Philippines' Aboitiz Power Plans $500m Investments to Expand in SE Asia
Cebu, Philippines. Aboitiz Power said it plans to invest as much as $500 million over the next five years, mainly in Indonesia, as the Philippines' second-largest power producer by capacity seeks to boost profits and expand outside its overcrowded home market.
CEO Erramon Aboitiz told Reuters on Tuesday that Aboitiz was also interested in projects in Vietnam and Myanmar, which along with Indonesia the company had identified as key markets.
"We've made a decision to really look at opportunities outside the Philippines," Aboitiz said on the sidelines of an APEC energy ministers' meeting in the island of Cebu.
"Indonesia will likely take the lion's share of the $500 million that Aboitiz Power is allocating for overseas investments," he said, adding that the $500 million would come from the company's own cash reserves or existing businesses.
Aboitiz Power, a unit of one of the Philippines' biggest conglomerates Aboitiz Equity Ventures, recently agreed to take part in feasibility studies with Indonesian firm SN Power AS and Energi Infranusantara for a hydropower generation project along the Lariang River in Central Sulawesi.
Through its Singapore-based unit, AboitizPower International, the company is also involved in a 110 megawatts greenfield geothermal plant project with Medco Power Indonesia.
"We've looked at it and we think it has a lot of promise," he said, referring to the project with Medco, which is still in the exploration phase.
Aboitiz Power has yet to identify any potential projects in Vietnam and Myanmar, but was actively looking, the CEO said.
"We're now in talks with potential partners in Myanmar but frankly there's nothing firm at this point," he added.
Reuters
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