AP Renewables, Inc. (APRI), a wholly owned subsidiary of Aboitiz Power Corporation (AP), paid today to the Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corporation (PSALM) the P8.29 billion downpayment on the purchase price of the 289 MW Tiwi geothermal power plant facility in Albay and the 458 MW Makiling-Banahaw geothermal power plant facility in Laguna (collectively referred to as the “Tiwi-MakBan geothermal facilities”).
Following the payment, which represents 40% of the purchase price, PSALM is expected to turn over at midnight today the possession and control over the Tiwi-MakBan geothermal facilities. The 60% balance in the purchase price is payable over a period of seven years in fourteen equal semi-annual installments.
APRI won the competitive bid conducted by PSALM for the sale of the Tiwi-MakBan geothermal facilities on July 30, 2008. The Tiwi-MakBan geothermal facilities have a sustainable capacity of approximately 462 MW
Monday, June 1, 2009
Digitel Aims to Grab Postpaid Lead
Citing significant growth in the number of Sun subscribers, Gokongwei-led Digital Telecommunications Philippines, Inc (Digitel) expects its mobile unit Sun Cellular to double service revenues and even take the lead in the postpaid segment this year.
Digitel Vice Chairman, President and Chief Executive Office James L. Go said: "We are expecting that our service revenues in Sun Cellular will incur a 100%
growth year on year, exceeding 2008 growth of 82%".
Mr. Go said Digitel would borrow $200 million to partly fund the $300 million to $350 million in capital expenditures this year, to be allocated for additional cellular sites. "Currently, we already have 4,603 cell sites and we are aiming to build 1,000 cell sites more for our 2G business and additional 300 to 500 sites for our 3G service, Mr. Go added.
Mr. Go said Sun Cellular has a total of 10 million subscribers, with an additional five million to six million subscribers this year.
Digitel Vice Chairman, President and Chief Executive Office James L. Go said: "We are expecting that our service revenues in Sun Cellular will incur a 100%
growth year on year, exceeding 2008 growth of 82%".
Mr. Go said Digitel would borrow $200 million to partly fund the $300 million to $350 million in capital expenditures this year, to be allocated for additional cellular sites. "Currently, we already have 4,603 cell sites and we are aiming to build 1,000 cell sites more for our 2G business and additional 300 to 500 sites for our 3G service, Mr. Go added.
Mr. Go said Sun Cellular has a total of 10 million subscribers, with an additional five million to six million subscribers this year.
New Asia Pacific Gateway Cable System by 2011
Major telecommunications companies signed in Kuala Lumpur last May 25 , 2009, a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to plan and develop the an international undersea cable system within the Asia Pacific Region.
The proposed Asia Pacific Gateway Cable System will link major economic growth countries in the Asia Pacific region. It is currently planned to link Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, Hong Kong, the Philippines, Taiwan, China Mainland, Japan and Korea. It will span about 8,000km and will use the latest Dense Wavelength Division Multiplexing (DWDM) technologies with a minimum design capacity of 4 Terabit/s. Parties to the Asia Pacific Gateway include Chunghwa Telecom (Taiwan), China Telecom (China Mainland), China Unicom (China Mainland), KT Corporation (Korea), NTT Communications (Japan), PLDT (Philippines), Telekom Malaysia (Malaysia) and VNPT (Vietnam)
The proposed Asia Pacific Gateway will provide additional capacity for growing demand and an alternative, diverse routing within the region such that it will avoid some of the areas most prone to seismic activity, conditions which are hazardous to undersea cables.
It is planned to be ready for service in 2011. “The planning and eventual implementation of the new Asia Pacific Gateway project is timely due to the growing bandwidth demand of PLDT and the other proponents. It is also intended to meet the requirements for cable route diversity, protection, and to provide capacity to replace the retiring cables in the region,” said Alejandro Caeg, PLDT First Vice President, International & Carrier Business Group. The proposed cable system has the potential to provide an alternative route and/or restoration paths to existing cable systems in the region as it is designed to provide a high degree of inter-connectivity with existing and planned high bandwidth systems.
The proposed Asia Pacific Gateway Cable System will link major economic growth countries in the Asia Pacific region. It is currently planned to link Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, Hong Kong, the Philippines, Taiwan, China Mainland, Japan and Korea. It will span about 8,000km and will use the latest Dense Wavelength Division Multiplexing (DWDM) technologies with a minimum design capacity of 4 Terabit/s. Parties to the Asia Pacific Gateway include Chunghwa Telecom (Taiwan), China Telecom (China Mainland), China Unicom (China Mainland), KT Corporation (Korea), NTT Communications (Japan), PLDT (Philippines), Telekom Malaysia (Malaysia) and VNPT (Vietnam)
The proposed Asia Pacific Gateway will provide additional capacity for growing demand and an alternative, diverse routing within the region such that it will avoid some of the areas most prone to seismic activity, conditions which are hazardous to undersea cables.
It is planned to be ready for service in 2011. “The planning and eventual implementation of the new Asia Pacific Gateway project is timely due to the growing bandwidth demand of PLDT and the other proponents. It is also intended to meet the requirements for cable route diversity, protection, and to provide capacity to replace the retiring cables in the region,” said Alejandro Caeg, PLDT First Vice President, International & Carrier Business Group. The proposed cable system has the potential to provide an alternative route and/or restoration paths to existing cable systems in the region as it is designed to provide a high degree of inter-connectivity with existing and planned high bandwidth systems.
Fiber To The Home: PLDT Ups Ante for Broadband
The Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT) will launch later this year the most advanced broadband delivery platform called Fiber To The Home, or FTTH, to deliver high-speed data services to residences and buildings.
FTTH uses fiber optic technology which transmits data via light signals sent through hair-thin strands of pure glass. Instead of the usual copper going to the homes of customers, thin fiber optic cables will be used. The new platform will be able to deliver simultaneously voice, video and data services at much higher speeds and larger capacities than DSL or cable technologies.
Napoleon L. Nazareno, PLDT President and Chief Executive Officer said:
“Fiber to the home is a quantum leap forward in terms of broadband services. This demonstrates PLDT’s commitment to offer its customers cutting edge communication technologies.”
PLDT Network head Rolando G. Peña said that in a demonstration facility at the PLDT’s head office, an FTTH-enabled computer posted download speeds of up to 94.86 megabits per second (mbps) and upload rates of 69.39 mbps.
At those speeds, it would take only one second to download a 5Mb mp3 file, 3 seconds for a 35Mb video clip and only one minute to download an 800Mb movie.
“Depending on how we’ll design the product, we can provide gigabit speeds to homes, not just megabit speeds,” he said.
PLDT Chairman Manuel V. Pangilinan tested the new technology by watching the recent Manny Pacquiao-Ricky Hatton fight via live video streaming using FTTH.
“Excellent reception. Excellent definition of the pictures,” said Pangilinan, who also chairs the Amateur Boxing Association of the Philippines (ABAP).
The new service will be initially marketed to high-bandwidth residential customers such as households in high-income subdivisions and condominiums.
Pilot areas for FTTH will include areas such as Bonifacio Global City, Forbes Park, Urdaneta Village, Ayala Alabang, Dasmariñas Village, Wack Wack, Ayala Heights, Valle Verde and certain areas covered by PLDT Subictel and PLDT Clarktel.
“We’re targeting 1,000 customers this year and expand to 10,000 later on,” said Virgilio Ofina, Senior Manager of GMM NGN Access Provisioning and Transport Engineering Division.
The use of FTTH will simplify the delivery of various services. For instance, a customer can avail of telephone, video, audio, television and just about any other kind of digital data service through a single FTTH connection.
He explained that there is virtually no degradation of signals with FTTH and that it’s future-proof because the new technologies currently being developed now are based on fiber optic technology.
Services such as 3D holographic high-definition television and video games can be delivered via fiber to the home.
“FTTH represents a new level of services for our fixed line business. If we could build this extensively in all the major cities and municipalities, FTTH will redefine and reshape our fixed line business,” Pangilinan said.
PETRON UPSIZES NOTES OFFER TO P10-BILLION
Petron, the Philippines' leading oil refining and marketing company upsized
the issuance of its Fixed Rate Corporate Notes (FXCN) to P10 billion from the original amount of P3 billion due to high demand from participating banks.
This was announced during the signing of the Note Facility Agreement May 29, 2009. The issue, one of the largest corporate note issuances in the history of Philippine debt capital markets, was more than three times oversubscribed and was priced at 8.139% for the five year tenor and 9.329% for the seven year tenor.
The facility was priced 200 basis points over the applicable benchmark PDSTF rate, the lowest end of the company’s pricing guidance.
Petron President Eric O. Recto said:
“The strong and positive response to our notes issue reflects the trust and confidence of the investment community in the viability and profitability of Petron over the longterm. It likewise underscores the company’s solid fundamentals, undisputed market leadership, extensive and efficient distribution network and numerous synergies with San Miguel.”
PhilRatings gave the highest possible corporate rating, a PRS AAA rating for Petron’s outstanding P6.3 billion corporate notes issued in July 2006. PhilRatings
likewise gave the same rating to the company’s overall capacity to service its maturing debts. A rating of PRS Aaa is given to corporations “with a VERY STRONG capacity to meet its financial requirements relative to that of other Philippine corporates.”
Given the upsize of Petron’s FXCN, the company said that it will no longer pursue its initial plan to issue retail bonds. Funds from the FXCN will be used to pursue projects such as an aggressive retail network expansion program and additional improvements at its 180,000 barrel-per-day Bataan refinery.
The expansion program aims to further enhance customer convenience and ensure the company’s market dominance. At the heart of this program is the construction of prefabricated stations that can start with 2-3 product pumps but easily expandable as demand grows.
Another initiative is the construction of additional refinery units including a second Petro Fluidized Catalytic Cracking Unit (PetroFCC 2) that will enable the full conversion of residual products to more valuable gasoline, diesel, LPG and propylene.
Petron’s FXCN was jointly arranged by BPI Capital Corporation and ING Bank NV,Manila Branch as Joint Issue Managers together with the Development Bank of the Philippines and The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited as Joint Lead Managers.
Source: Petron Corp Press Release Dated May 29, 2009
the issuance of its Fixed Rate Corporate Notes (FXCN) to P10 billion from the original amount of P3 billion due to high demand from participating banks.
This was announced during the signing of the Note Facility Agreement May 29, 2009. The issue, one of the largest corporate note issuances in the history of Philippine debt capital markets, was more than three times oversubscribed and was priced at 8.139% for the five year tenor and 9.329% for the seven year tenor.
The facility was priced 200 basis points over the applicable benchmark PDSTF rate, the lowest end of the company’s pricing guidance.
Petron President Eric O. Recto said:
“The strong and positive response to our notes issue reflects the trust and confidence of the investment community in the viability and profitability of Petron over the longterm. It likewise underscores the company’s solid fundamentals, undisputed market leadership, extensive and efficient distribution network and numerous synergies with San Miguel.”
PhilRatings gave the highest possible corporate rating, a PRS AAA rating for Petron’s outstanding P6.3 billion corporate notes issued in July 2006. PhilRatings
likewise gave the same rating to the company’s overall capacity to service its maturing debts. A rating of PRS Aaa is given to corporations “with a VERY STRONG capacity to meet its financial requirements relative to that of other Philippine corporates.”
Given the upsize of Petron’s FXCN, the company said that it will no longer pursue its initial plan to issue retail bonds. Funds from the FXCN will be used to pursue projects such as an aggressive retail network expansion program and additional improvements at its 180,000 barrel-per-day Bataan refinery.
The expansion program aims to further enhance customer convenience and ensure the company’s market dominance. At the heart of this program is the construction of prefabricated stations that can start with 2-3 product pumps but easily expandable as demand grows.
Another initiative is the construction of additional refinery units including a second Petro Fluidized Catalytic Cracking Unit (PetroFCC 2) that will enable the full conversion of residual products to more valuable gasoline, diesel, LPG and propylene.
Petron’s FXCN was jointly arranged by BPI Capital Corporation and ING Bank NV,Manila Branch as Joint Issue Managers together with the Development Bank of the Philippines and The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited as Joint Lead Managers.
Source: Petron Corp Press Release Dated May 29, 2009
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