CREIT slates P4.5-B ASEAN green bond
By Myrna M. Velasco – September 23, 2022, 3:50 PM
from Manila Bulletin
The board of directors of Citicore Energy REIT Corporation (CREIT) has approved the company’s plan to issue up to P4.5 billion worth of ASEAN green bond to bankroll project expansion ventures.
In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE), the company emphasized that the base offer will amount to P3.0 billion with oversubscription allotment of up to P1.5 billion.
The real estate investment trust (REIT) firm of the Citicore group indicated that the bond issuance shall be subject to the approval of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Philippine Dealing and Exchange Corporation (PDEx).
Relative to the firm’s targeted investment growth trajectory, the CREIT board had similarly approved the “execution of any and all agreements and documents necessary for the acquisition of the multiple operating solar rooftop systems and various real estate properties suitable for utility-scale solar power plants pursuant to the use of proceeds of the corporation’s green bond offering.”
When CREIT debuted in the local bourse in February this year, company executives unveiled massive capital outlay of P70 billion that would underpin its 1,500-megawatt renewable energy (RE) development pipeline in the next five years.
The RE capacity buildup is targeted to be done at the level of affiliate Citicore Renewable Energy Corporation (CREC); and upon the completion of the projects, they will be folded as added assets into CREIT’s portfolio.
Given the magnitude of its blueprinted RE installations, the company had previously hinted of series of project finance-raising activities that the Citicore group will be embarking on in the months and years ahead.
Within this year, Citicore has programmed capital outlay of P3.0 billion for use in the expansion of its solar facility in Pampanga, which is its joint venture with the Ayala group and for its Silay plant in Negros Occidental.
The company has also been eyeing to jumpstart its investment into run-of-river hydropower development in Isabela that is targeted to reach commercial commissioning by year 2025.
Citicore targets to expand its market by offering capacity to commercial and industrial end-users that are now aggressively exercising their power of choice via the retail competition and open access (RCOA) policy as well as the green energy option program (GEOP) that are now flourishing in the marketplace of the deregulated electricity sector.
