Aboitiz exploring energy opportunities in SE Asia

ABOITIZ Equity Ventures, Inc. (AEV) is exploring energy opportunities in Southeast Asia, a top official said on Monday.

“We are continuing to look at developments both in Indonesia and Myanmar,” AEV President and Chief Executive Officer Erramon Aboitiz said in a press briefing in Makati.

Aboitiz said they were also looking at some solar energy opportunities.

“The large hydro is generally the area we’re most interested in,” he said, adding that Myanmar, which has a lot of hydro potential, badly needed power. But he noted the need to be careful because that country has no clear regulatory framework.

“We know this takes a while before these things are to really bear fruit,” Aboitiz said.

Meanwhile, AboitizPower Corp. President and Chief Operating Officer Antonio Moraza said they have already seen potential sites for power plants in Myanmar and Indonesia.

“In Myanmar and Indonesia we have the sites. We know where we want to be. The potential sites are there and now we are working on the social and political issues,” Moraza told reporters. But he conceded it would take them a couple of years to set up such projects in the two countries.

Moraza said regional expansion would make up a big chunk of their 2025 capacity expansion target.

“I believe it would be,” he said. “But if it’s large hydro, that takes a while. [ We are] looking at other opportunities. Other technologies like coal and gas might be difficult for us because our financing cost is higher than in countries like Korea and Japan.”

AboitizPower is targeting 4,000 megawatts (MW) of sellable capacity by 2020. At present, its current capacity is 3,003MW.

AboitizPower, the power arm of listed conglomerate AEV, is engaged in power generation, distribution, and retail electricity services. It has interests in both renewable and non-renewable generation plants.