AboitizPower scouts for partner for potential investments abroad

MANILA, Philippines — Aboitiz Power Corp. is scouting for a partner for possible overseas investments, its top official said yesterday.

Emmanuel Rubio, AboitizPower chief operating officer, said the company was keen on expanding in Indonesia, Vietnam and Myanmar.

While AboitizPower is open to looking at opportunities in other countries, the firm will be focusing on these three Southeast Asian nations.

These are the countries where the company has done in-depth studies and has understanding of the regulatory environment, he said.

“We’re open to any opportunities, but the primary focus in these areas is renewables,” Rubio said.

AboitizPower previously announced targeting hydropower project ventures in Indonesia and Myanmar, as both these countries have the potential for several hundreds of megawatts of hydropower projects.

So far, it has already gotten a headstart in Indonesia after it partnered with SN Power and PT Energi Infranusantara to invest in PT Auriga Energi which will conduct the feasibility studies for the exploration and development of a potential 127-MW hydropower generation project along the Lariang River in Central Sulawesi, Indonesia.

In 2015, AboitizPower also looked at the potential of a greenfield geothermal exploration and development project of its wholly-owned Singapore-based subsidiary AboitizPower International Pte. Ltd. (AP Intl) in Ijen, East Java province. But in 2017, it decided to exit the project.

This time, AboitizPower will be doing its overseas expansion slowly but surely and with the right partner since “partnering with existing players is critical,” Rubio said.

“We are doing feasibility studies, looking for partners. I guess, we’ve realized that identifying the right partner is key,” the company official said.

AboitizPower has set an energy capacity target of 4,000 MW by 2020. If any overseas project materializes, it will be on top of the 4,000 MW since the company is well off exceeding its target.

“We’ll go beyond 4,000 MW with the commercial operations of Therma Visayas Inc. (TVI) and GNPower Dinginin,” Rubio said.

He was referring to the the joint venture company of AboitizPower and Vivant Corp., which is still testing and commissioning its 2x170-MW coal-fired power plant in Toledo City, Cebu.

Meanwhile, GN Power Dinginin Ltd. Co. (GNPD) will start operating the first unit of its 2x668-MW Dinginin supercritical coal-fired power plant in Mariveles, Bataan within the year.

GNPD is a partnership composed of AboitizPower’s Therma Power Inc. (TPI), AC Energy Holdings Inc. of the Ayala group, and Power Partners Ltd. Co.

AboitizPower has investments in various thermal and renewable power generating facilities with a total net sellable capacity of 3,350 MW with its partners. Its Cleanergy brand amounts to 1,272 MW, 39 percent of its total net sellable capacity.

The company is pushing for a balanced mix strategy—maximizing Cleanergy while taking advantage of the reliability and cost-efficiency of thermal power plants.

AboitizPower also owns distribution utilities that operate in high-growth areas in Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao, including the second and third largest private utilities in the country.