Acen beefs up renewable energy bid with $1-B funding pool

With a fresh $400 million raised earlier through an Asean green bond issue, AC Energy Corp. (Acen) has already brought its renewable energy kitty to almost $1 billion for 2021 alone.

“The success of this fixed-for-life offering highlights the international investor community’s continuing confidence in Acen and in our strategic objectives,” company president and chief executive Eric Francia said in a statement.

“We believe that this green bond issuance will further empower us to scale up [renewable energy] investments and achieve our vision of becoming the largest listed renewable energy platform in Southeast Asia,” he added.

Acen said last week the latest offer was five times oversubscribed, with the order book volume exceeding $2 billion.

The issuance from the Ayala group, made through Acen Finance Ltd., is part of a $1.5-billion medium-term note program to be listed on the Singapore Exchange Securities Trading.

“This shows investors’ faith in the company’s fundamentals and their support for our aspiration to reach 5,000 megawatts in renewable attributable capacity by 2025,” said Cora Dizon, Acen chief finance officer.

The net proceeds from the bonds will be used to finance, in whole or in part, new or existing eligible green projects.