AC Energy (ACEN) said that it has raised a total of $967.6 million (around Php48.7 billion) in fresh capital in the first nine months of the year.
This comes as the Ayalas’ power arm recently raised $400 million from its green bond offer in Singapore, which was oversubscribed more than five times.
The US dollar-denominated senior guaranteed undated fixed-for-life ASEAN Green Bonds have a fixed coupon of 4.0% for life, with no step-up and no reset, priced at par.
Prior to the green bond offer, AC Energy said it had already raised Php5.37 billion ($111.2 million) stock rights offering in January, Php10.3 billion ($212.2 million) follow-on offering in May, and Php11.9 billion (US$244.2 billion) primary share investment by GIC affiliate Arran Investment Pte. Ltd. in March.
Back in February, the company said it aimed to raise Php30 billion in 2021 as part of its drive to achieve its target of having 5,000 megawatts (MW) in its renewable energy (RE) portfolio by 2025.
The net proceeds from the green bonds’ issuance will be used to finance or refinance, in whole or in part, new or existing Eligible Green Projects in accordance with ACEN’s Green Bond Framework (GBF).
The projects include those using solar energy, onshore and offshore wind energy, and geothermal energy projects with direct emissions of less than 100g CO2 per kilowatt-hour. AC Energy says the GBF sets out well-defined guidelines for the use of proceeds for RE projects, with comprehensive monitoring and reporting commitments.
Based on its 2020 Integrated Report, AC Energy has around 491MW in its RE portfolio in the Philippines and around 1,400MW abroad, comprised of a mix of solar, onshore wind, and geothermal assets. ACEN President and CEO Eric Francia said back in August that the company is open to investing in offshore wind power technologies.
“The success of this fixed-for-life offering highlights the international investor community’s continuing confidence in ACEN and in our strategic objectives. We believe that this Green Bond issuance will further empower us to scale up RE investments and achieve our vision of becoming the largest listed renewable energy platform in Southeast Asia,” Francia said in a statement.
“We are grateful for the strong reception to the Green Bonds from the debt capital markets, despite the challenging macroeconomic backdrop due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This shows investors’ faith in the company’s fundamentals and their support for our aspiration to reach 5,000 MW in renewable attributable capacity by 2025,” said ACEN Chief Finance Officer Cora Dizon.
The Bonds are issued by ACEN Finance Limited under its $1.5-billion medium-term note program, are guaranteed by AC Energy, and are listed on Singapore Exchange Securities Trading.