ACEN secures $150-M loan for regional RE expansion
The green term loan, with a tenure of five years, will enable ACEN to strategically expand into international markets, especially in Australia
The Ayala Group’s energy platform, ACEN Corp., has received fresh funding through a $150-million green term loan from Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp. Singapore Branch (SMBC) to bankroll regional renewable energy development.
In a stock report on Tuesday, ACEN said its subsidiary ACEN Renewables International (ACRI) signed the loan agreement, its first deal with SMBC.
The green term loan, with a tenure of five years, will enable ACEN to strategically expand into international markets, especially in Australia.
Dual-currency loan
“We are very pleased with the closing of this landmark US$/AU$ dual-currency loan with SMBC,” ACEN’s group treasurer Cecile Cruzabra said.
“This benchmark deal not only lends support to our momentum in expanding our international business but is also a testament to the faith that our banking partners place in our ability to execute on our vision,” she added.
Meanwhile, SMBC Corporate Banking Asia Pacific executive officer Hideo Uchida said the support extended to ACEN is part of the bank’s drive to strengthen the Asia Pacific region’s transition towards a Net Zero-aligned future.
ACEN has secured a green term loan of AU$150 million from Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Ltd. and Westpac Banking Corp. Additionally, the company has inked a loan agreement with British banking giant HSBC Ltd. for AU$75 million.
The company has also received funding totaling AU$277 million, which includes its first $100 million in green term loan facility from the global financial institution Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group.
Key markets
To date, ACEN has around 4,800 megawatts (MW) of renewable energy capacity in operation and under construction across its key markets in the Philippines, Australia, Vietnam, India and Indonesia.
The company aims to increase its renewable capacity to 20 GW by 2030.
ACEN has set ambitious targets to transition to a sustainable future. By 2025, it aims to have a generation portfolio powered entirely by renewable energy sources and become a Net Zero greenhouse gas emissions entity.