THE Securities and Exchange Commission has approved the plan of listed Megaworld Corp. to sell up to P5 billion worth of bonds, proceeds of which will be partially used to develop the newly acquired property in North Bonifacio in Taguig, City.

The developer, led by businessman Andrew Tan, said the bonds will be sold in minimum denominations of P50,000 and will be listed in the Philippine Dealing & Exchange Corp.

Earlier, Megaworld senior vice president and executive director Kingson U. Sian said the company will likely hold the offer next month.

The company said the bonds, which carry a term of five years and six months, will to help finance the development of the proposed central district development in Fort Bonifacio until 2011.

The bonds will be sold with a par amount of P3 billion with an oversubscription option for P2 billion. Megaworld said it plans to raise net proceeds of P2.97 billion from a P3-billion bond issue, and P4.95 billion from a P5-billion offering.

Sian said the North Bonifacio project will be a mixed-used development although “skewed” toward residential condominiums.

The Credit Rating and Investors Service Philippines Inc. has already assigned the highest rating of “AAA” to Megaworld’s proposed issuance. Meanwhile, joint lead managers and bookrunners of the bond sale are BDO Capital & Investment Corp. and HSBC Corp.

Earlier, the state-owned Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) officially declared Megaworld the winning bidder for the 8.38-hectare North Bonifacio property.

Megaworld beat Gokongwei-led Robinsons Land Corp. in the competitive challenge for the property by increasing its upfront cash offer from P700 million to P1.062 billion.

The listed company has committed to invest at least P15.6 billion for the development of the North Bonifacio lots over the next 20 years.

Megaworld has an existing large-scale development in the area called the McKinley Hill integrated community. This project entails about P50 billion in investments for the residential, office and commercial areas.

For the first six months of the year, Megaworld said profits rose 12 percent to P2 billion from the same period in 2008. Total revenues likewise rose 16 percent to P8.73 billion, which the firm credited to higher real estate sales.