BPI named Best Debt Capital Market House in the Philippines by FinanceAsia

BPI Capital provides innovative and creative capital market solutions while being an effective conduit between institutional and retail clients, and the broader capital markets. To date, BPI Capital garnered 12 awards from FinanceAsia due to their achievements in the capital markets.

FinanceAsia, one of the region’s leading finance publications, recently recognized the Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) as one of the country’s leading investment banks.

The Bank—through its investment banking arm, BPI Capital Corporation—bagged the Best DCM (Debt Capital Market) House in the Philippines.

“The award affirms our leading position in the domestic debt capital market and is a testament to our ability to provide client-focused debt solutions with best execution. We continue to have a dominant track record in executing capital market transactions,” said BPI Capital COO and Director Francis L. Jardeleza.

Recognized as the Best DCM House, BPI Capital was able to sustain its dominant role in the debt capital markets by leading three maiden offers while increasing transactions done for the second consecutive year. 

Among the highlights of BPI Capital’s key transactions in 2022 include acting as Joint Lead Underwriter (JLU) for Converge ICT Solution’s (“CONVERGE”) maiden bond offering. The proceeds of the offer were mainly used to fund capital expenditures involving plant equipment which include the expansion of its fiber network nationwide. Through BPI Capital’s efforts, the offer was 7.89x oversubscribed given the base issue size of PHP5 billion.

BPI Capital also acted as Joint Issue Manager, JLU, and Joint Bookrunner to ACEN Corporation’s maiden ASEAN Green Bond with an issue size of PHP10 billion. Through BPI Capital’s extensive distribution network, the offer was 8.6x oversubscribed based on the PHP10 billion issue size. The transaction marks the largest green bond issuance from a corporate in the Philippine markets in 2022. It is similarly the first time ACEN is tapping the domestic market following its successful USD 400-million undated, fixed-for-life green note issuance in 2021.

Aside from these debt issuances, BPI Capital led South Luzon Thermal Energy Corporation’s (“SLTEC”) Energy Transition Mechanism (“ETM”), the first of its kind in the world. The ETM is a concept developed by the Asian Development Bank, which aims to leverage low-cost and long-term funding geared towards early coal retirement and the reinvestment of proceeds to enable renewable energy projects. This further solidifies BPI Capital’s thrust in originating and executing innovative transactions.

BPI Capital remains the only domestic investment bank that is active in both onshore and offshore transactions. Through its wide reach and extensive experience, BPI Capital has supported various industries including airlines, utilities, banking, real estate, telecommunications, and energy, which the Bank believes are critical for the Philippines’ future development.

In the past years, BPI Capital has been a recipient of numerous awards including the following titles from FinanceAsia: Best Investment Bank in the Philippines for six years (2015-2106, 2018-2019, 2021-2022); Best ECM House in the Philippines for five years (2016, 2018-2019, 2021-2022); and Best DCM House in the Philippines for three consecutive years (2021-2022).