EDC green bonds lauded

Energy Development Corp.’s (EDC) P5-billion dual tranche Asean Green Bond was named the country’s best local currency green bond in the recent Triple A Country Awards 2021 under The Asset’s best Southeast Asia best deals category for sustainable finance.

EDC’s P5 billion worth of Securities and Exchange Commission-registered Asean Green Bonds was listed on the Philippine Dealing and Exchange Corp. on June 25, 2021 and was the first tranche to be issued out of EDC’s P15-billion Asean Green Bonds shelf registration.

Due to strong demand from investors, the P3-billion base offer of the issuance was more than 10x oversubscribed, allowing EDC to fully exercise the oversubscription option and raise another P2 billion. The Bonds were priced at the lowest end of the range at 2.8565 percent and 3.7305 percent for the 3-year and for the 5-year series, respectively.

“We are grateful for The Asset’s recognition of our efforts to encourage investors to take a strong stand for the environment through our Asean Green Bond program,” said EDC Chief Finance Officer Erwin O. Avante. “The public’s strong support for the expansion of our 100 percent renewable energy portfolio and the financial institutions’ commitment to focus only on funding low carbon power are crucial in speeding up that necessary transition to a decarbonized world. We all need to work together to achieve this while we still can.”

The Asset, through the Triple A Country Awards, has been recognizing the most laudable initiatives in banking, finance, treasury, and capital markets for over two decades with focus on activities in domestic markets. The Asset is a financial multi-media group that has the widest reach among Asian issuers and global institutional investors.

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) approved in June last year the shelf registration of the EDC ASEAN Green Bonds and issued the permit to sell for the bonds.  The bonds were rated PRS Aaa, with a stable outlook, by the Philippine Rating Services Corp. and are the first SEC-registered peso-denominated Asean Green Bonds to be issued by a power company in the Philippines.

EDC’s Green Bond Framework was reviewed and opined by Sustainalytics to be aligned with the 2018 ICMA Green Bond Principles.

BDO Capital & Investment Corp. and BPI Capital Corp. acted as joint issue managers, joint lead underwriters and bookrunners, and SB Capital Investment Corp. acted as the co-lead underwriter for the transaction.

EDC operates 1,181.8 MW of geothermal, 150 MW of wind, 132.8 MW of hydroelectric power, and 12 MW of solar power plants—for a total of 1,476.6 MW of clean and renewable energy.

EDC accounts for 19 percent of the country’s total installed renewable energy capacity, and comprises 62 percent of the country’s total installed geothermal capacity. It has put the Philippines on the map as the 3rd largest geothermal producer in the world.