ACEN Corp to issue up to P5.5-B in corporate guarantees

MANILA, Philippines  —Ayala-led ACEN Corp. will issue up to P5.5 billion (AU$150 million) in corporate guarantees to support the development of the renewable energy projects of its Australian unit.

In a stock exchange filing on Tuesday, ACEN said it had executed facility arrangements with ACEN Australia Pty Ltd., as well as Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Ltd. and Westpac Banking Corp., for a green term loan facility.

Each bank may provide loans of up to P2.75 billion (AU$75 million), according to ACEN.

READ: ACEN secures P2.7-B loan from HSBC for projects in Australia

Corporate guarantees are issued when the guarantor, in this case ACEN, takes on debt payments if the debtor—ACEN Australia—defaults on the loans.

The company’s board of directors first approved in July 2022 the issuance of corporate guarantees with an aggregate amount of up to P36.79 billion (AU$1 billion) in support of ACEN Australia’s projects.

An initial issuance of up to P22.89 billion (AU$622 million) was approved.
Australia is ACEN’s largest international market, with over 1 gigawatts of capacity under construction and in operation.

The company is set to develop the 521-megawatt (MW) New England and 520-MW Stubbo solar projects in Australia.

Apart from the Philippines and Australia, ACEN also has businesses in Vietnam, India and Indonesia.