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PSALM eyes to pay $3B in maturing debt of Napocor, IPPs


The Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp. (PSALM) is aiming to settle at least $3 billion worth of maturing debt of the state-owned National Power Corp. (Napocor) and its independent power producers this year. Ma. Luz Caminero, acting president and chief executive officer of PSALM, said Napocor has about $ 1.4 billion in maturing debt this year while independent power producers have about the same level. She said the sale of bonds from which they hope to raise P30 billion would partially be used to pay off the Napocor debt, which stood at $16.5 billion at the end of last year. Caminero noted that to date, they have managed to raise a third of the target. The PSALM, created under the Electric Power Industry Reform Act to handle the finances of the state-owned power generation company, earlier said the bonds would have tenors of five and seven years and would be sold to both retail and institutional investors. The retail bonds are expected to be priced on Monday, with interest to be set via an auction facilitated by the Treasury bureau. Interest on the bond will be paid quarterly. The retail bonds will be the PSALM’s debut issuance, which will be guaranteed by the National Government, in the local market. The central bank has allowed the PSALM to borrow as much as P50 billion through the bond sale in case of strong demand. "The maximum approval of the board was P50 billion. But right now, our target is P30 billion for this bond issuance," Caminero told reporters last week. Aside from the bond sale, the PSALM is also seeking to raise $1 billion next year for the Napocor’s maturing debt. It would also try to complete the sale of the power generator’s remaining assets, she said. — NPA, GMANews.TV

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