Manila-based port operator International Container Terminal Services Inc (ICTSI) recently raised $300 million from the issuance of medium-term notes for its debt management program and capital expenditures.
Lauro Baja, managing director of UBS Philippines, one of the deal’s two arrangers, said the transaction “had the largest demand ever for a Philippine corporate debt issue at $5.5 billion. About 179 companies participated and the deal was 18.3-times oversubscribed even without a road show.”
The oversubscription “is a testament to ICTSI’s status as a leading and innovative Philippine issuer in the international markets,” ICTSI treasurer Rafael Consing, Jr said.
Issued by ICTSI’s wholly owned subsidiary ICTSI Treasury BV, the notes had a coupon rate of 4.625%. Ninety percent were distributed to Asia and 10% to Europe.
The medium-term notes program allows ICTSI to issue up to $750 million for its capex requirements.
Last year, ICTSI embarked on an expansion program for its terminals, including flagship Manila International Container Terminal (MICT). In July, the company opened MICT’s Berth 6; it is now in the process of building Berth 7.
ICTSI maintains terminals in Indonesia, Brunei, India, China, Japan, United States, Ecuador, Brazil, Poland, Georgia, Croatia, Colombia, Argentina, Mexico and Madagascar. In 2012, it bagged contracts to operate terminals in Pakistan and Nigeria.
ICTSI is also beefing up a recent acquisition, Hijo Port in Davao. The port is envisioned to become the operator’s second biggest container port in the Philippines with a capacity of 2 million twenty-foot equivalent units.
Photo from www.ictsi.com
