BANK of the Philippine Islands, the fourth-largest lender in terms of assets, has earned the 20th spot in the global rankings for project finance deals in 2017 and the sixth spot in the Asia-Pacific region, according to the latest Thomson Reuters Project Finance International report.
Thomson Reuters said BPI, a newcomer in the rankings, was among the top banks in the world that arranged the biggest project financing deals. This is the first time that a Philippine bank made it to the top 10 in Asia Pacific, besting other strong Asian and foreign houses.
“One surprise (is) the appearance of a Philippine bank in the top 10. Bank of the Philippine Islands, with its investment arm BPI Capital, is ranked sixth (in Asia Pacific), with six deals worth $2.8 billion. The bank, possibly the oldest lender in the country, is part of the huge Ayala conglomerate,” the report said.
Project finance refers to the long-term financing of infrastructure, industrial, and other big projects where the debt and equity used to fund the project are paid back using cash flow from the project itself.
BPI ranked 20th globally and sixth in Asia Pacific by acting as lead arranger of six project finance deals amounting to $2.8 billion.
These deals include AC Energy Holdings Inc. (Philippines, $437.1 million), Angat Hydropower Corp. (Philippines, $263 million), Atimonan One Energy Inc. (Philippines, $1.056.3 billion), SMC Consolidated Power Corp. (Philippines, $880 million), Star Energy Geothermal (Indonesia, $156.3 million) and Unisys Managed Services Corp. (Philippines, $15.0 million).
“Our global ranking says as much about the strides our country is making in power and infrastructure as it does about BPI’s capabilities. We are very pleased to be an active and meaningful partner in nation building,” BPI president and chief executive Cezar Consing said in a statement.