Conglomerate Ayala Corp. is looking at Indonesia and other countries for investment opportunities in the power sector to expand and diversify its business portfolio.
Ayala Corp. managing director and head of corporate strategy Paolo Borromeo said in an interview at the sidelines of a forum conducted by Asean Venture Capital Journal Wednesday the conglomerate was open to investment opportunities overseas in the power space.
“We are looking for acquisition opportunities in the power space to grow our portfolio and hopefully diversify it in terms of thermal versus renewable capacity. We would be open to looking at opportunities overseas, including Indonesia,” Borromeo said.
He did not comment on reports the group was interested in the upcoming bidding for the $3-billion geothermal assets of Chevron Corp. in Indonesia and the Philippines.
Chevron is reportedly selling its geothermal assets in Southeast Asia, cutting jobs globally and slashing capital spending to save cash in a bid to preserve its dividend amid weak oil prices.
Chevron has a 40-percent interest in Philippine Geothermal Production Co. Inc., which develops and produces steam energy for the Tiwi and Mak-Ban geothermal power plants.
Chevron’s subsidiaries in Indonesia also operate geothermal projects in Salak and Darajat fields in west Java with a capacity to generate nearly 650 megawatts of electricity.
Meanwhile, Borromeo said the company continued to be on the lookout for investments in the automotive sector.
“There are quite a few more in the pipeline that we’re working on and it spans the entire value chain, so hopefully we make a few more investments before the yearend,” he said.
The conglomerate through subsidiary Integrated Micro-Electronics Inc. signed an agreement last month to acquire a 76-percent interest in Via optronics GmbH, a leading optical bonding and display solutions provider, for 47.4 million euros.
