ACEN secures AU$277-M loan for Australia projects

BY LENIE LECTURA – JANUARY 10, 2023
from Business Mirror

ACEN Corp. has secured a 277-million Australian dollar funding from major international banks to bankroll the renewable projects of its subsidiary, ACEN Australia Pty Ltd. (ACEN Australia).

The power arm of conglomerate Ayala Corp. disclosed Monday that as guarantor to ACEN Australia it signed a syndicated green term loan facility worth a total of AU$277 million (around P10.52 billion at current exchange rates), the platform’s largest green term loan facility to date.

“The loan will provide capital financing for ACEN’s renewable energy portfolio in Australia, which will be a significant contributor to the company’s strategic aspiration to grow its renewables capacity to 20 GW by 2030,” it said.

Comprising the syndicate are Bank of China (BOC) in Manila and Hong Kong, CTBC Bank in Manila and Singapore, and Standard Chartered Bank in Australia.

Bank of China (Hong Kong) Ltd. (BOCHK) was the green loan structuring bank, while the Commonwealth Bank of Australia acted as the agent for the syndicated green term loan facility.

Herbert Smith Freehills was legal counsel for ACEN Australia while King & Wood Mallesons was the counsel for the lenders.

“The funds will be allocated to finance the development and construction of ACEN’s project pipeline in Australia encompassing solar, wind, battery storage, pumped hydro power and energy storage,” added ACEN.

The New England Solar farm, the first of these projects, is expected to be in operation by the middle of 2023.

The syndicated green term loan facility is part of ACEN’s AU$600-million target to be used in capitalizing Australia’s unparalleled renewables potential, and is a follow through to several transactions completed last year.

Long-term revolver

IN August 2022, ACEN Australia executed AU$100 million green long-term revolver with DBS Bank Australia. A revolver is a borrower who carries a balance from month to month via a revolving credit line.

The following month, two transactions were completed: the AU$140 million green long-term facility signed with MUFG Sydney Branch, and the AU$75 million green debt facility signed with the Australian government’s Clean Energy Finance Corporation (CEFC).

“This syndicated green term loan facility continues to build on the funding secured at the end of last year, and will be mobilized into our Australian portfolio.

With Stubbo 520 MWDc (MegaWatts defined conditions) project reaching Notice to Proceed late in 2022, ACEN continues on the journey in decarbonizing Australia. It is exciting to work with quality financial institutions, and the appetite for quality investments is real,” said Anton Rohner, ACEN Australia CEO.

ACEN Australia is the platform representing ACEN’s renewable energy assets in Australia. It has more than 1.5 GigaWatts (GW) of projects under construction or at an advanced stage of development, including the New England Solar, New England Battery, Stubbo Solar and Valley of the Winds projects in the NSW New England and Central-West Orana Renewable Energy Zones, as well as the Robbins Island and Jim’s Plain Wind project in North-West Tasmania.

ACEN has about 4,000 MW of attributable capacity from owned facilities in the Philippines, Vietnam, Indonesia, India, and Australia, with a renewable share of 98%, which is among the highest in the region. ACEN’s aspiration is to be the largest listed renewables platform in Southeast Asia, with a goal of reaching 20 GW of renewables capacity by 2030.