BDO's ASEAN Sustainability Bonds Close Early Amidst Strong Investor Demand

Sy-led top lender BDO Unibank Inc. has shortened the offering period for its fifth peso-denominated Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) sustainability bonds, worth at least ₱5 billion, due to strong demand from both retail and institutional investors. The offering was originally set to run from Jan. 7 to 19, 2026, but the bank informed the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) that it has decided to close the offer period early, on Jan. 16. The bank’s latest ASEAN sustainability bonds have a tenor of three years and bear a coupon rate of 5.7125 percent per annum. The issue, settlement, and listing date will be on Jan. 26. The net proceeds of the issuance are intended to finance and refinance eligible assets as defined in the bank’s sustainable finance framework, support the bank’s lending activities, and diversify the bank’s funding sources. Standard Chartered Bank (StanChart) is the sole arranger for this issuance, with BDO and StanChart as selling agents, and BDO Capital & Investment Corp. (BDO Capital) as financial adviser. The bank said its latest peso-denominated ASEAN sustainability bond offering comes after it raised a total of ₱286.7 billion from the previous four issuances since January 2022. BDO has consistently raised several times the minimum amount of ₱5 billion in its previous issuances, which had shortened offering periods due to oversubscription. In July last year, BDO raised ₱115 billion for its fourth peso-denominated ASEAN sustainability bond issue, which was 23 times oversubscribed against the original offer of ₱5 billion. The issuance saw robust participation from both retail and institutional investors, which prompted the early close of the offer period after only four days. The bank’s fourth ASEAN sustainability bond issuance had a tenor of 1.5 years and a coupon rate of 5.875 percent per annum.