhanced community quarantine in Luzon and other parts of the country due to COVID-19 global pandemic has resulted in lack of available couriers, temporary work suspension and restrictions in the movement of persons.”

Conversely, the company assured that “stockholders who opted to receive their dividends through direct deposit will receive their dividend payment on time,” further noting that “we have also reached out to our stockholders and advised them to nominate a bank account so that they can receive their cash dividends on time.”

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