PLDT Inc. has secured a P2-billion social loan from HSBC Philippines to expand its fiber network, the Manuel V. Pangilinan-led telecommunications company said.
“The integration of PLDT’s sustainability agenda in the business is evident even in the way we fund our projects,” PLDT Chief Financial Officer and Chief Management Officer Danny Y. Yu said in a statement on Wednesday.
Social loans are financing solutions meant to fund social initiatives like projects for essential services such as healthcare, education, housing; small and medium enterprises financing and microfinance; and access to basic infrastructure such as the development and expansion of telecom networks in underserved areas.
PLDT said its social loan will expand its fiber network infrastructure to reach the Philippines’ fourth to sixth class municipalities, including those considered as geographically isolated and disadvantaged areas.
There are about 729 municipalities considered as fourth to sixth class municipalities, PLDT said, citing Philippine Statistics Authority data.
PLDT covers at least 59% of the municipalities considered as fourth to sixth class.
“The company has outlined plans to extend fiber services to an even greater number of municipalities in the coming years, prioritizing areas most in need of connectivity, enabling new communities to benefit from access to data and the internet,” PLDT said.
In March, PLDT secured its first green loan at P1 billion from HSBC Philippines to also fund the expansion and upgrade of its network. This was followed by another P4-billion loan from Metropolitan Bank & Trust Co. two months later.
A green loan is a form of financing allowing borrowers to use the proceeds to fund eligible green projects.
At the stock exchange on Wednesday, PLDT shares closed P15, or 1% lower, at P1,480 each.
Hastings Holdings, Inc., a unit of PLDT Beneficial Trust Fund subsidiary MediaQuest Holdings, Inc., has a majority stake in BusinessWorld through the Philippine Star Group, which it controls. — Ashley Erika O. Jose
