18 July 2024, Makati, Philippines — Ayala Land, Inc. (ALI) returns to the capital debt market for the pioneer listing of ASEAN Sustainability-Linked Bonds Due 2034 with a total amount of PHP 6 billion. 

PDEx President and CEO Mr. Antonino Nakpil in his welcome remarks commended Ayala Land, Inc. for executing the first paperless issuance, and its long-term GSSB issues – “It is the second thematic bond this month (after the Blue Bond last week), keeping a trend for the Philippine private sector to keep issuing and listing the so-called Green, Social and Sustainability Bonds (GSSB) issues.  Our community has been very responsive to the SEC’s issuances of Philippine guidelines shortly after the ASEAN guidance releases.  This of course is not new to ALI, which has continually pioneered new and long-term issuances (the “real bonds” as we like to call them).”

Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Commissioner Mcjill Bryant Fernandez graced the listing ceremony and was delighted to announce that this pioneer listing of the ASEAN Sustainability-Linked Bonds was coincidentally in line with the celebration of the “SEC Sustainability Week.”  Commissioner Fernandez also stressed the important role that capital markets play in bridging the gap between commercial capital and driving investments in sustainability through financial instruments such as GSSB issues.  “This move strongly demonstrates your commitment to create long-term economic, environmental and social value for your stakeholders. This milestone is not only a significant achievement for the company, but more importantly for the country as it represents charting new feats for sustainable finance in the Philippines.”

Speaking on behalf of the issuer is Ayala Land, Inc.’s Senior Vice President, CFO and CCO Mr. Augusto Bengzon. He reiterated that through SEC’s commitment in adopting the ASEAN Sustainability-linked bonds standards, ALI was able to take its commitment to sustainability further by linking the interest rate of their borrowing to the performance of environmental targets.  “This formed the basis for ALI’s maiden P6 billion 10-year ASEAN Sustainability-Linked-Bond tranche that we are listing today which is part of our overall Sustainability Linked Financing Program that looks to tap both capital markets and private loan markets.”

This 13th admission for 2024 brings year-to-date total of new listings to PHP 177.14 billion and the total outstanding amount to PHP 1.16 trillion issued by 42 companies, comprised of 171 securities.