Lopez-led Energy Development Corp. (EDC) listed P5 billion worth of ASEAN green bonds at the Philippine Dealing Exchange Corp. on Friday.
In a statement, EDC said this was the first Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)-registered ASEAN green bond issuance offered by a local power company.
The bonds also made up the first tranche of EDC’s shelf registration of P15-billion worth of ASEAN green bonds.
“Due to the strong demand from investors for the first tranche bonds, the issuance was more than 10 times oversubscribed, allowing EDC to exercise the oversubscription option and raise another P2 billion on top of the base issue size of P3 billion,” EDC said.
The first tranche, composed of “Series A” bonds due 2024 and “Series B” bonds maturing on 2026, were priced at 2.8565% and 3.7305%, respectively.
“Apart from supporting the implementation of our growth projects, the green bonds will also help us fund our other maintenance capital expenditure projects that will allow us to continuously provide our customers with an uninterrupted supply of baseload…power. These projects will provide cleaner, reliable energy to businesses, institutions, and other electricity consumers,” EDC President and Chief Operating Officer Richard B. Tantoco said during the virtual listing ceremony on Friday.
By investing in the ASEAN Green Bonds, he said the public is able to support and participate in financing renewable energy projects.
Prior to the green bonds, the firm’s last bond issuance took place eight years ago.
Meanwhile, Mr. Tantoco said the company is expected to start work on the 120-megawatt Aya Pumped Storage project in Pantabangan, Nueva Ecija within the year.
“Within the balance of the year, we are excited to issue a notice to proceed for our Aya Pumped Hydro project that will be a first of its kind in the north of the Philippines,” the EDC executive said, adding that the facility’s battery system can run for up to 12 hours compared to traditional three-hour lithium-ion systems.
Last month, EDC’s parent firm First Gen Corp. said that around $60 million of its 2021 capital expenditures (capex) will fund the Aya hydro project.
Shares in First Gen at the local bourse inched up by 2% or 60 centavos to finish at P31.30 apiece on Friday. — Angelica Y. Yang
