Infrastructure conglomerate Metro Pacific Investments Corp. signed a P20-billion term loan facility to fund planned capital expenditures in 2019.
Metro Pacific said in a disclosure to the stock exchange the loan would have tenor of 10 years.
“Proceeds of said term loan facility will be used by MPIC to fund capital expenditures and for other general corporate purposes,” Metro Pacific said.
The company tapped BDO Capital & Investment Corp and BPI Capital Corp as arrangers and book runners.
Metro Pacific chief finance officer David Nicol earlier said the company planned to issue bonds and borrow from the banks to raise funds to finance the group’s spending plans in 2019.
The conglomerate is also looking at a possible selldown in its water utility unit Maynilad Water Services Inc. and an initial public offering of its hospitals group as other ways to generate fresh capital to fund big-ticket infrastructure projects.
Metro Pacific’s tollroad group has several ongoing projects, including the expansion of the North Luzon Expressway, the Cavite-Laguna Expressway, NLEX-SLEX connector road, and the Cebu Cordova Link Expressway.
Including concession fees and financing costs, the group expects to spend approximately ₱99.7 billion to build the roads. It could increase by approximately ₱25 billion if Metro Pacific eventually wins the Cavite-Tagaytay-Batangas Expressway after receiving an original proponent status for the project.
The group’s water business is also on expansion mode after securing several water distribution contracts.
Metro Pacific recently received an original proponent status on a P22-billion, waste-to-energy project in Payatas, Quezon City.
The infrastructure conglomerate is also aggressively investing in the logistics sector and in the process of acquiring properties to boost the warehousing business.
Metro Pacific expects core net income this year to hit P15 billion despite a slowdown in volume across its businesses.
Metro Pacific posted a core net income of P12.2 billion in the first three quarters of 2018, up eight percent from P11.3 billion year-on-year.
System-wide revenues increased eight percent to ₱302.9 billion.