MANILA, Philippines — Ayala-led ACEN Corp. has sealed a €50-million (about P3.1 billion) credit facility with ING Bank N.V. Manila Branch to reinforce its international expansion.
In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange yesterday, the listed energy arm of the Ayala Group said its subsidiary ACEN International Inc. has finalized the signing of a term loan facility with ING.
The financing would be used to finance existing and upcoming renewable power projects and for other general corporate purposes, ACEN said.
Further details were not immediately made available.
The transaction came weeks after ACEN Australia secured P27 billion (around 750 million Australian dollars) in debt financing from a consortium of global lenders to fund its green energy projects.
In particular, the project financing will bankroll the construction of the company’s large-scale solar, battery and pumped hydro projects across Australia.
In a separate disclosure, ACEN said ACEN Australia’s three major projects in New South Wales have secured access rights to the Central West-Orana Renewable Energy Zone (CWO REZ).
This grants the 920-megawatt Valley of the Winds, the 600-MW Birriwa Solar and the 1,200-MW-hour Birriwa battery storage projects the right to connect to the new CWO REZ transmission assets.
ACEN Australia managing director David Pollington said the access rights demonstrated the company’s ability to deliver high-value projects and contribute to the country’s energy resilience and security.
“This is a strong vote of confidence in ACEN Australia’s capability to realize the full value of these projects… and reinforces our long-term commitment to regional investment, job creation and responsible project development across New South Wales and beyond,” he added.
The international portfolio supported ACEN’s financial performance in the first quarter of this year despite softer contributions from the Philippine operations or the home market.
From January to March, net income declined by 28 percent to P1.95 billion from P2.7 billion on a yearly basis as revenues dropped by 21 percent to P7.8 billion from P9.9 billion.
Currently, ACEN has a global renewables portfolio of seven gigawatts spanning operational, under-construction and committed projects. By 2030, it wants to scale up its attributable renewables capacity to 20 GW.