SyCipLaw acted as borrower's counsel for AP Renewables, Incorporated (APRI), a unit of Philippine energy company Aboitiz Power, in the issuance of a landmark climate bond worth P10.7 billion ($225 million) for the Tiwi-MakBan geothermal power facilities.
The local currency bond is added to a direct P1.8 billion ($37.89 million) ADB loan, with the form of a guarantee of 75% of principal and interest on the bond. The use of credit enhancement for the bond shows ADB's strategy to support investments on infrastructure in Asia and the Pacific. This is the first climate bond issued in Asia-Pacific, and the first ever climate bond for a single project in an emerging market. It will be done in the Philippines with the backing of Asian Development Bank (ADB), and has been certified by the Climate Bonds Initiative.
APRI got the Tiwi-MakBan geothermal plants from the Power Sector Assets and Liabilites Management Corporation (PSALM) in 2009, and since then, had invested in facility-rehabilitation for performance improvement and extension of operating life. The geothermal plants have a combined generating capacity of 390 megawatts.
The SyCipLaw team was led by partners Marievic G. Ramos-Añonuevo and Melyjane G. Bertillo-Ancheta, with support from senior associates Jan Celine C. Abaño-Ranada and Bhong Paulo A. Macasaet, and associates Aldous Benjamin C. Camiso, Rhey David S. Daway, Rose Angelique P. Dizon and Alyssa Carmelli P. Castillo.
