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Ayala Corporation and the University of the Philippines School of Economics (UPSE) held the second of a series of quarterly economic forums on August 29 with Citigroup Managing Director Dr. Johanna Dee Chua delivering a lecture on challenges to the Philippine financial sector.

Entitled “The Philippines: Will Financial Stability Be At Risk?,” Dee Chua’s keynote address focused on the evolving role of central banks and the prospects of local and regional banking sectors. The Hong Kong-based economist also expressed confidence that the Philippine economy would continue growing over the medium term.

Monetary Board Member Dr. Felipe M. Medalla and Antonio C. Moncupa, Jr., President and CEO of EastWest Bank, served as discussants.

For his part, Medalla said he expects the Philippine economy to expand from between five to six percent annually unless more reforms are introduced and institutionalized, which would result in even higher growth.

UPSE Dean Ramon L. Clarete and Ayala Corporation Chairman and CEO Jaime Augusto Zobel de Ayala were in attendance together with ranking executives from Ayala group companies and university students. Also present were former Finance Secretary Margarito B. Teves and National Scientist Dr. Raul V. Fabella.

The Ayala-UPSE Economic Forum seeks to educate the public and inform policy makers of research findings on the Philippine economy. In November last year, Ayala and UPSE – through their respective non-profit organizations, Ayala Foundation and UPecon Foundation – renewed their commitment to conduct the quarterly economic forums until 2016. This builds on an earlier partnership from 2008 to 2011 that resulted in 12 public lectures conducted by UPSE professors on poverty, growth and development, food security, labor, education, international monetary system, housing, and politics and institutions.

On its 180th year, Ayala continues to partner with academic institutions to further issue-based discourse and share with the public relevant information on the potentials of the Philippine economy.

Ayala Corporation was named among the top Philippine firms by Alpha Southeast Asia in its 4th Annual Institutional Investor Corporate Awards ceremony held on August 30 at Shangri-la Makati.

The Hong Kong-based publication catering to global investors cited Ayala as having the strongest adherence to Corporate Governance, best Strategic Corporate Social Responsibility, and best Annual Report. The awards are based on tallied votes among 477 investors, pension funds, hedge funds, equity and fixed income brokers and analysts with investment interests in the Southeast Asian region. In 2012, Ayala was also recognized by the magazine for the same accomplishments.

Ayala General Counsel Solomon M. Hermosura accepted the award from Siddiq Bazarwala, Alpha’s publisher.

Other Ayala group companies cited were Globe for its consistent dividend policy, BPI Family Savings Bank, and BPI Capital Corporation.

Ayala Corporation chairman and CEO Jaime Augusto Zobel de Ayala received the 2014 Ramon V. del Rosario, Sr. (RVR) Award for Nation Building conferred by the Junior Chamber International (JCI) Manila and the Asian Institute of Management (AIM) RVR Center for Social Responsibility.

The award, named for JCI Manila’s founding president and founding trustee of AIM, is given to individuals who exemplify outstanding corporate citizenship and commitment to nation building. Previous recipients are Senen Bacani, founder of the first large-scale banana plantation in Muslim Mindanao, Jesus Tambunting, founder of SME-focused Plantersbank, Lopez group chairman Oscar Lopez, SGV founder and philanthropist Washington Z. Sycip, and former Senator and Trade Minister Vicente T. Paterno.

Phinma president Ramon del Rosario, Jr. noted Mr. Zobel’s stewardship of the Ayala group into new areas of infrastructure, education, and energy as well as his personal involvement in numerous social causes such as in entrepreneurship, education, and the environment. He said: “By and large, he is a well-rounded man who has the interest of the nation at heart and this is reflected in the way he runs his enterprises. He is very young and a great example for the younger generation.”

Del Rosario was not part of the panel of judges for this year’s RVR Award, but he is a member of Ayala’s board of directors. “This has given me good opportunity to watch them closely,” he said. “They run their businesses with the highest levels of ethics and good governance. They always rank among the top as a company and as a group.”

For 180 years, Ayala’s investments have spurred the growth of Philippine industries as well as local and national economy. Commitment to nation building remains a core value of the company. Its subsidiaries continue to innovate in products and services to serve broader markets and create shared value with its publics. BPI and Globe created a mobile phone-based bank to deliver financial services to more Filipinos. Ayala Land’s property developments spur economic activity in communities and create local jobs and businesses. Manila Water’s Tubig Para Sa Barangay and Kabuhayan Para Sa Barangay programs are designed to enable and empower urban poor clusters.

Recent investments in power generation and bids in toll roads and light rail transit seek to provide much needed infrastructure. A new foray in the for-profit education sector offers affordable private school education as a way to help build the competitiveness of the country’s future workforce.

Mr. Zobel was honored at a program held August 18 at the Philamlife Tower Club. The event was attended by about 180 members of the academe and private sector, including the management and boards of the Ayala group.

Said Mr. Zobel: “The country would benefit if we, all of us in the private sector, worked hard at allocating resources to providing innovative solutions to the key challenges to inclusive growth in our communities, and compliment our local and national governments in these efforts.

“We, as businesses, need to collaborate and work across sectors to define where we can carve out unique strengths and capabilities that will allow us to thrive in an increasingly interconnected and interdependent world. All of this becomes next to impossible without an educated, progressive society that can work efficiently, live comfortably in safety and peace, and create wealth across all spectrums of our country to keep the cycle of progress alive.”

View the image gallery here.

Ayala Corporation’s net income in the first half of the year reached P9.8 billion, 34% higher than same period last year. The strong growth was driven by the solid performance of its core businesses, particularly Ayala Land, Globe Telecom, and Manila Water. Equity earnings from Globe, which quadrupled year-on-year, more than offset the decline in the contribution of banking unit, Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI), which registered lower trading gains in the first half of this year. The substantial improvement in equity earnings from international businesses also boosted earnings in the first semester, which included a P1.8 billion net gain from the sale of Stream Global Services, Inc. by LiveIt. Altogether, these put total equity earnings in the first half of the year at P12.8 billion, up 35% versus the same period last year.

Ayala’s core business units largely outperformed first half last year’s earnings.

Ayala Land’s net income in the first semester grew by 25% to P7.1 billion as the positive momentum in the real estate sector continued. Real estate revenues grew by 24% to nearly P43 billion as its residential, commercial leasing, and construction businesses posted strong double-digit growth. Residential revenues grew by 40% to P24.3 billion on new bookings and completion of existing residential projects. Residential sales take-up remained strong, hitting an all-time high of P48.5 billion in the second quarter, registering an 11% growth year-on-year. Residential bookings also grew by 7% year-on-year to P31.6 billion. Shopping center revenues rose by 10% to P5.5 billion, while Office Leasing was up 31% to P2.1 billion. The opening of new gross leasable areas, full year operations of new offices, and higher average rent largely fuelled the 22% growth of its Commercial Leasing business. Ayala Land’s growing Hotels and Resorts portfolio also contributed as it registered a 48% increase in revenues. Strong revenues coupled with stable gross margins across nearly all its business lines pushed net earnings during the period. Ayala Land continued to launch new projects in the second quarter, bringing to market new offerings in retail, offices, hotels and even healthcare. The company spent a total of P32.9 billion in capex as of the end of the first half of this year as it continued to execute and expand its pipeline of projects.

Globe Telecom continued to sustain momentum as it achieved record-level revenues of P47.7 billion in the first half of the year, 7% higher than the P44.5 billion recorded in the same period last year. The robust revenue expansion was fuelled by the solid growth of all business segments as its mobile and broadband subscriber base expanded. By the end of the first half of the year Globe’s mobile subscriber base reached 42.7 million, a solid 18% growth compared to 36.1 million a year ago. Globe’s mobile segment posted revenues of P37.8 billion, 5% higher than last year due to the strong contribution from both postpaid and prepaid segments. Globe postpaid continued to lead as revenues rose by 11%, while prepaid revenues rose by 2%. Globe continued to reinvest its gains in acquiring and retaining high quality subscribers and in the expansion of its data network. This pushed subsidy and operating expenses, including interconnection charges 12% higher year-on-year, resulting in an EBITDA of P19.1 billion, 1% higher than prior year. Substantially lower depreciation charges, as the accelerated depreciation from the network transformation program tapered, as well as lower replacement cost drove the 385% growth in net income to P6.8 billion in the first half of the year.
Ayala’s water unit, Manila Water, also reported solid earnings growth on the back of a 6% growth in consolidated revenues. The strong top-line expansion was driven by a 16% growth in consolidated billed volume. This was mainly due to the East zone, which increased by 3%, while billed volume growth from new business also registered strong double-digit growth. Consolidated cost and expenses rose by 11%, mainly as a result of higher power and utility costs. Notwithstanding this, EBITDA grew by 5% to P6 billion and consequently, net income was 8% higher to P3.2 billion by the end of the first half. New businesses continued to contribute, accounting for 12% of Manila Water’s consolidated net income.

The strong performance of these core businesses offset the 33% decline in BPI’s net income which was reported at P8 billion in the first half of 2014. This was mainly due to the 32% decline in the bank’s non-interest income as a result of the sharp contraction in trading gains during the period. The bank’s core banking business, however, remained solid as net interest income in the first half increased by 15% relative to the same period in 2013. Total deposits exceeded P1 trillion for the first time, representing a 30% increase over the prior year. Loan growth remained robust, registering a 23% expansion during the period due to a larger average asset base. Net interest margins also improved quarter-on-quarter to 3.1% in the second quarter of the year versus 3.0% in the first quarter. Non-interest income expectedly declined to P9.2 billion, reflecting its reduced reliance on securities trading. Operating expenses rose by 10% as the bank continued to invest in its infrastructure and as it positions itself for future growth. Notwithstanding the increase in its loan portfolio, asset quality continued to improve with gross 90-day NPL ratio down to 1.85% from 2.05% a year ago. The bank’s performance as of the first half of the year translates to a return-on-equity of 12.9%.

Ayala’s international businesses saw significant improvement, contributing to the strong gains during the period. Integrated Microelectronics, Inc. (IMI) posted a five-fold improvement in net income in the first half of the year to US$11.3 million as consolidated revenues rose by 23% to US$431 million. Increased demand from customers in the telecom, automotive electronics, and storage device markets helped lift revenues and earnings. In the meantime, its business process outsourcing unit, LiveIt, posted a net income in the first half of 2014 largely due to the P1.8 billion net gain from the divestment of Stream Global Services, Inc. which was booked in the first quarter of this year.

Ayala Corporation President & Chief Operating Officer, Mr. Fernando Zobel de Ayala noted, “We are very pleased to see our core businesses continuing their strong earnings momentum. This attests to the strength of the broader business environment in the country. We remain optimistic that this momentum can continue given the government’s ongoing reforms and the efforts to push for vital infrastructure projects that can unleash development opportunities and address critical bottlenecks.”

Ayala has recently made significant investments in the power and transport infrastructure sectors and has allotted P24 billion in capex for projects in this space this year. It recently won the LRT 1 bid, together with the Metro Pacific group, and was the highest complying bidder, together with the Aboitiz group, for the Cavite-Laguna Expressway project. Since 2012, the company set out to invest a total of US$1 billion in energy and infrastructure projects through 2016. It has so far committed equity of close to US$500 million in various power and transport infrastructure projects. As of the end of the period Ayala had roughly P38 billion in cash with parent company net debt to equity ratio of 0.44 to 1.

The above press statement pertains to the disclosure submitted today to the SEC, PSE, and PDEx by Ayala Chief Finance Officer Delfin Gonzalez, Jr.

AC Infrastructure Holdings Corporation and Aboitiz Land, Inc., members of the Team Orion (Orion) consortium that submitted the highest complying bid for the Cavite-Laguna Expressway Project, together filed with the Office of the President a Comment on the Memorandum of Appeal put forward by Optimal Infrastructure Development, Inc. (Optimal) last June 27, 2014.

Optimal was disqualified from the bidding of the CALAX project after it submitted an erroneous and deficient bid security last June 2, 2014. Optimal acknowledged in its own Memorandum of Appeal that it indeed submitted an erroneous and defective bid. Optimal filed the Appeal two weeks after it was disqualified by the Special Bids and Awards Committee (SBAC) on the basis of this error and defect. The SBAC issued its Resolution disqualifying Optimal on June 11, 2014 (the “Resolution”).

Through counsel, Orion raises the following points:

1. Optimal cannot be allowed to undo and reset the bidding process simply by its own announcement of its alleged bid, given that it is non-verifiable and legally non-existent, ”a bid that was returned unopened and that was, in a manner of speaking, officially dead, especially after Appellant [Optimal] spoiled it as evidence.”

2. Public policy and the dictates of transparency and good governance demand strict compliance with the bidding rules.

3. The sanctity and integrity of the PPP framework and bidding process must be protected, lest confidence in the process is undermined.

4. Optimal forfeited its right to question the Resolution by its failure to appeal prior to its implementation and by its compliance with the Resolution through its appearance before the SBAC and acceptance of its Technical and Financial Bid in compliance with the Resolution. Optimal did not follow the legal process and went to the media to announce its alleged bid. It appealed to the Office of the President two weeks after its disqualification has been implemented and after public opinion has not resulted in the acceptance of the alleged bid, a result which Optimal now seeks from the Office of the President.

Based on the Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) Law that governs the bidding of the CALAX project and all other Public Private Partnership projects, if a bidder fails to comply with any of the requirements of the bid, its financial proposal should be returned unopened and the bidder shall be disqualified from further participating in the bidding, regardless of whatever its bid amount might have been. This is the very purpose of the multi-stage bidding process being followed by the DPWH and the SBAC to help them determine the best available bid and prevent their judgment from being clouded by financial considerations.

The winner in a public bidding is not merely the bidder with the highest bid amount, but rather the bidder with the “highest complying bid”. The other bidders who participated, namely, the Metro Pacific Group and MTD Capital Bhd (Malaysia), both submitted bids that were compliant with the requirements and followed the rules. Optimal was the only participating bidder that failed to meet the requirements, and as a result, it was disqualified from further participating in the opening of the financial bid.

Consistent with bidding procedures and rules governing disqualification, the SBAC returned to Optimal, its unreviewed Technical envelope and unopened Financial Bid which the latter accepted last June 13, 2014. That same day, the SBAC opened the financial bids of the three other qualified bidders, namely Orion, Metro Pacific Group and MTD Capital Bhd (Malaysia). Orion submitted the highest qualified and compliant bid.

According to Team Orion spokesperson Mr. Roman Azanza III, “We filed a Motion to Intervene with Malacañang because we want our voice to be heard on this very important matter. We believe that nobody or no entity should ever be allowed to undermine the bidding process. There are rules and procedures that must be followed in a public bidding. If we do not follow it, and if we let errant participants act outside of the rules of a public bidding process, then the whole process will lose credibility.”

Mr. Azanza added, “We stand more to lose as a nation if we do not respect our own bidding rules and procedures. There remain nearly P900 billion worth of PPP infrastructure projects that will still have to be bid out to investors because government alone cannot undertake these projects. We need to keep the hard-earned confidence of investors in the stability and integrity of our public bidding process. Losing the confidence of investors would certainly have more of a “chilling effect on the Philippine economy”, particularly if any disqualified bidder could, after being disqualified and after the bidding process itself has been concluded, force to change the results by simply proclaiming a bid that, because of its own actions, cannot be verified to be existent in the first place.”

Following the Motion to Intervene filed by Team Orion, Malacañang is expected to study the matter and come to a decision shortly.

The Philippines’s oldest conglomerate, Ayala Corporation, continues to reap awards as it celebrates its 180th anniversary this year.

FinanceAsia, a leading regional business publication, named Ayala the country’s best managed company in its 14th annual poll. Launched in February this year and with a polling period of over a month, investors and analysts participated in the vote. Published in March, the results showed Ayala also clinching the top spot for corporate governance and corporate social responsibility. Ayala ranked a close second for investor relations.

Other Ayala group companies also made it to the list. Ayala Land ranked 3rd for corporate governance, 4th for management, and 7th for investor relations. Meanwhile, Globe clinched 2nd place among companies most committed to a strong dividend policy.

Key Ayala executives were also acknowledged. Jaime Augusto Zobel de Ayala, Chairman and CEO of Ayala, and Antonino T. Aquino, President and CEO of Ayala Land (who retired in April), were both recognized among top-ranking Philippine CEOs. Ayala Land’s Jaime E. Ysmael also made it to the list of best CFOs.

Ayala CFO Delfin Gonzalez, Jr., Mr. Aquino and new Ayala Land President and CEO Bernard Vincent O. Dy accepted the awards at the ceremony held last night, June 19, at Fairmont Makati.

Results of the Asia’s Best Companies poll may be viewed at: http://www.financeasia.com/News/375837,best-companies-poll-results-2014-8211-part-two.aspx

GNPower Kauswagan Ltd. Co. (GNPK), the joint venture company between AC Energy Holdings, Inc. (AC Energy), the power unit of conglomerate Ayala Corporation, and Power Partners Ltd. Co. (PPLC), engaged Shanghai Electric Power Construction Co. (SEPCC), a subsidiary of Power Construction Corporation of China, for the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) of a US$1 billion-thermal facility in Kauswagan, Lanao Del Norte.

GNPK recently executed the EPC contract for the 4×138 megawatt thermal facility with construction scheduled to begin by the fourth quarter of this year. The plant will be equipped with cutting-edge equipment, including 4 Siemens steam turbines and generators manufactured in Germany. The project is expected to be completed within 3 years with the first unit operational by early 2017. GNPK has already executed well over 300MW of long term power purchase agreements and has secured its Environmental Compliance Certificate from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources.

“We recognize that Mindanao is in dire need of power and we are keen to provide the needed capacity at very reasonable and affordable terms”, AC Energy President and CEO John Eric Francia said. “We are also excited about this new addition to our growing pipeline of power projects. This puts us on track to achieve our goal of developing over 1000 megawatts of attributable capacity both in conventional and renewable technologies by 2016,” Mr. Francia added.

Earlier this year, AC Energy closed the acquisition of an approximately 17 percent ownership stake in GNPower Mariveles Coal Plant Ltd. Co. (GMCP), the owner and operator of a 600 megawatt coal fired power generating plant in Mariveles, Bataan. GMCP started full commercial operations last April.

*NOTHING FOLLOWS*

Ayala Corporation’s (Ayala) net income in the first quarter of 2014 grew by 22% to P5.5 billion. The strong growth was driven by its real estate, telecom, water and international businesses and was boosted by a P1.8 billion capital gain from the sale of Stream Global Services, Inc., one of its investee companies under its business process outsourcing unit. The strong performance of the business units combined with the capital gain offset the decline in the earnings contribution of its banking unit, Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI), which reported lower earnings during the quarter as a result of the absence of trading gains compared to the first quarter of 2013. Excluding the capital gains during the period and the impact of BPI’s unusually high trading gains of P5.7 billion and Globe’s accelerated depreciation last year, Ayala’s net income would be up 24% year-on-year.

“We are glad to see the strong momentum continue across our core businesses as well as the improving profitability of our international businesses,” said Fernando Zobel de Ayala, President and Chief Operating Officer of Ayala. “We are confident this momentum will continue for the rest of the year as the fundamental drivers of domestic economy remain firmly in place. This will continue to underpin demand for our real estate products, banking, telecom and water services.”

Most of Ayala’s core businesses reported double-digit earnings growth year-on-year in the first quarter.

Its real estate unit, Ayala Land, reported a 25% growth in net income to P3.5 billion. Higher revenues across its residential, commercial leasing, and property services, combined with stable margins overall resulted in the sustained strong earnings growth.

Its telecom unit, Globe Telecom, reported a four-fold increase in net income to P2.9 billion from only P686 million in the same period last year. This was largely due to healthy top line growth and the tapering of accelerated depreciation charges following its network modernization program.

Ayala’s water unit, Manila Water Co., Inc.’s net income also rose by 9% to P1.4 billion. Revenues continued to grow as a result of higher billed volume, mainly from new business areas in Laguna, Boracay, and Clark as well as in Vietnam.

BPI’s earnings declined by 57% to P3.6 billion as previous year’s results included significant gains from trading securities. Its core banking business, however, remained strong as net interest income grew by 15% year-on-year, and non-interest income, excluding trading gains, also rose by 16% during the period.

Ayala’s international businesses registered continued improvement in earnings. Integrated Microelectronics, Inc.’s (IMI) net income increased twenty times to P226 million versus the first quarter last year as a result of higher sales volumes, better cost savings, and improved margins.

LiveIt also reported significant earnings improvement boosted by the sale of Stream Global Services, Inc. (Stream) and the improved performance of its investee companies. Share of revenues excluding Stream reached US$24.5 million, up 6% year-on-year, while share of earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization reached US$0.8 million, an improvement of US$0.7 million.

In all, the strong performance of the business units contributed a total of P6.9 billion in equity earnings to Ayala, 20% higher than in the same period last year.

Ayala continues to ramp up investments in its new businesses. For the year 2014, the holding company allotted P49 billion in capital expenditure mainly for its investment in BPI with its participation in the stock rights offering, on-going power projects which include the closing of its acquisition of its stake in GN Power Mariveles, and the transport infrastructure projects it has won thus far. It has also recently made progress in its entry in the education sector with the upcoming opening of nearly a dozen new high schools for secondary education under Affordable Private Education Center or APEC schools located in Quezon City, Caloocan, Marikina, Pasig and Manila.

As of the end of March 2014, parent company cash reached nearly P30 billion putting net debt to equity ratio at 0.43 to 1.

Earlier this month, Ayala successfully completed a US$300-million Exchangeable Bond issue which was 2.5 times oversubscribed. The bonds were subsequently listed at the Singapore Stock Exchange last May 5, 2014.

The above press statement pertains to the disclosure submitted to the SEC, PSE, and PDEx by Ayala CFO Delfin Gonzalez, Jr.

At its annual stockholders’ meeting held today, Ayala Corporation Chairman and CEO Jaime Augusto Zobel de Ayala announced that the Ayala group plans to spend P187 billion in capital expenditures in 2014. This is a record amount of investments for the group, surpassing the previous year’s P128 billion. The bulk of this will support Ayala Land’s expansion, Globe Telecom’s on-going network improvements, and Manila Water Company’s service improvements, as well as to fund the conglomerate’s expansion in power and transport infrastructure.

Mr. Zobel said, “The sustained positive momentum in the economy has, to a large extent, helped shape the Ayala group’s growth strategy over the past few years. Our combined group capital spending has expanded aggressively over the past five years amounting to nearly P500 billion as our core businesses in real estate, banking, telecommunications and water distribution executed aggressive growth strategies to seize investment opportunities in their respective sectors. We consider this a significant contribution to our national economy,” Mr. Zobel noted.

Ayala’s consolidated net income in 2013 grew by 22% to P12.8 billion, driven mainly by its real estate and banking units, as well as the improved performance of its international businesses. Its core net income, however, which excludes Globe’s accelerated depreciation charges was even higher at P14.8 billion. This earnings performance translates to a return on equity of 10.2 percent, an improvement from prior year’s 9.2 percent.

Ayala President and Chief Operating Officer, Mr. Fernando Zobel de Ayala said, “The sustained momentum of the Philippine economy remained conducive to the growth of Ayala’s businesses. Our core business units turned in a solid performance as we continued our efforts to aggressively expand in our markets and in new growth sectors.”

Ayala has made headway in the power and transport infrastructure sectors over the past three years. Mr. Zobel said, “We continued to build our portfolio in power and have a pipeline of projects. Our target is to invest a total of US$800 million in this sector by 2016. In the area of transport infrastructure, we have won two of the three projects that we bid for under the government’s public private partnership program and look forward to delivering these in the coming year.”

Ayala won the first PPP road project, the Daang Hari connector road, which is currently under construction and is expected to be completed within this year. It also recently signed the Concession Agreement for the Automated Fare Collection System project, which it won under the AF Consortium, a partnership between the Ayala and First Pacific groups.

Ayala share price closed at P613, up 18.3% year-to-date.

*NOTHING FOLLOWS*

Ayala Corporation (PSE:AC) (the “Company”), one of the largest conglomerates in the Philippines, announced today the pricing of the offering by AYC Finance Limited, a wholly-owned and guaranteed subsidiary of Ayala Corporation, of US$300,000,000 aggregate principal amount of its 0.50% bond due 2019 (the “Bonds”) exchangeable for common shares of Ayala Land, Inc. (“Ayala Land”). The Bonds have been offered outside the United States under Regulation S of the U.S. Securities Act of 1933 and to qualified institutional investors within the Philippines in transactions that do not require registration of the Bonds under the Philippine Securities Registration Code.

The Bonds will bear interest at a rate of 0.50% per year, payable semiannually. The Bonds will mature on May 2, 2019, unless earlier exchanged, redeemed or repurchased in accordance with the terms of the Bonds. The Bonds will be exchangeable at any time on or after June 11, 2014 up to the close of business on the 10th day prior to the maturity date. The Bonds will initially be exchangeable at P36.48 per Ayala Land share representing a premium of 20% over Ayala Land’s closing price on April 10, 2014. On May 2, 2017, the holders of the Bonds will have the right to require the Company to repurchase for cash all or part of their Bonds at a repurchase price equal to 100% of the principal amount of the Bonds. Starting May 2, 2017 the Company is able to call the Bond if the closing price of Ayala Land shares for any 30 consecutive Trading Days is at least 130% of the Exchange Price.

The offering is the first equity-linked international issuance by a Philippine issuer in the past two years. It has also achieved the lowest cost of financing across Asia ex-Japan in 2014.

“We are extremely pleased with the results of the offering and appreciate the trust of our investors. This offering is important as it enables us to continue the pursuit of investment opportunities in new growth areas and the realignment of Ayala Corporation’s portfolio mix to further optimize shareholder returns. Ayala Land remains an important and integral part of Ayala Corporation. It is a significant growth driver of the Ayala group and we continue to share synergies as we work on targeted projects particularly in energy and transport infrastructure.” said Jaime Augusto Zobel de Ayala, Chairman of Ayala Corporation.

The Company intends to use the net proceeds from the issue of the Bonds for general corporate purposes.

The offering is expected to close on or about May 2, 2014, subject to the satisfaction of customary closing conditions.

Goldman Sachs International acted as the sole international bookrunner of the Offering and BPI Capital acted as sole domestic lead manager.

This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to purchase, nor shall there be any sale of, any of the securities in any jurisdiction in which such an offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such jurisdiction. The securities have not been and will not be registered under the securities laws of the United States of America.

About Ayala Corporation

Ayala Corporation is one of the largest conglomerates in the Philippines. The Company is organized as a holding company with equity interests in various companies active in real estate and hotels, financial services, telecommunications, water utilities, electronics, business processing outsourcing, automotive, power and transport infrastructure. Significant subsidiaries, associates and joint ventures include Ayala Land, Bank of the Philippine Islands, Globe Telecom and Manila Water Company.

About Ayala Land

Ayala Land is the real estate arm of Ayala Corporation and is a leading real estate company in the Philippines. It is engaged principally in the planning, development, subdivision and marketing of large-scale communities having a mix of residential, commercial, leisure and other uses. Its early defining project was the 1948 development of a planned mixed-use community on 930 hectares of swamp and grassland which is now the Makati Central Business district of Metro Manila. Today, it has a total of five brands under its residential development segment, being Ayala Land Premier, Alveo, Avida, Amaia and BellaVita, each targeting a distinct segment of the market. Ayala Land also has a total of 8,453 hectares of developable landbank across the country, including in locations such as the Makati Central Business District, Bonifacio Global City and Nuvali in Canlubang.

Investor Relations Contacts

Norma P. Torres, (632) 908 3446, torres.np@ayala.com.ph

Celeste M. Jovenir, (632) 908 3394, jovenir.cm@ayala.com.ph