By Neil Jerome Morales
MANILA (Reuters) -Philippine conglomerate SM Investments Corp and its property unit SM Prime Holdings Inc are tapping the overseas market via a maiden $3 billion Euro Medium Term Note (EMTN) programme, the largest such issuance by a Philippine company, company officials said on Tuesday.
The funds will help will help the company's future requirements, SM Investments Vice Chairperson Teresita Sy-Coson told Reuters. "We do not need it now but for the future," Sy-Coson added.
The companies, owned by the Philippines' richest family, are looking at issuing the entire $3 billion in the next three to five years, Sy-Coson said. The conglomerate has created an entity in Singapore to facilitate the issuance of the notes.
The EMTNs will fund financing needs including expansion and debt payments, SM Prime President Jeffrey Lim told Reuters.
EMTNs are a debt security that are issued and traded overseas.
SM Prime has allocated 100 billion Philippine pesos ($1.74 billion) for capital expenditure in 2024. It plans to open four new shopping malls and launch 8,000 to 10,000 residential units.
SM Investments and SM Prime are the two most valuable companies in the country measured by market capitalisation. SM Investments has interests in the banking, retail, property, shipping, and leisure and gaming sectors.
BDO Unibank, the Philippines' largest lender in asset terms and a subsidiary of SM Investments, launched a $2 billion EMTN programme.