Ayala to draw $60M more from lucrative climate bond offer

Ayala Corp. unit AC Energy Inc. has launched through private placement a $60-million tap on its five-year senior green bonds due 2024.

The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corp. Ltd. was engaged as dealer for the bonds, which were first issued in January 2019 and have a coupon of 4.75 percent yearly.

“This private placement was priced in line with current market prices as AC Energy locked in competitive borrowing rates in the midst of challenging market conditions,” the parent firm said in a regulatory filing.

“This brings the aggregate principal of the five-year series to $360 million and together with the $110 million 10-year bonds due 2029, brings the total of AC Energy’s senior green bonds to $470 million,” Ayala added.

Also, the latest issuance is a drawdown of AC Energy’s $1-billion medium-term note program, and will be listed on the Singapore Exchange’s Securities Trading division.

Proceeds of the issuance will be used to finance eligible green projects in accordance with AC Energy’s Green Bond Framework.

The bonds, certified as Climate Bonds under the Climate Bonds Standard, will be issued by AC Energy Finance International Ltd., a wholly owned subsidiary of AC Energy that will provide the guarantee.

According to the Climate Bonds Initiative, their standards and certification scheme is used globally by bond issuers, governments, investors and the financial markets to prioritize investments that “genuinely contribute to addressing climate change.”

According to AC Energy, proceeds of its green bonds have bankrolled a total of $261.5 million worth of projects within Southeast Asia as of February 2020.

These include three solar farms in Vietnam—the 330-megawatt Ninh Thuan project ($49 million), 50-MW Khanh Hoa project ($14.5 million) and 30-MW Dak Lak project ($7.4 million).

Green bond proceeds were also helping fund the construction of the 40-MW Dai Phong wind project in Vietnam ($23.6 million) and refinancing the acquisition of the 637-MW Salak and Darajat geothermal facilities in Indonesia ($166.9 million).

According to AC Energy, the green bonds are bolstering a renewable energy portfolio with an aggregate capacity of 1,047 MW.

As of end-2019, these assets have produced a total of 1,210 gigawatt-hours and helped avoid the emission of a total of 932 metric tons of carbon dioxide. By: Ronnel W. Domingo - @inquirerdotnetPhilippine Daily Inquirer

Source: Peso Economics