Vista Land draws on P12-B facility to refinance loans

VISTA LAND & LIFESCAPES, Inc. has obtained a three-year corporate note facility of up to P12 billion that it will use to refinance its obligations, the Villar-led property developer said on Thursday.

In a regulatory filing, the listed company said that it had made an initial drawdown of P8.6 billion at a 7.93% fixed rate per annum.

“The proceeds of the corporate note facility will be used to refinance existing or maturing obligations of the group and for other general corporate purposes,” the firm said.

The company has tapped BDO Capital & Investment Corp. and China Bank Capital Corp. as lead arrangers and bookrunners and with Union Bank of the Philippines as joint lead arrangers. China Bank Corp.-Trust and Asset Management Group is the facility agent.

Vista Land subsidiaries Brittany Corp., Crown Asia Properties, Inc., Camella Homes, Inc., Communities Philippines, Inc., Vista Residences, Inc., and Vistamalls, Inc. are all the company’s guarantors. Vista Land operates its residential and commercial property development business through six business units.

Michael L. Ricafort, chief economist of Rizal Commercial Banking Corp., said that the economy’s further reopening to greater normalcy gives greater clarity and decisiveness to businesses on securing their needed financing or funding facilities.

“[This] is also amid the need to hedge borrowing requirements amid the rising trend in global and local interest rates as seen in recent months amid higher inflation,” Mr. Ricafort added.

The corporate note facility would allow Vista Land to secure more funding from a more diverse group of investors or lenders since the securities are tradable.

“[It] is a part of capital market development … having more alternative sources of financing, other than the traditional loans,” Mr. Ricafort said.

Vista Land, which claims to be the largest homebuilder, last month reported a 12% increase in net income to P6.7 billion for nine months to September.

The company said that as of the third quarter of this year, it has launched 12 projects with an estimated value of about P21.8 billion. It also disclosed plans to launch more projects from its Vista Estate integrated development.

On Thursday, shares in the company jumped 6.45% to close at P1.65 apiece. — Justine Irish D. Tabile