ACEN to tap P23-B loan facilities for project expansions

By Myrna M. Velasco – March 11, 2022, 4:08 PM
from Manila Bulletin

To prop funding for its robust investment pipeline, Ayala-led ACEN Corporation will be tapping P30.5 billion in additional loans.

As disclosed to the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE), the targeted loan procurements approved by the board of directors of ACEN in their regular meeting last March 8 will be composed of up to P23-billion term loan and omnibus credit lines of up to P7.5 billion from banks..

Apart from beefing up the company’s cash hoard for project financing, the ACEN board also gave go-signal on the declaration of P0.06 per share cash dividend to its shareholders as of record date April 5 2022; and payment date will be on April 19.

ACEN similarly announced this week its P55-billion capital expenditures (capex) allocation for 2022 — primarily to bankroll its 521-megawatt New England solar venture in Australia; and 420MW Masaya solar farm in India.

The Ayala firm emphasized that it will be lining up that scale of capital spending “for aggressive development of new capacity in the Philippines to address the country’s power supply challenges;” as well as for its expansion projects in offshore markets.

Within this year, ACEN is advancing the construction of aggregate 484 megawatts of greenfield solar and wind farm facilities in the Philippines. The company has already issued in October last year the notice-to-proceed (NTP) for its blueprinted 283.7MW San Marcelino solar farm venture in Zambales.

The company is likewise developing the 160MW Balaoi and Caunayan wind project in Ilocos Norte, which upon its commercial operations in the early part of 2023, will serve as the country’s biggest wind farm installation.

For its international expansion, ACEN has served the NTP in January this year for its 420MW Masaya solar fam project in India, signaling that the facility’s construction will already kick off.

In Vietnam, the Ayala company has so far gained traction after cornering feed-in-tariff (FIT) incentive for its 320MW wind project development; which will then augment its existing 270MW solar capacity in that market.

ACEN said its attributable power generation portfolio currently stands at 3,800 megawatts; and 87-percent or 3,300MW of that are renewable energy technologies, primarily solar and wind farm developments.

“This puts the company in a strong position to reach its 5,000MW target earlier than 2025 – towards its vision of becoming the largest listed renewables platform in Southeast Asia,” the Ayala firm stressed.