By Meg J. Adonis
Philippine Daily Inquirer / 08:02 AM February 05, 2025
https://business.inquirer.net/505001/doubledragon-offers-7-77-rate-for-7-year-bonds
MANILA, Philippines — DoubleDragon Corp., the property venture of tycoons Edgar Sia II and Tony Tan Caktiong, began its P10-billion bond offer on Monday following the approval of the Securities and Exchange Commission.
The seven-year notes carry a 7.77-percent interest rate per annum, with the minimum investment set at P50,000.
DoubleDragon said in a statement on Monday that the bonds, which represent the second tranche of its P30-billion shelf registration bonds program, would be offered until Feb. 14.
“This retail bond offering is set to be the one and only peso retail bond offering of DoubleDragon for the entire year of 2025,” the company said.
The third tranche of DoubleDragon’s retail bond program is scheduled in 2026.
This comes as part of the property developer’s plans to increase its cash position and bankroll its expansion pipeline, particularly in the hospitality industry through Hotel101.
The homegrown condotel chain is currently DoubleDragon’s main vehicle for international expansion.
To date, Hotel101 has two overseas branches, Madrid in Spain and Niseko in Japan.
In the first nine months of 2024, DoubleDragon’s net income inched up by 2.4 percent to P2.53 billion, buoyed by a slight increase in revenues. Top line rose by 4.46 percent to P6.42 billion.
Total equity reached P94.9 billion, pulling the company closer toward its goal of exceeding the P100-billion equity mark for the entire year.
DoubleDragon also recently unveiled plans to pursue the stock market debut of its industrial warehouse subsidiary, CentralHub Industrial Centers Inc., this year. It is slated to be the country’s first industrial real estate investment trust.
CentralHub currently has 60.57 hectares of industrial assets, including the largest commissary of fast-food giant Jollibee Foods Corp. (JFC). It plans to expand its P24.8-billion leasing portfolio in preparation for its listing.
The Tan Caktiong-led JFC acquired an initial 38.71-percent stake in CentralHub for P1.92 billion in June 2021, thus introducing the tycoon’s newest partnership with Sia.
JFC had agreed to infuse industrial properties into CentralHub.
