Telco giant PLDT Inc announced that it has secured its first ever Green Loan facility worth P1 billion from HSBC Philippines that will partially fund the modernization and expansion of the company's fiber network.
In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) on March 6, PLDT said the loan is HSBC's first Green Loan facility transaction with a Filipino telco.
The company noted that the proceeds of the loan, which will be used to support its services such as fiber fixed broadband, mobile data services, and carrier-grade WiFi, is also compliant to the Green Loan Principles, citing how fiber cables are greener technologies that generate less heat and saves on energy.
PLDT's Chief Sustainability Officer Melissa Vergel De Dios said that the Green Loan facility affirms the company's efforts in pursuing the "twin-goals of energy efficiency and reduced carbon emissions."
Upgrading to fiber enables PLDT group to follow its decarbonization roadmap to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 40 percent by 2030.
“The availability of sustainable financing facilities will help PLDT’s commitment to ensuring long-term profitability by doing business responsibly. We are pleased to start this journey with HSBC and anticipate further expanding our sustainable financing portfolio with other sustainability projects," said PLDT Inc. Chief Financial Officer (CFO) and Chief Risk Management Officer Danny Yu.
PLDT has installed 1.1 million cable kilometers of fiber infrastructure as of December last year. 0.2 million kilometers are international, and 0.9 million kilometers are domestic fiber lines.