SM Investments Corp SMIC on Thursday last week proved that it is possible sell convertible bonds in Asia that aren’t hedgeable. The Philippine investment holding company was able to raise $250 million by tapping primarily outright and long-only investors and did so at a time when its share price was trading at a record high.
By comparison, the CBs issued by Taiwan technology rivals Pegatron and Wistron in January failed to gain much traction with investors until the banks were able to offer asset swaps upfront that covered 80% to 100% of the respective base deals.
It clearly helped that SMIC is a well-liked investment group with...