Global investors flock to PH energy sector

Energy Secretary Raphael Lotilla —Contributed photo

A coalition of investors and groups focused on boosting infrastructure buildup across the Indo-Pacific region has picked the Philippines’ energy sector as its “initial focus market,” the Department of Energy (DOE) said.

The Philippines caught the groups’ attention because of its rising energy demand and the government’s renewables goals—seeing this as “critical” to the region’s economic and energy landscape.

The Marcos administration hopes that by 2050, the share of renewable energy in the power generation mix will expand to 50 percent from the 22 percent at present.

Energy chief Raphael Lotilla on Monday welcomed the move of the Coalition for Emerging Market Infrastructure Investment (CEMII), saying this complements current efforts to boost local power supply.

“We look forward to working closely with the coalition to realize our shared vision of a clean energy future for the Philippines and the broader Indo-Pacific region,” he said in a statement.

The CEMII is convened by the Indo-Pacific Partnership for Prosperity (IP3) and co-chaired by Global Infrastructure Partners and US-based investment firm KKR.

The coalition is also backed by Allied Climate Partners, BlackRock, Brookfield, GIC, The Rockefeller Foundation and Singapore’s Temasek.

The DOE said that with this entry of CEMII, private players can expect capital to “be deployed quickly.”