Financial services company Investment & Capital Corporation of the Philippines (ICCP) sees more local companies tapping the capital markets to finance ‘green’ operations and their ESG programs.
This develops in the wake of the successful initial public offering (IPO) of pioneer renewable energy company Alternergy Holdings Corporation last March 24, 2023. ICCP was the sole issue coordinator, joint issue manager and lead underwriter for the P1.61-billion IPO.
According to ICCP president and CEO Valentino S. Bagatsing, “Regionally, there is a desire for banks and funds to support projects that are ESG responsive and slowly a premium on this kind of projects is emerging as the correlation between sustainable governance and risk mitigation becomes evident.”
Bagatsing added the capital markets are attractive for institutionalizing ESG initiatives. “The aspiration is for ESG practices to eventually be embedded into the corporate and societal DNA. That way it evolves into the default standard of behavior where the stewardship aspect of any endeavor is considered,” he said.
He explained that previously, ESG was considered a ‘luxury’ with a reputation for being a drag on IRRs. As the years went by, it has now become apparent that ESG practices are consistent with good risk management and eventually pay off in the medium to long term.
Locally, Bagatsing said there is a growing mass of institutions desiring to do the ‘right thing.’ “Eventually, the economics of sustainability will win out especially given how vulnerable our country is to climate change and sub-optimal governance,” he said.
ICCP has had its share of ESG-related transactions. Before the Alternergy IPO, ICCP was also a participating underwriter in the P6.4-billion IPO of Citicore Energy REIT (C-REIT), the country’s first energy REIT. It was also the sole underwriter of low-cost housing developer Haus Talk, Inc. for its P750-million listing at the Philippine Stock Exchange’s Small, Medium and Emerging Board.
As one of the pioneer independent Investment houses in the country, ICCP is focused on remaining responsive to the times and on gearing its financial expertise towards projects with a deeper development footprint.
ICCP supports projects that are sensitive to economic growth and the current climate situation as well as spark the engine of growth.
