AC Energy raises $225M in green bonds

THE ENERGY UNIT of Ayala Corp. (AC) raised $225 million worth of green bonds on Wednesday, which marks a first for the company as it looks to finance its renewable energy projects in the Asia-Pacific region.
In a disclosure to the stock exchange on Friday, parent AC said AC Energy, Inc. said the bonds carry a coupon rate of 4.75% per annum, and will mature in five years. The bonds will be listed on the Singapore Exchange Securities Trading Limited.
AC Energy’s wholly-owned unit AC Energy Finance International Limted issued the bonds, which were guaranteed by the former. AC noted that the bonds were a drawdown off its $1-billion medium note program.
The bonds have been certified as climate bonds as per Climate Bonds Standards set by the Climate Bonds Standard Board of the Climate Bonds Initiative (CBI). This indicates that any funds raised from the issuance of the bonds will be used fpr projects and assets that are “consistent with delivering a low-carbon and climate resilient economy.”
Aside from being the first green bond issued by AC Energy, this is also the first CBI-certified dollar-denominated green bond in Southeast Asia.
“We are very encouraged by the strong reception among bond investors within the current volatile environment. This reflects confidence in AC Energy’s capability to execute its plans and meet investor expectations,” AC Energy Chief Finance Officer Maria Corazon G. Dizon said in a statement.
The issuance is in line with AC Energy’s goal to have five gigawatts (GW) of operating energy capacity from a balanced mix of renewables and thermal assets by 2025. The firm ended 2018 with 2,800 GW hours of attributable energy, 48% of which came from renewable sources.
“We are very pleased to see the success of our maiden Green Bond. This will enable AC Energy to scale up its renewable energy investments in the region,” AC Energy Chairman Fernando Zobel de Ayala said in a statement.
AC Energy tapped HSBC as the sole global coordinator for the issuance. Bank of America Merrill Lynch was the Sole Green Structuring Agent, and also acted as joint bookrunners and joint lead managers alongside CLSA and HSCB.
BDO Capital & Investment Corp., BPI Capital Corp., and China Bank Capital were also engaged as domestic managers.
AC booked a net income attributable to the parent of P23.86 billion in the first nine months of 2018, three percent higher year-on-year. Gross revenues meanwhile jumped 18% to P201.68 billion during the same period.
Shares in AC jumped 0.99% or P9 to close at P921.50 each at the stock exchange on Friday. — Arra B. Francia