ADB supports Alternergy’s inaugural green corporate loan

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) is supporting Alternergy Holdings Corporation (AHC), a listed Philippine renewable energy developer, to secure its first green corporate loan.

The loan was secured in accordance with AHC’s Green Finance Framework, developed in accordance with the International Capital Markets Association’s Green Bond Principles, the ASEAN Capital Markets Forum’s Green Bond Standards, and the Asia Pacific Loan Market Association’s Green Lending Principles, the Loan Market Association, and the Syndication and Syndication Association Loan Trade.

The first tranche of the loan was secured on May 29 and consisted of a 20-crore Philippine pesos (3.44 crore) green corporate loan from BDO Unibank Inc. as sole lender and BDO Capital as authorized lead arranger. The loan will support the development of Alternergy’s renewable energy projects through Alternergy Tanay Wind Power Corporation (ATWC) and Alabat Wind Power Corporation (AWPC), as well as other future projects. Both ATWC and AWPC are wholly owned subsidiaries of Alternergy Wind Holdings Corporation, which in turn is wholly owned by AHC.

“This transaction demonstrates our commitment to mobilize green finance for sustainable development in the Philippines,” said Satoru Yamadera, advisor to ADB’s Department of Economic Research and Development Impact. “Renewable energy investors like AHC can play a key role in replacing carbon-intensive energy sources, which would significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions while providing employment and education to the communities that host their projects.”

ADB provided technical assistance to support project selection, bond framework development and capacity building under the Asian Bond Markets Initiative, an initiative of the governments of ASEAN, the People’s Republic of China (PRC), Japan and the Republic of Korea to develop local currency bond markets. The Poverty Reduction and Regional Cooperation Fund of the PRC financially supports this technical assistance program. This is part of ADB’s overall efforts to catalyze sustainable bond issuance in Southeast Asia.

ATWC will secure a green term loan of up to 8 billion Philippine pesos for the construction of a 112-megawatt wind farm in Tanay, Rizal Province. AWPC will also secure a green term loan of up to 5.4 billion Philippine pesos for the construction of a 64-megawatt wind farm on Alabat Island in Quezon Province.

“As a pure-play renewable energy company, Alternergy was keen to attract sustainability-minded investors through a well-designed, peer-reviewed financing framework,” said Carmen Diaz, AHC CFO. “We are grateful to ADB for its valuable advice in designing our green finance framework in line with global standards.”

“With the establishment of the Alternergy Green Financing Framework, we expect the company’s future capital raising efforts will follow this same mechanism as the sustainability investment market continues to grow,” Ms. Diaz added.

ADB is committed to achieving a prosperous, inclusive, resilient and sustainable Asia and the Pacific, while maintaining efforts to eradicate extreme poverty. Founded in 1966, it has 68 members, including 49 from the region.

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