Vivant seals P8.5-B loan for energy projects

MANILA, Philippines — Vivant Corp. is slated for an expansion in the energy market as it gets a fresh loan deal of up to P8.5 billion from BDO Unibank, Inc.

The Cebu-based conglomerate said its subsidiary Vivant Energy Corp. signed on Friday a term loan facility agreement with the banking giant.

READ: Vivant allots P67B for power, water expansion

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The new capital would help Vivant Energy finance its power generation projects and other capital expenditure requirements.

Vivant has investments in coal, oil and solar energy assets, with a total gross installed capacity of 1,176 megawatts (MW), as of end-June.

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It also acquired a 200-MW wind park in Samar last June. With a capacity enough to energize over 190,000 households, this asset is expected to be completed and integrated into the power grid by the end of 2028.

Earlier, the parent firm said it had earmarked P60 billion in capital spending for its energy subsidiary.

About 10 to 15 projects are targeted for the energy sector, with capacities ranging from 30 MW to 300 MW.

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Vivant hopes that the aggressive investment will make it a “major power conglomerate” by 2030.

Earlier this week, Vivant reported that its consolidated core net income in the first half had dropped by 19 percent to P784 million. The decrease is blamed on “unplanned downtimes” of some power plants.

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READ: Vivant acquires 200-MW Northern Samar wind park

“Vivant recognizes that uncertainties continue to persist. Externally, the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, slower-than-expected economic growth prospects and potential changes in industry regulations will continue to shape today’s business environment,” said Arlo Sarmiento, CEO of Vivant Corp.

“Internally, the company also faced operational challenges with the unplanned downtimes of a couple of our conventional plants, which affected our earnings in the first half of the year,” Sarmiento said in a statement.

He said Vivant has already mobilized the necessary resources to speed up the restoration of the capacities. INQ