Ayala eyes new growth platforms

MANILA, Philippines - Conglomerate Ayala Corp. (AC) is investing roughly $1 billion in power and infrastructure over the next five years as it strengthens its foothold in these two new growth platforms, its president and chief operating officer Fernando Zobel de Ayala told the company’s stockholders  yesterday.

In a separate press briefing, AC managing director and president of AC Energy Holdings Inc. John Eric Francia, said the company has already committed $325 million as it targets to assemble 1,000 megawatts of generation capacity from both renewable and conventional power assets.

In all, AC is setting aside a total of $600 to $700 million for equity investments in the power sector, Francia said.

He said the company is in talks with existing power players for possible partnerships but declined to provide more details, saying that nothing is final yet.

“We have a pipeline of projects,” Francia told reporters.

He said the company is targeting more investments in conventional energy and a smaller portion in the renewable energy (RE) sector.

 â€œWe will have a combination of conventional and RE energy sources but given the realities that we face now, we see the mix tipping in favor of conventional energy. At least for the first five years, we will have 70 percent in conventional energy and 30 percent in RE.

“Hopefully, in time, we will have a more balanced mix,” Francia said.

In 2012, Ayala started the construction of two 135-MW circulating fluidized bed (CFB) in Calaca, Batangas. In December last year, AC Energy also signed an agreement for a strategic stake in GNPower Mariveles Coal Plant, which owns 300-MW CFB coal plant in Bataan.

In the renewable energy sector, AC Energy is also actively developing renewable energy platforms in wind and mini hydro-projects in various parts of Luzon and Mindanao.

In the transport sector, Ayala is aiming to deploy over $300 million for strategic projects in toll roads, rail and airports.

Following its successful bid for the Daang Hari Connector Road project, the company is eyeing other infrastructure projects, which have the potential to generate group synergies and enhance the value of the group’s businesses, the company said.