Ayala Group bundles renewables businesses and announces international plans

In a statement, Philippines-based Ayala group announced it was restructuring its energy business with the creation of a holding company named AC Renewables Inc. Under the restructuring Ayala will rename its holding firm on conventional power projects to ACE Thermal Inc.

All the group’s renewable energy assets will be transferred into the new AC Renewables holding company. An overall energy identity will the umbrella brand AC Energy for both renewable and thermal businesses and interests.

“AC Energy has scaled up rapidly over the last five years, and we believe that having these two exciting platforms will enable focused strategies and accelerate our growth,” AC Energy chair Fernando Zobel de Ayala said in a statement.

Eric Francia, chief executive of AC Energy, said in an interview the restructuring showed the Ayala group’s awareness that the two segments of the energy market were “two distinct businesses that attract different types of investors.”

“This move therefore provides AC Energy a sharper proposition and greater flexibility in the event that we broaden our investor base for our platforms,” Francia said.

“We are looking to expand [our business] internationally,” he added. “We are very active in business development particularly in the markets of Vietnam and Indonesia.”

In 2016, AC Energy began to expand regionally with its first two investments in Indonesia: Sidrap wind and Salak-Darajat geothermal plants.

The company also expects to make investments in Vietnam this year to further expand its footprint in Southeast Asia.

Source: Business Inquirer