By Danessa Rivera (The
Philippine Star) | Updated July 27, 2016 - 12:00am
MANILA, Philippines – Power
distributor Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) has finalized a P10-billion
short-term loan with BDO Unibank Inc. to bankroll its capital expenditures and a
portion of its special dividends, a ranking company official said.
In an interview, Meralco senior vice
president and chief financial officer Betty Siy-Yap said the company borrowed
P10 billion from BDO last month “because the rate was attractive.”
“We wanted to (raise funds when) the
capex came in, and we wanted to fund a portion of the dividends,” she said.
She said the company is also
studying four loan offers from several banks but did not divulge their
identity.
“We’re carefully looking at it. When
we need, at least its available. We also want to time it when interest rates
work in our favor,” Yap said.
Meralco’s approved capex for
regulatory year 2016 amounts to P15.47 billion, lower than the P17.5-18.5
billion capex it had asked the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC).
Meanwhile, the ERC has yet to decide
on Meralco’s application for its P15.4-billion capex for RY 2017.
Within the year, Meralco will also
file an application to issue bonds which was withdrawn in June 2015 due to
increasing interest rates, the company executive said.
“For the long term, we’re looking at
it but for Meralco to be able to borrow, we need regulatory approval for that
one,” Yap said.
“We’ll reapply some other
time. at that time. We had to withdraw because the rates we’re working against
us. When markets become better, we’ll certainly go. With the capex approval,
its something we should consider,” she said.
The power firm earlier said the fund
raising activities will finance its capex for RY 2016 and 2017.
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