ACEN Corp. announced on Thursday that it had successfully issued and listed its maiden peso-denominated ASEAN green bonds with a principal amount of P10 billion.
“We are grateful for the strong support of Philippine institutional and retail investors for the company’s maiden peso green bond issuance,” ACEN President and Chief Executive Officer Eric T. Francia said in a statement.
ACEN, the listed energy arm of the Ayala group, said the green bonds are the first tranche under its P30-billion debt securities program registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The bonds have a fixed interest rate of 6.05% annually for a five-year tenor maturing in 2027.
ACEN noted that the green bonds were eight times oversubscribed, signaling robust demand and strong participation from institutional investors.
ASEAN green bonds comply with the ASEAN green bonds standards and proceeds are used exclusively to finance or refinance eligible green projects.
Maria Corazon G. Dizon, ACEN’s chief financial officer and treasurer, said amid the “challenging macroeconomic environment, we are encouraged by the enthusiastic take-up of our bonds by the investing community.”
“Our group is one of the country’s largest issuers of green bonds, and we are happy to contribute to the development of our nation’s debt capital market with our maiden peso green bond issuance,” she added.
ACEN will use the proceeds to fund its various renewable projects in the Philippines.
These projects are the 283-megawatts of direct current (MWdc) San Marcelino Solar I farm in Zambales, 42-MWdc expansion of the 72-MWdc Arayat-Mexico solar farm in Pampanga, and the construction of the 133-MWdc solar farm in Lal-lo, Cagayan.
To date, ACEN and its majority shareholder AC Energy and Infrastructure Corp. have raised an aggregate of $1.6 billion through green bonds since 2019 to fund renewable energy projects.
On Thursday, shares in ACEN closed 2.64% lower at P6.28 apiece. — Ashley Erika O. Jose