EDC signs $175-million loan facility

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TUESDAY, 21 JUNE 2011 19:51 PAUL ANTHONY A. ISLA / REPORTER

LISTED Energy Development Corp. (EDC), the country’s geothermal giant, signed on Tuesday six-year $175-million transferrable syndicated term loan facility.

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange, EDC said the new facility shall effectively refinance an existing $175-million transferrable syndicated term loan maturing on June 17, 2013.

EDC said it expects to achieve closing by end-June 2011.

Mandated lead arrangers and bookrunners of the transaction are Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Ltd. (ANZ), The Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, Chinatrust Commercial Bank, ING Bank N.V., Maybank Group, Mizuho Corporate Bank Ltd. and Standard Chartered Bank.

EDC said ANZ acted as sole coordinator and documentation bank.

In April EDC said it prepaid part of its P4.124-billion (¥8.1 billion) obligation as part of the debt owed to Japan International Cooperation Agency, as successor institution of the Overseas Economic Cooperation Fund of Japan.

EDC said it only has P276.74 million (¥543.6 million) in outstanding principal debt, representing 0.64 percent of the total loans of the company.

In June last year EDC has settled ¥22 billion of its Miyazawa-II debt.

The payment, according to EDC, has reduced to 13 percent its yen-denominated loans.

During the first half of 2010, EDC had successfully hedged the dollar-yen exposure of its entire ¥22 billion, which has benefited the company about P181.1 million.

The Miyazawa II loan was among the legacy loans which the Philippine National Oil Co.-Energy Development Corp. (PNOC-EDC) carried over into the present-day privatized EDC. It was used to fund the investment and working capital requirements of PNOC-EDC’S operating projects shortly after the Asian Financial Crisis.

The company expects to post improved earnings as it is scheduled to put the BacMan geothermal power plant back online by the second half of the year, which is significantly ahead of schedule.

Upon completion, Tantoco said the BacMan will be able to generate only 130 megawatts (MW), which is 20 MW short of its original generating capacity of 150 MW. One of the generating units reportedly bogged down and was not repaired when the plant was still being operated by the National Power Corp.                 

Federico Lopez, EDC chairman and chief executive, earlier told reporters that EDC has been accelerating the rehabilitation of BacMan geothermal power plant.

“We’re really rushing the BacMan to make sure it comes online. We target to complete the rehabilitation of the BacMan in 18 to 24 months.

Lopez quickly added that they are trying to push it closer to the 18-month target or even earlier.