After a difficult book-build, plagued by controversy over the calculation of current account data, the Philippines managed to salvage some measure of success by the time it priced a $500 million bond yesterday Wednesday.
Conscious that it has to raise close to $4 billion from the international markets this year, the sovereign knew it was vital to make sure its first deal set the right tone for the many that will follow. Market participants are, therefore, likely to conclude that capping the deal at $500 million was an extremely sensible move even though the leads had been able to build an order book of $1.15 billion. And while a number of non-syndicate...
