Vivant fuels growth with P30 billion investments

MANILA, Philippines — Listed conglomerate Vivant Corp. is looking at investing up to P30 billion to ignite the growth of its energy and water businesses in the long-term.

Following a robust performance in 2023, Vivant CEO Arlo Garcia Sarmiento told stockholders on Thursday that the company expects to sustain its growth momentum this year.

“We are extremely proud of how we’ve been able to move the country forward with our significant investments in energy and water,” he said.

The Vivant Group closed 2023 with a net income of P2.3 billion, up 43 percent from the previous year and propelled by the strong contribution of the energy business.

For the power unit, the Cebu-based conglomerate is seeing its total equity investment requirement reach P22 billion by 2030, in line with efforts to boost the country’s energy sector.

Vivant Energy Corp. president Emil Andre Garcia said out of these investments, about P15 billion would be allocated for various renewable energy projects.

“As we look to the future, Vivant Energy remains committed to developing solutions for energy transformation and the improvement of energy services in the country,” Garcia said.

In 2023, the energy unit acquired San Ildefonso Alternative Corp., its first utility-scale solar power generation facility located in Bulacan with a total capacity of 22 megawatts (MW).

It also marked its entry into the wind space via a partnership with Aboitiz Renewables and Vena Energy for the construction of a 206-MW wind farm in Northern Samar, set for completion as early as April 2025.

Meanwhile, the group’s water strategic business unit, Vivant Infracore Holdings Inc., operating as Vivant Water, expects a total investment of around P8 billion over the next five years.

Jess Anthony Garcia, Vivant Water president and COO, said the investment would fuel the company’s growth and expansion in a bid to become a top-tier industry player in the Philippines.

“While we remain focused in the near term on our home market of Cebu and other identified locations, we ultimately aim to be a major player in the water sector with operations in the country,” he said.

Vivant Water claimed to be the first local company to construct a utility-scale seawater desalination facility in the country that is targeted to be fully operational before the year ends.

Once completed, the desalination plant in Cordova, Cebu, is expected to generate 20 million liters a day of potable water in the first phase.