ACEN secures P10 billion term loan facility

MANILA, Philippines — ACEN Corp. is beefing up its war chest to support the aggressive expansion of its renewable energy portfolio.

The company, in a stock exchange filing, said it has secured a P10-billion term loan facility from local banks.

ACEN said the loan would be used for general corporate purposes, including funding of projects in the Philippines.

It is allocating P50 billion to P70 billion for capital expenditures this year to continue growing its renewable energy portfolio.

The company earlier said it was looking to borrow P30 billion to support its capital spending this year.

In March last year, ACEN’s board approved the procurement of additional omnibus credit lines of up to P7.5 billion from banks, as well as additional term loan facilities of up to P23 billion.

Last May, the company availed of credit facilities with China Banking Corp.of up to P5 billion, and omnibus credit lines with Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group of up to $50 million.

ACEN is also pioneering the issuance of the first ever peso-denominated fixed-for-life equity instrument in the country through its ongoing preferred share offering of up to P25 billion.

The offer period will run from Aug 11 to 23, while the target listing date on the Philippine Stock Exchange is on Sept. 1.

ACEN will issue   up to 25 million preferred shares at P1,000 apiece.  This represents the first tranche of the company’s three-year shelf registration of up to 50 million preferred shares.

The Series A preferred shares will bear an initial dividend rate of 7.1330 percent per annum, with a dividend rate re-setting on the fifth anniversary of the issue date.

The Series B preferred shares, once issued, will be the first Philippine peso-denominated fixed-for-life equity instrument offered and listed on the main board of the PSE.

ACEN is working toward reaching 20 gigawatts (GW) of renewables capacity by 2030, making it the largest listed renewables platform in Southeast Asia.

In the short term, the company aims to hit its five GW of renewable energy capacity target by 2025 or earlier amid its aggressive expansion.

The company has about 4,400 megawatts of attributable capacity from owned facilities in the Philippines, Australia, Vietnam, Indonesia and India, with a renewable share of 98 percent, which is among the highest in the region.