AC Energy has raised USD400m through a Perpetual Greenbond to invest in renewable energy projects in Asia including India
AC Energy, Ayala Corporation’s energy platform, successfully set the terms of its inaugural US dollar-denominated senior perpetual fixed-for-life (non-deferrable) green bond issuance at an aggregate principal amount of US$400 million with a fixed coupon of 5.65% for life with no step-up and no reset, priced at par. This represents the first US dollar denominated fixed-for-life green bond ever issued globally.
The Bonds will be issued by AC Energy Finance International Limited, a wholly-owned subsidiary of AC Energy, and will be guaranteed by AC Energy. The Bonds will be listed on SGX-ST and were certified under the ASEAN Green Bonds Standards by the Philippine Securities and Exchange Commission on 18 November 2019.
The ASEAN Green Bonds Standards is an initiative that facilitates ASEAN capital markets in tapping green finance to support sustainable regional growth and meet investor interest for green investments and is part of the ASEAN Capital Markets Forum’s broader efforts in developing green finance for the region. The ASEAN Green Bonds Standards have been developed in collaboration with the International Capital Market Association (ICMA) with the Green Bond Principles as its basis.
“We are very pleased to see the strong reception among bond investors for our maiden perpetual green bond, said AC Energy President and CEO Eric Francia. “We expect to add well over 1000MW of renewables capacity in 2020, and this fresh capital will further cement AC Energy’s commitment towards renewable energy and sustainability, and will support the company’s scaling up of renewable energy investments in the Asia Pacific”.
Meanwhile, AC Energy CFO Cora Dizon lauds the inaugural perpetual fixed-for-life green bond as a step towards widening the company’s investor base. “We recognize the fast growing investor demand for green bonds, which we are leveraging to strengthen and diversify our sources of capital”, said Dizon. “The strong investor demand generated interest of over US$1.2 billion and allowed the company to raise US$400 million.”
AC Energy plans to deploy the funds for renewable energy expansion across the Asia Pacific region to include the Philippines, Indonesia, Vietnam, Myanmar, India and Australia, among others.
As of November 2019, AC Energy has a net attributable capacity of over 1,600MW, of which 600 MW is from renewable sources. As one of the fastest growing energy companies with over US$1 billion of invested and committed equity in renewable and thermal energy in the Philippines and around the region, AC Energy aspires to achieve 5 GW of attributable renewable energy capacity, and generate at least 50 percent of total energy output from renewables by 2025.
BPI Capital Corporation is the Sole Global Coordinator for the transaction while BPI Capital Corporation, CLSA Singapore Pte Ltd, Credit Suisse (Hong Kong) Limited and UBS AG Singapore Branch (B&D) are the Joint Lead Managers and Joint Bookrunners for the transaction with the participation of BDO Capital & Investment Corporation, China Bank Capital Corporation, First Metro Investment Corporation, PNB Capital & Investment Corporation and RCBC Capital Corporation as Domestic Lead Managers.
Source: acenergy
