SAAVEDRA-LED Citicore Renewable Energy Corp. (CREC) has secured a financing deal with Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. (RCBC) totaling up to P20 billion to fund solar projects.
The initial tranche of P9 billion was arranged by RCBC Capital Corp., CREC said in a statement on Monday.
“The structure is believed to be the first-of-its-kind project financing in the Philippines, which covers various project portfolios instead of the typical per-project financing structure,” the company said.
Proceeds from the initial funding tranche will be used for CREC’s development of solar power plant projects in Batangas, Pampanga, and Negros Occidental.
These have a combined installed generating capacity of at least 600-megawatt direct current and up to approximately one gigawatt of solar energy capacity.
The company is targeting to complete the commercial operations of the first and second phases of the Negros Occidental project in September 2024 and 2025, respectively.
Meanwhile, the expected commercial operation dates for the first and second phases of both Batangas and Pampanga projects are December 2024 and 2025, respectively.
“RCBC’s support will assist us to fulfill our 1 GW (gigawatt),” CREC President and Chief Executive Officer Oliver Tan said. “We thank RCBC for their trust in us and we will endeavor to meet our goals with excellence.”
CREC is aiming to list its shares on the Philippine Stock Exchange on May 31, according to its prospectus dated April 3.
The company is set to offer 1.79 billion common shares at a maximum price of P3.88 apiece, including an additional 267.86 million shares for overallotment. — Sheldeen Joy Talavera