Category: News

Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI), the financial arm of the Ayala group of companies, has continued to show strong performance after posting a P2.3 billion net profit during the second quarter, bringing its first semester profit to P4.3 billion. The bank’s second quarter profit, up 23 percent from P1.9 billion a year earlier, was driven by higher interest and fee-based incomes. As a result, the bank’s return on equity (ROE) also rose to 15.9 percent from 13.3 percent during the second quarter last year, while return on assets stood at 2 percent compared to 1.8 percent last year. BPI’s total assets amounted to P473.7 billion, of which total deposits comprised P366.9 billion. The bank’s total capital was at P55.9 billion. With a market capitalization of P108.8 billion, BPI is the highest capitalized bank listed in the Philippine Stock Exchange.

After disposing of P8.6 billion worth of non-performing loans (NPLs) last year, BPI again sold P2.4 billion worth of NPLs last July, thus improving considerably its overall financial condition. The recent sale of the NPLs brought down its year-to-date NPL ratio to 4.6 percent from 5.6 percent last year, making BPI one of the strongest banks in the industry.

On the ROPOA side (real and other properties owned or acquired), BPI managed to make a 26 percent increase in retail sales during the first semester compared to the same period last year. As of end-June 2005, BPI had sold over P998 million worth of foreclosed properties vs. P794 last year. To complement this in-house initiative, the bank is also planning to put some properties in south Luzon in the auction block.

As it celebrates its 154th year, BPI is pursuing an expansion strategy based on organic growth (growth from within) and mergers and acquisitions (growth through consolidations) to keep its market leadership. At present, BPI also leads in consumer banking through its thrift bank subsidiary, BPI Family Savings Bank, which holds the largest share of the market.

Last July 27, BPI signed a memorandum of agreement to acquire Prudential Bank, a medium size universal bank. This is BPI’s first acquisition since its merger with Far East Bank and Trust Company in 2000 and DBS Bank Philippines in 2001. Shortly before it signed the agreement to acquire Prudential Bank, BPI also offered to buy the semi-private Philippine National Bank, one of the major banks in the country. In view of its renewed financial strength, BPI has been on the lookout for some good acquisitions in order to bolster its position as a rising regional financial powerhouse.

In June 2005, the College of the Holy Spirit (CHS) of Manila will open its doors to a unique group of students in their freshman high school year.

Sixty-nine bright, young students from poor families, chosen for their potential for academic success and given a special public school learning environment, will soon be among the 200 or so elementary school graduates who will get their secondary education at CHS.

These children were until recently students of the Center of Excellence of Public Elementary Education, or Centex, a groundbreaking program of the Ayala Foundation in cooperation with several private companies and the Department of Education (DepEd). It is a program that stemmed from a desire to provide children from disadvantaged families with quality education and help change the course of their lives and that of their community.

Seven years since the first school was created in Tondo, Manila, Centex has produced its first batch of graduates of 71 confident, talented achievers who not only surpass their counterparts in government-administered tests among public and private schools but also exhibit a consciousness that can only come from their direct experience of poverty.

These results drew the College of the Holy Spirit to forge a partnership with Ayala Foundation that would continue to provide Centex students with a similar kind of learning environment, one that challenges their intellect and fosters their sense of social duty. It was providential, too, that the 92-year old Catholic college began to offer high school education again beginning 2004.

The CHSM-Centex High School is a coeducational institution that vows to provide good, values-based education. For the coming academic year, CHSM-Centex is expeting around 200 students from Centex and from other “feeder schools” and neighboring elementary schools. And like its parent institution, the high school gives equal importance to developing core values as well as academic excellence.

CHS Manila president Sr. Eufracia Marcojos explained, “Our vibrant community celebrates diversity, nurtures spirituality, encourages experessions of divergent thinking, and prepares the next generation for leadership and service towards the promotion of justice.”

Holistic approach
This development harks back to the beginnings of the College of the Holy Spirit, which in 1913 was established by missionary sisters as a primary school and later developed into a college school for women. Sr. Marcojos said that the creation of the secondary school last year was an expression of their belief that basic education plays a critical role in the integral formation of our youth.

At Centex, children are also given a holistic learning enviroment. They are taught under a special curriculum that incorporates the latest educational trends and research and is crafted by DepEd representatives and a team of volunteer educators from local schools as well as the United States.

The two Centex schools in Tondo, Manila and Bauan, Batangas are equipped with various facilities that the children are free to use. Textbooks, uniforms, and transportation subsidies are provided. The young scholars are served lunch every day to supplement their nutritional needs. In addition, parents are offered parenting workshops and livelihood training, extending the benefits of the program to immediate families and the community at large.

“Centex improves the physical, financial, and human resources of an ordinary public elementary school” said Ayala Foundation president Victoria P. Garchitorena. “In so doing, we ultimately give children of poor families quality education otherwise denied this sector of Philippine society.”

 Though within the purview of the Department of Education and the local government, Centex is able to provide these benefits through endowment funds created by private companies and managed by Ayala Foundation. Ayala Land funded the first school in Tondo, and Globe Telecom and Pure Foods Corporation helped create the Centex school in Batangas. Respected artists such as Bencab, Romulo Galicano, Anita Magsaysay-Ho, and Malang have also supported the schools by allowing their artworks to be featured in fundraising merchandise.

Shared mission
Over the years this unique program has shown encouraging results. Centex consistently tops the DepEd’s achievement tests given to all public schools in Manila. Students also lead competitions in math, literacy, and the arts among public and private schools and are constantly exceeding expectations of their parents, teachers, and those who witness the dramatic change in their lives. Two of the recent graduates will soon be studying in the country’s leading science high schools.

The Missionary Congregation of the Servants of the Holy Spirit that manages the College of the Holy Spirit is eager to welcome the 69 Centex students into their community.

Said Sr. Eufracia: “We will provide these students quality education that addresses the strengthening of both Gospel and Filipino values. We want to help create among our youth, servant leaders, discerning persons equipped with excellent skills, who are nurturers of their environment and proud to be Filipino.”

With shared goals for the younger generation, the College of the Holy Spirit and the Ayala Foundation through Centex, believe that their partnership can help make a just, peaceful, and empowered society in the years to come.

The College of the Holy Spirit of Manila (CHSM) and the Center of Excellence in Public Elementary Education (Centex) have formed a partnership to provide high school education to the first batch of graduating students of Centex.

The CHSM-Centex High School will open its doors in June to students from Centex Tondo, Manila, as well as more than a hundred students from other “feeder schools” and neighboring elementary schools.

Centex is a program of the Ayala Foundation in cooperation with private companies and the Department of Education (DepEd). With two campuses in Tondo and Bauan, Batangas, Centex provides children from disadvantaged families with quality education equal to that of the country’s best public and private schools.

The school is set to honor its first batch of graduates in simple ceremonies on March 29 at the Onstage Theater in Greenbelt 1, Makati City.

The Missionary Congregation of the Servants of the Holy Spirit which manages the 92-year-old Catholic college is eager to welcome the Centex students into its community. The CHSM-Centex High School will be a coeducational institution that seeks to challenge young Filipinos’ intellect and foster their sense of moral and social duty.

Said CHS Manila president Sr. Eufracia Marcojos: “We will provide these students quality education that addresses the strengthening of both Gospel and Filipino values. We want to help create among our youth, servant leaders, discerning persons equipped with excellent skills, who are nurturers of their environment and proud to be Filipino.”

With these shared goals, the College of the Holy Spirit and Ayala Foundation’s Centex, believe that their partnership will produce generations of young Filipinos who will help build an empowered Philippine society in the years to come.

The country’s leading companies were recognized by business leaders across the Asia-Pacific in the annual Asian Wall Street Journal 200 (AWSJ 200) survey.

Now on its 12th year, the AWSJ 200, formerly known as Review 200, polls senior management, business owners, executives and professionals on the financial and corporate performance of 157 multinational companies and between 30 and 40 local companies each in 12 countries. The AWSJ 200 rates the overall leadership of these companies based on reputation, quality of products and services, management’s long-term vision, innovativeness in responding to customer needs, and financial soundness.

In the Philippines, Jollibee Foods Corporation retained its leadership ranking for the seventh consecutive year, followed by companies in the Ayala group including Ayala Land, Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI), Ayala Corporation, and Globe Telecom in the top five.

Ayala Land, which was a new entrant to the top ten in 2003, rose from seventh to second place and was also recognized as first in reputation and management vision. It was cited for its strategy to address the needs of the lower and middle-income markets.

BPI, which led recent polls and awards of various regional financial publications, also climbed to third place from sixth place. The strong performance of the two companies underscored the strategic direction of parent company Ayala Corporation. Its telecommunications company Globe Telecom continued to be considered favorably in fourth place.

Other companies that made it to the top ten in the Philippines were Mercury Drug (sixth), GMA Network (seventh), ABS-CBN Broadcasting Corporation (eighth), San Miguel Corporation (ninth), and Smart Communications (10th).

In addition to the company leadership rankings, respondents were also asked for their business outlook for the year. More than half of them expressed confidence that business will improve in 2005 and more than 48 percent said they will increase company budgets. And while the AWSJ200 survey was conducted before the late December tsunami, the report said that the disaster wasn’t expected to pose a grave threat to Asian economies. Instead, issues of corruption, bureaucracy, and pollution were listed as having greater impact on national economies, and rising costs and poor economy were considered as serious threats to business success.

The United World Colleges (UWC), an international educational institution, in coordination with the UWC Philippine Alumni Network and the Ayala Foundation, Inc., is searching for a top-caliber fourth-year high school student interested in pursuing a two-year international baccalaureate course in Canada.

The selected student will be sent on full scholarship to the Lester B. Pearson College of the Pacific in Victoria, Canada.

Applicants must belong to the top 10 percent of their high school graduating class. Applicants and their parents must also attend the orientation session to be conducted by the Philippine Alumni Network on February 13 and 20, 2005 from 10 A.M. to 12 P.M. at Ayala Foundation, 10th Floor, BPI Main Building, Ayala Avenue corner Paseo de Roxas, Makati City.

For more details, interested parties may call Jen Perez of the UWC Philippine Alumni Network at (0919) 8442603 or Tito Rivera of the Ayala Foundation at 894-5620 local 104. Email inquiries may also be sent to the UWC Philippine Alumni Network [uwcphilippines@yahoo.com or info@ph.uwc.org] and tito@ayalafoundation.org. You may also visit the Philippine website at www.ph.uwc.org. For general information on the UWC movement, please visit the UWC site at www.uwc.org.

The US Agency for International Development/Philippines has awarded US$4.2 million (P231 million) to a multi-sectoral program that seeks to improve the quality of education and enhance the life and employment skills of young Filipinos in Mindanao.

The program, Education and Livelihood Skills Alliance (ELSA), is a three-year initiative of the International Youth Foundation (IYF) in cooperation with an alliance of Filipino non-government organizations, foundations, and private corporations. The USAID grant has been earmarked for project components of ELSA in support of the Department of Education and the local government of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM).

In addition to addressing the educational and job training needs of out-of school youth, ELSA partners will provide teacher training, improve school infrastructure, enhance opportunities for employment and entrepreneurship, and assist national and local government officials in implementing education policy reform. The program will benefit the ARMM provinces of Tawi-Tawi, Suli, Basilan, Maguindanao, and Lanao del Sur as well as the Zamboanga peninsula, Lanao del Norte, Cotabato City, Cotabato, South Cotabato, and Sarangani.

“There is a need to present a range of opportunities to help young people in Mindanao develop skills needed to become more active participants in a productive economy,” said Michael Yates, USAID/Philippines mission director. “This program will support local initiatives and build on the considerable local expertise and experience we are so fortunate to have in the Philippines.”

ELSA builds on IYF’s nearly 15 years experience working on development challenges related to children and youth in the Philippines, in close partnership with key local organizations. The alliance created through the ELSA program includes the following partners:

1. Ayala Foundation will develop a leadership training program that will encourage high school youth to implement community projects and participate in learning sessions and interfaith dialogues.

2. Consuelo Foundation will provide non-formal basic and technical education to out-of-school youth.

3. Petron Foundation and Philippine Business for Social Progress (PBSP) will construct or repair 87 classrooms and provide equipment and facilities to target schools as well as educational assistance, teacher training, and health and nutrition programs.

4. South East Asian Ministers of Education Organization Regional Center for Educational Innovation and Technology (SEAMEO INNOTECH) will help improve the learning skills of students and instructional skills of teachers using technology-based learning strategies.

With the support of IYF and through collaboration with Mindanao based organizations, these key partners will develop and implement sustainable partnerships to increase access to quality education and livelihood skills. These programs will result in the increase of community-based learning opportunities, reintegration of out-of-school youth, expansion of teacher capabilities in the areas of Math, Science, and English, and school reform within the Mindanao region.

“IYF recognizes that multi-stakeholder partnerships have a greater impact in bringing about long-term improvements in young people’s lives,” said David W. Hornbeck, president and CEO of IYF. “With ELSA, we have established a strong core Alliance that will continue to address the education and livelihood challenges that affect this region.”

 The ELSA initiative also builds on IYF’s leadership over the past two years in collaborating with global, regional and local partners, including the Ayala Foundation and SEAMEO INNOTECH, to design and implement the successful Bridgeit program. Known as text2teach in the Philippines, this program is an initiative of IYF, Nokia, United Nations Development Programme, Pearson, and the Philippines Department of Education that employs the use of new technologies to improve the quality of teaching in learning in the Philippines.

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About the International Youth Foundation

The International Youth Foundation (IYF) is dedicated to supporting programs that improve the conditions and prospects for young people where they live, learn, work, and play. Since its founding in 1990, IYF has worked with hundreds of companies, foundations, and non-governmental organizations to scale up existing programs and build long-term strategic partnerships. Currently operating in more than 60 countries and territories, IYF and its partners have helped millions of young people gain the skills, training and opportunities critical to their success. More information on IYF can be found at www.iyfnet.org.

About USAID

Philippines USAID assists Philippine partners in five areas: economic reform and governance; conflict resolution in Mindanao and other areas vulnerable to violence; family planning, maternal and child health, HIV/AIDS and infectious diseases; environmental governance and energy; and access to quality education. USAID/Philippines also responds to humanitarian emergencies such as natural disasters. Over the past several years, USAID bilateral and other assistance to the Philippines has averaged $90 million per year. About 60 percent of the bilateral program is allocated to Mindanao.

Thirty-two artworks by 27 Filipino artists, many of which have never been seen by the Philippine public, are now on exhibit at the Ayala Museum.

Crossings: Philippine Works from the Singapore Art Museum chronicles close to one hundred years of Philippine art from Fabian de la Rosa’s portrait of Jose Rizal in 1902, the works of Fernando Amorsolo, H.R. Ocampo, Galo Ocampo, and Carlos “Botong” Francisco, to Nunelucio Alvarado’s Crossing in 2000.

The exhibit was officially launched on November 8 at a gala for Ayala Museum partners and donors highlighted by the signing of the memorandum of understanding between Ayala Foundation chairman Jaime Zobel de Ayala and Singapore Ambassador-at-Large and chairman of the National Heritage Board Prof. Tommy Koh. Crossings is the beginning of a five-year collaboration between the Ayala Foundation and Singapore’s National Heritage Board which aims to strengthen cultural ties between the Philippines and Singapore.

Commenting on the significance of the exhibit and partnership, Zobel said: “We are pleased to have helped pioneer a first: the return to our shores, if only for a limited time, of the Filipino artworks considered meritorious by the Singapore Art Museum. They are the ambassadors of the Filipino genius in the arts and of our collective Southeast Asian contribution to the arts of the world.”

The select number of paintings and sculpture from the permanent collection of the Singapore Art Museum represent three critical periods in the Philippines’ progress as a nation: before and after World War II (1930s-1960s), Martial Law (1972-1986), and post-EDSA 1 (1986-2000). Supported by the Embassy of the Republic of Singapore, Crossings is also part of Zero-In Transitions, the annual multi-sited exhibition consortium of the Ateneo Art Gallery, Ayala Museum, the Lopez Memorial Museum and Museo Pambata ng Maynila.

Prof. Koh noted that the title of the exhibition is appropriate because the artworks have crossed many boundaries from the time they left the Philippines to their exhibition at Ayala Museum and their eventual return to Singapore.

“Our Philippine art collection has always been displayed in a regional context,” Prof. Koh explained. “The works presented in this exhibition thus reflect the many choices that we have made in our attempts to understand Philippine art in relation to the art of the region. We hope that the collection will grow to enable Singaporeans to appreciate the richness and dynamism of Filipino artists and their art.”

Crossings is open to the public until June 12, 2005. The exhibition is accompanied by a 150-page full color exhibition catalog that is available for sale at the Museum Shop.

Ayala Museum was dedicated to the Filipino people in October as the high point of Ayala’s 170th anniversary. It is open on Tuesday to Friday from 9 AM to 7 PM and on Saturday and Sunday from 10 AM to 6 PM. For inquiries, please call 757-7117 to 21 or visit www.ayalamuseum.org.

Ayala Museum is set to revitalize the Philippine art scene as it brought together the local and international art communities for its inauguration.

The dedication was held on September 28 in an event hosted by Ayala Corporation and attended by Pres. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, former Pres. Corazon C. Aquino, representatives from the museum’s local and international partners as well as donors, lenders, artists, and patrons of Filipino art.

The inauguration of the new Ayala Museum was the high point of Ayala’s 170th anniversary celebrating the Filipino.

Jaime Zobel de Ayala, chairman of Ayala Foundation under whose auspices the museum belongs, said: “The new Ayala Museum is a gift to the Filipino people. Its mandate has always been to serve the community and the nation. Through the museum, we help re-collect our past by bringing back to the country Philippine collections from overseas institutions to share with a local audience. We intend to bring home what has long been inaccessible to other peoples. At the same time, we want to re-present the future by situating contemporary Philippine art in the global arena, enhancing pride of heritage that could ultimately deepen our understanding of what it means to be Filipino.”

The museum’s dedication featured performances by homecoming Filipino musicians soprano Margarita Gomez, cellist Wilfredo Pasamba, pianist Albert Tiu, violinist Joseph Esmilla, the Philippine Children’s Choir from Mandaluyong and the San Miguel Philharmonic Orchestra. During the program, images were projected on the ceiling and walls to depict historical highlights that are also represented in the exhibitions of Ayala Museum.

Pres. Arroyo opened the exhibits together with Mrs. Aquino and the museum’s principals. Inaugural exhibits include the famous dioramas and boat gallery; a definitive collection of Philippine ivory art from the 16th to 19th centuries; artworks of Fernando Amorsolo, Fernando Zobel, and Juan Luna; and watercolor albums of Damian Domingo and Justiniano Asuncion and actual dresses from the 18th and 19th centuries including loans from the collections of the Newberry Library in Chicago, the National Museum of Ethnology in Leiden, The Netherlands, the New York Public Library, the Intramuros Administration, the Bank of the Philippine Islands, and private collectors.

These exhibitions are further complemented by a series of lectures, studio classes, and interactive kiosks when the museum opens to the public on October 1.

Envisioned in the 1950s by Fernando Zobel de Ayala y Montojo, the new Ayala Museum is designed by Leandro V. Locsin Partners led by the late National Artist’s son Leandro Y. Locsin, Jr. Located at the corner of Makati Avenue and de la Rosa Street, Ayala Museum’s glass and granite-clad edifice is a stunning gateway to the redeveloped Greenbelt commercial center.

The museum’s vision and mission are articulated primarily by Mr. Zobel, its trustees, and a board of advisors composed of luminaries of Philippine art, history, and culture including Dr. Benito Legarda, Jr., National Artist Arturo Luz, fashion designer Josie Cruz Natori, and Ryan Cayabyab.

When the Ayala Museum reopens to the public on October 1, expect a larger, state-of-the-art venue that will be home to some of the country’s finest art and artifact collections here and abroad.

No less than four major exhibitions of international caliber will be showcased in time for the new museum’s inauguration on September 28. These include nearly 400 ivory sculptures from the 16th to the 19th centuries and three major overseas collections of Philippine watercolors and costumes from Europe and the United States, many of which have never before been exhibited in the country. In addition, multimedia and virtual exhibitions now enhance the museum’s existing collections.

The museum opens the doors of its new home to coincide with the celebration of Ayala’s 170th anniversary.

Recollecting the past
Located at the corner of Makati Avenue and de la Rosa Street as part of the redeveloped Greenbelt commercial center, the new Ayala Museum continues the tradition of the old museum which was designed by National Artist Leandro V. Locsin. The new museum was designed by Locsin’s architectural firm Leandro V. Locsin Partners, led by his son, Leandro Jr.

The new Ayala Museum is the culmination of the vision of Fernando Zobel de Ayala y Montojo who in the 1950s recognized the need to preserve and deepen Filipinos’ awareness and appreciation of arts and culture to inspire the country to move forward.

With well designed functional spaces and cutting edge technology, the new museum promises to put the Philippines and Filipino artists on the map of the international art community and to showcase Filipino works owned by museums and collectors abroad to the local public.

Explains Ayala Foundation chairman Jaime Zobel de Ayala, “The museum’s mandate has always been to serve the community and the nation. Through the museum, we help re-collect our past by bringing back to the country Philippine collections from overseas institutions to share with a local audience. We intend to bring home what has long been inaccessible to other peoples. At the same time, we want to re-present the future by situating contemporary Philippine art in the global arena, enhancing pride of heritage that could ultimately deepen our understanding of what it means to be Filipino.”

Most definitive collection
One of the museum’s inaugural exhibitions, Power + Faith + Image: Philippine Art in Ivory from the 16th to the 19th Century, is a result of the museum’s synergy with individual and institutional collectors from all over the country. Close to 400 major ivory images form the exhibit, making it the most definitive collection on this subject ever assembled to date.
Power + Faith + Image recalls the time when Philippines was considered the world’s major producer of Christian images in ivory. This Philippine ivory tradition, which is considered to have shaped the most beautiful and moving images, surpasses that of any other country for range, scope and sheer volume of production. Churches as well as private patrons in Spain, Mexico, Latin America and other Asian countries were supplied with these ivory images by master carvers from the Philippines.

Another major opening exhibition is Multiple Originals, Original Multiples: 19th Century Images of Philippine Costumes. This exhibition gathers for the first time the Damian Domingo watercolor album of Philippine costumes owned by the Newberry Library in Chicago, the Justiniano Asuncion watercolor album of Philippine costumes in the New York Public Library, and the Ayala Museum’s watercolor album of Philippine costumes attributed to the Damian Domingo atelier. Complementing the watercolor images are actual costumes from 18th and 19th centuries, including loans from the collections of the Newberry Library in Chicago, the National Museum of Ethnology in Leiden, The Netherlands, the New York Public Library, the Intramuros Administration, the Bank of the Philippine Islands and private collectors.

An international museum lecture series accompanies these inaugural exhibits.

Representing the future
Complementing these archaeological and ethnographic collections are the museum’s permanent collections and exhibitions spanning the country’s pre-history to modern times. In fine arts, the museum’s strengths are in the works of two 20th century artists, Fernando Amorsolo and Fernando Zobel. Enhancing these are works by 19th century artist Juan Luna. The new exhibition now includes works by Zobel and Amorsolo that the museum has been selectively acquiring to refine and fill gaps in the collection. For example, there are significant additions to the Zobel collection with major works from the 1970s, one of the strongest periods in Zobel’s career.

Those who have visited the old museum will also be pleasantly surprised by the careful renovation of the diorama exhibition. Representing critical turning points in Philippine history as identified by a panel of scholars led by the museum’s first director, Carlos Quirino, a total of 60 handcrafted dioramas were created in the late 1960s by artists and carvers from Paete, Laguna to form the core of the museum’s historical collections. They are now enhanced by a new multimedia People Power room which allows visitors to be part of “living diorama of moving images” from the creation of the republic to the tumultuous events that restored Philippine democracy in 1986.

The public can expect more exhibitions of international significance and an active program of intellectual exchange among our local and international colleagues. In November, the second round of inaugural programs brings back to the country, also for the first time, the Philippine collection of the Singapore Art Museum. A memorandum of understanding with the Singapore Heritage Board will be signed to facilitate continuing collaborations and exchanges of collections, knowledge, and expertise.

Over the years, the Ayala Museum has shifted from being strictly a museum on Philippine history to becoming an institution in which history and the arts interact and are given equal prominence. Now with a world-class facility and a renewed mission to recollect the country’s past and represent its future, Ayala Museum will soon serve as the locus of cultural interchange between similar institutions abroad and Filipinos.

Mr. Zobel adds, “The new Ayala Museum is a gift to the Filipino people. It’s the high point of this year’s anniversary celebration. It is a place for everyone with each visit assured of a wonderful learning experience. The museum chronicles the journey of our nation and it holds treasures that mirror a rich past and continuously evolving present artworks that are lasting legacies to our country. As Filipinos, we owe it to ourselves to recognize the value of our heritage.”

Ayala Corporation intends to file a registration statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for a Peso Five Billion fixed-rate 5-year bond offering. The issue will be rated by domestic credit ratings agency Philratings, an affiliate of Standard and Poor.

The proceeds of the issue will be used to refinance the Company’s future maturing debt obligations, a portion of which is denominated in foreign currency. Ayala’s decision to raise Peso-denominated funding is consistent with the Company’s strategy to shift a greater proportion of its borrowings to the local currency. It is also the Company’s way of contributing to the development of the domestic capital market by providing an investment option to local investors of significant size.

While Ayala is already seeking approval from the SEC, the Company retains the flexibility to launch the bond at the time when it feels the market is most receptive and favorable for a Peso issuance of this size. With close to P6.0 Bn in cash at the parent level and USD140.0 Mn in undrawn, committed credit facilities established by various financial institutions, the Company can adequately cover its maturing obligations up to next year. As such, the Company continues to be opportunistic in its fund-raising activities, enabling it to time the actual issuance when the conditions are favorable for one.

Ayala has mandated BDO Capital & Investment Corporation, BPI Capital Corporation, First Metro Investment Corporation, ING Bank, Land Bank of the Philippines, PCI Capital Corporation and Standard Chartered Bank as the Issue Managers for the bond offering.

Ayala Corporation also signed a P2.7 Bn Note Facility Agreement with a lending consortium to be funded by Banco de Oro Universal Bank‚ Trust Banking Department, Bank of the Philippine Islands, China Banking Corporation, Equitable PCI Bank Trust Banking Group, First Metro Investment Corporation, and Land Bank of the Philippines. This short- term, stand-by facility will provide the Company with additional capability in addressing its future liquidity and funding requirements and flexibility in timing the peso bond issue.