Alsons expects to raise P694 million from commercial papers for RE funds
By Lenie Lectura -February 13, 2020
from Business Mirror
ALCANTARA-LED Alsons Consolidated Resources Inc. (ACR) expects to raise P694 million worth of commercial papers, providing additional financial aid to fund the company’s renewable-energy (RE) projects.
It said Wednesday that it re-issued P694 million from the first P1.5-billion tranche of the company’s commercial paper issuance with the Philippine Dealing and Exchange Corporation.
“This will provide interim funding to help the company’s expansion into the RE sphere,” it said.
The company recently commenced construction of its first RE project in Sarangani Province.
Its 14.5MW run- of- river hydroelectric power plant at the Siguil River basin in Maasim, Sarangani Province is expected to begin operations in 2022. The P4.5-billion Siguil Hydro power project will cater to the rapidly developing Sarangani/South Cotabato/General Santos City region.
Alsons Power plans to develop seven more run-of-river hydropower facilities in different parts of Mindanao and Negros Occidental.
The next two hydropower facilities in the group’s pipeline are the 38 MW Sindangan Hydro plant in Zamboanga del Norte and the 42 MW Bago Hydro plant in Negros Occidental.
Once completed and operational, these eight hydro power plants will constitute the bulk of the company’s power facilities.
The company’s commercial papers issuance earlier received PRS A plus with a Stable Outlook issuer credit rating from the Philippine Rating Services Corporation, which cited the company’s “above average capacity to meet its financial commitments relative to other Philippine corporates,” “the positive growth prospects for Mindanao which will bring about an increasing demand for power,” and ACR’s “ability to establish joint ventures with strong partners for particular projects.”
The “Stable Outlook” given to the ACR is assigned when a rating is likely to be maintained or to remain unchanged in the next 12 months.
“We are happy once again to tap the short-term capital market for our working capital need,” said ACR chief financial officer Robert Yenko. “These are exciting times ahead for ACR as we begin to focus on building up our RE portfolio and this facility with greatly help us in these efforts.”
ACR currently has a portfolio of four power facilities in Mindanao with an aggregate capacity of 468 megawatts (MW) serving over eight million people in 14 cities and 11 provinces, including key urban centers such as Cagayan de Oro, General Santos, Iligan and Zamboanga City.
