PhilEximbank to guarantee loans of SunPower Phils

The Philippine Export Import Bank (PhilEximbank) has agreed to guarantee up to $200 million worth of loans for the $300-million solar wafer cells manufacturing project of SunPower Philippines Manufacturing Ltd., an affiliate of US-based SunPower Corp.

Finance Secretary Jose Isidro Camacho revealed that the PhilEximbank board of directors agreed to extend a loan guarantee for SunPower, a Brittish-owned company that has registered with the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) as a pioneering project.

Camacho said the project will be funded out of 25 percent equity and 75 percent loans which he said would be guaranteed by PhilEximbank. "They’re already conducting a due diligence review," he said. "One of the perks the government is offering is the guarantee on its borrowings."

The government itself is not allowed to extend any more sovereign guarantees on private projects, but PhilEximbank’s loan guarantee facility also carries the full faith and credit of the sovereign.

If the proponent defaults on its loan and PhilEximbank is itself unable to meet its guarantee obligations, the government would assume the guarantee and shoulder the consequences of loan default.

SunPower is the world’s biggest manufacturer of ultra high-efficiency silicon solar cells and Camacho said the company chose the Philippines as the location for its new P2.256-billion solar wafer cell plant.

SunPower Corp. is majority controlled by Cypress Semiconductor Corp., a major manufacturer of pure optical and optoelectronic equipment. It is also involved in the design and manufacture of solutions targeted across wireless and wireline communications. – Des Ferriols