Written by Madelaine B. Miraflor Published on 05 October 2012
Listed First Gen Corp.’s subsidiary FGP Corp. (FGP), the owner of the 500-megawatt (MW) San Lorenzo natural gas-fired combined cycle power plant, has borrowed $420 million from the country’s leading bank to pay an existing debt.
In a disclosure to Philippine Stock Exchange, First Gen said that FGP signed a $420-million 10-year term loan facility on Thursday with seven banks namely Bank of the Philippine Islands, BDO Unibank Inc., Philippine National Bank, Rizal Commercial Banking Corp., Security Bank Corp., The Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corp., and Union Bank of the Philippines.
“The proceeds of the loan will be used to repay the existing debt of FGP in the amount of $77.4 million. Thereafter, the net proceeds of the refinancing will be used to pay down a portion of First Gen Corp.’s debts,” the company said.
With the purchase of BG’s (formerly BG Philippines Holdings Inc.) 40-percent stake in the natural gas plants on May, First Gen effectively owns 100 percent of FGP.
“Aside from paying down debt at the First Gen level, the proceeds can be used to partly fund our growth plans including the 200MW to 500MW San Gabriel gas-fired project, which will begin construction next year and be completed in the 2014 or 2015 timeframe,” Francis Giles Puno, president and chief operating officer of First Gen said.
FGP, together with affiliate First Gas Power Corp., own and operate the 500-MW San Lorenzo and 1,000-MW Santa Rita natural gas-fired power plants, respectively. Both plants comprise First Gen’s natural gas portfolio and are located in Batangas City.
In addition to the First Gas Plants, First Gen is the largest shareholder in Energy Development Corp. First Gen’s power portfolio has an installed capacity of 2,763 MW and accounts for approximately 18 percent of the national grid installed capacity in the country today. source
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