Ayala, Trans-Asia bag P9B in loans for coal-fired plant

Business World Online
Posted on November 02, 2011 10:18:05 PM


THE ENERGY joint venture between Ayala Corp. and Phinma Corp. units has bagged a P9-billion loan from three banks for a coal power plant project in Batangas, the firms yesterday said in separate disclosures to the local bourse.
South Luzon Thermal Energy Corp., jointly operated and managed by Ayala-led AC Energy Holdings, Inc. and Phinma’s Trans-Asia Oil and Energy Development Corp., signed the loan facility with lenders Banco de Oro Unibank, Inc., Security Bank Corp., and Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. for the 135-megawatt (MW) power plant in Calaca, Batangas.


“The loan will be used to fund the construction of the project, which is expected to be operational by mid-2014,” a disclosure read.


The P12-billion plant is expected to be funded both by borrowings and equity according to earlier reports.


Construction of the circulating fluidized bed power plant began last September.


In a related development, Trans-Asia signed a 15-year power purchase agreement with South Luzon Thermal Energy, to eventually acquire generated output, a separate disclosure showed yesterday.


This comes on top of Trans-Asia’s purchase of the Maibarara geothermal plant’s 20-MW generated output for a period of 20 years.


The loan deal marks further progress in Ayala’s foray into the power industry.


Earlier, AC Energy Holdings had acquired a 50% stake in NorthWind Power Development Corp., for roughly P500 million. NorthWind owns and operates the 30-MW, 20-turbine Bangui wind farm in Ilocos Norte, the first commercial wind farm in the region.


The Ayala unit had also infused an initial amount of P600 million into a joint venture with power firm Sta. Clara Power Corp. for the development of run-of-the-river hydroelectric power projects across the Philippines.


Ayala was incorporated in 1968 and listed on the PSE in 1976, with principal business interests in real estate and hotels, financial services and bancassurance, telecommunications, electronics, information technology and business process outsourcing, water utilities, automotives, among others.


Trans-Asia, on the other hand, was incorporated in 1969 to primarily engage in petroleum exploration and production before diversifying into power generation.


Ayala shares fell by 3.72% to P295.00 apiece yesterday while Trans-Asia shares fell by 1.89% to P1.04. -- Franz Jonathan G. de la Fuente