DBP sells $300M in global notes; senior bonds rated 'BB'

State-run Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) has successfully raised $300 million in global dollar notes that will help fund activities related to government’s effort to build new public infrastructures. DBP president and chief executive officer Francisco del Rosario Jr. on Monday said the offering attracted more than three times the intended volume as total tenders reached more than $1 billion. “We are proud to report that DBP’s global dollar notes transaction has been substantially oversubscribed in spite of the jittery market due to the nature of global events in Japan and Libya," he said. “This is testament to the growing confidence of the international community on the Philippines as an investment site, and particularly on the administration of President Benigno Aquino III," Del Rosario added. It will cost the DBP 5.5 percent a year to service the debt, according to the bank. London-based Fitch Ratings, meanwhile, gave the bank’s senior dollar bonds a double B rating. As such, the DBP is “less vulnerable in the near term than other lower-rated obligors," Fitch said. The credit rating agency said the bank’s sound financial fundamentals rested on its strong capital adequacy level, its role in supporting the country’s social and economic development, and its link with the government. Del Rosario said DBP is the first government-owned or -controlled corporation under the Aquino administration to undertake a successful fund raising transaction in the global market. — JE, GMA News