Aping the perceived success of Malaysia's $1 billion bond issue of last week, the Republic of the Philippines is asking banks to make immediate bids on a $500 million transaction of its own. The new strategy, which has caught most of the country's relationship bankers off guard, follows the postponement of a non-deal roadshow, originally scheduled to begin in Asia on Tuesday.
After shifting the start date around a couple of times, the Republic is now said to be in favour of selling its story to investors in September and pushing a deal out in the interim period. Bankers believe the main reason for delaying presentations is the 'state of the union address' scheduled...
