BPI now among world’s biggest project financing arrangers

Ayala-led Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) has joined the roster of the world’s largest arrangers of project financing deals based on 2017 metrics, making it the highest ranking among Philippine banks.

BPI attained the 20th spot in the global rankings for project finance deals and the 6th spot in Asia-Pacific for 2017, beating all other Philippine banks, based on the recent Thomson Reuters Project Finance International (PFI) annual league tables.

This is the first time that a Philippine bank made it to the top 10 in the Asia-Pacific ranking, besting other strong Asian and foreign houses.

A newcomer in the rankings, BPI was cited based on the scale of project financing deals arranged last year. Project finance refers to the financing of long-term infrastructure, industrial projects and public services in which project debt and equity used to finance the project are paid back from the cash flow generated by the project.

According to the report: “One surprise [is] the appearance of a Philippine bank in the Top 10. Bank of the Philippine Islands, with its investment arm BPI Capital, is ranked sixth (in Asia-Pacific), with six deals worth $2.8 billion. The bank, possibly the oldest lender in the country, is part of the huge Ayala conglomerate.”

The financing deals arranged by BPI last year were for the following: AC Energy Holdings Inc. (Philippines, $437.1 million), Angat Hydropower Corp. (Philippines, $263 million), Atimonan One Energy Inc. (Philippines, $1.056 billion), SMC Consolidated Power Corp. (Philippines, $880 million), Star Energy Geothermal (Indonesia, $156.3 million), and, Unisys Managed Services Corp. (Philippines, $15 million).

“Our global ranking says as much about the strides our country is making in power and infrastructure as it does about BPI’s capabilities. We are very pleased to be an active and meaningful partner in nation building,” said BPI president and chief executive officer Cezar Consing.

The league tables of PFI are deemed the most accurate and comprehensive report on project finance activity, with data stretching back two decades, and data teams of Thomson Reuters and PFI editorial staff checking this data for accuracy and reliability every year.

The 166-year-old BPI is the first bank in the Philippines and Southeast Asia. It is among the most valuable banks in the country with its market capitalization of P465.5 billion.