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ROBINSONS Land Corp. (RLC) told the Philippine Stock Exchange that
it has signed an accord selling its receivables from property sales
to a special purpose company.
In its disclosure, RLC said that it entered into
an agreement assigning Home Funding (SPC) Inc. (HFI) to collect up
to P1.5-billion worth of receivables from “certain contracts to
sell” with its buyers. These receivables would be turned to
securities in accordance with and pursuant to the Securitization Act
of 2004.
The agreement, which would be implemented in
several tranches upon the approval of the Securities and Exchange
Commission, would provide covered buyers an additional option for
long-term financing on their condominium purchase.
In a telephone interview Kerwin Tan, RLC
vice-president for operations, said the company is exploring ways on
how it can provide financing schemes for its clients comparable to
those of local banks.
“The more financing schemes there are, the
better [for the company],” he said.
Jose Vistan, AB Capital Securities Inc. head of
research, said that companies like RLC may have opted for the
securitization of receivables for liquidity purposes “probably to
finance more projects instead of waiting for the payments to be
completed.” Usually, these receivables are sold to asset
management firms at a discount, he said.
Tan said there is lower risk for the potential
investors buying these securities since, unlike in the US subprime
sector, buyers are asked for around 20-percent equity in financing
homes, therefore minimizing defaults.
Earlier, RLC tied up with JP Morgan Chase Bank
N.A. to strengthen its cash management services for the
international market by expediting the clearing periods for
international checks used for amortization payments and sent through
JP Morgan in US, Europe and Asia.
The agreement also allows RLC buyers to pay
their amortization by auto-debiting from their accounts with
different banks. Tan said buyers do not have to maintain an account
with JP Morgan.
-- Likha C. Cuevas-Miel
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