- Loan agreement includes P10.7 billion in local currency bonds and P1.8 billion direct loan with 75% credit enhancement guarantee
- It is both first-ever climate bond in Asia-Pacific and first climate bond for a single project in an emerging market
AP Renewables, Inc. (APRI) is set to issue the first climate bond in the Asia-Pacific to secure credit facilities through Asian Development Bank (ADB), Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI), and ADB’s trust fund Credit Guarantee & Investment Facility. It is also the first-ever climate bond for a single project in an emerging market according to ADB.
The agreement includes a P10.7 billion local currency bond and a P1.8 billion direct loan that includes credit enhancement that guarantees 75% of principal and interest on the bond. The funding will be used in the development of the Tiwi-MakBan geothermal energy facilities.
“This transaction validates the successful rehabilitation program of the Tiwi-MakBan facilities,” said Liza Montelibano, First Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, AboitizPower. “The deal opens a new avenue for financing and refinancing our various projects, allowing AboitizPower to redeploy capital toward our large pipeline of new power investments that include renewable energy. We are committed to support the energy needs of the country, and in building renewable energy resources through our brand, Cleanergy.”
AboitizPower is an emerging leader in renewable energy in Southeast Asia with a portfolio of 29 hydro and geothermal power generation facilities producing a total of 915MW in attributable net sellable capacity. This year, the company is set to commission its first solar facility, the 59 MWp solar power plant in San Carlos City, Negros Occidental. Its other renewable projects in the pipeline–the 68-MW Manolo Fortich hydro of Hedcor in Bukidnon, the 8.5-MW Maris Canal hydro of SN AboitizPower (SNAP) and the National Irrigation Administration (NIA) in Isabela–are expected to be online by 2017.
AboitizPower continues to undertake feasibility and exploration for hydro and geothermal potential in Luzon and Mindanao and has announced its business expansion in Asia, starting off with the hydro and geothermal plant projects in Indonesia.