Ayala Land Inc. (ALI) has secured a $250-million (about P14.3-billion) loan from the International Finance Corp. (IFC) to fund its net-zero emissions ambition, including the "greening" of 10 malls in Cebu and Metro Manila.
The IFC disclosed on Monday, Oct. 14, that it already invested in ALI's up to eight-year sustainability-linked loan (SLL) last Oct. 11. The World Bank Group's private-sector arm approved this financing on July 11 and signed it with ALI last July 18.
This is ALI's first-ever sustainability-linked financing package aimed at decarbonizing its commercial real estate portfolio, the IFC noted in a statement back in July.
Loan proceeds will be partly spent to renovate the following flagship shopping malls: Ayala Center in Cebu City; Glorietta 1, 2, 3 and 4, as well as Greenbelt 2, 3, 4 and 5 in Makati City; and TriNoma in Quezon City.
Earlier IFC documents disclosed this ALI project shall "involve internal and external refurbishment only, with no changes to the existing footprint" of these malls, in order to turn them into so-called "green" buildings.
The IFC had said ALI and its wholly owned subsidiary Makati Development Corp. (MDC) aimed to finish all demolition and construction work for this mall renovation project by end-2026.
Ultimately, this project will allow ALI to boast of the biggest EDGE Zero Carbon property portfolio in the world, while significantly slashing its greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions which contribute to climate change.
Through this financing, ALI targets to jack up to 1.5 million square meters (sqm) by end-2025, from about 350,000 sqm at present, its office space compliant with the IFC's Zero Carbon Certification. ALI already has the largest EDGE Zero Carbon-certified portfolio in the country, the IFC had noted.
Also, ALI wants GHG emissions lessened by 42 percent by end-2030, across its commercial property portfolio of hotels, malls as well as offices.
Last April, a memorandum of understanding (MOU) was signed with ALI subsidiary AyalaLand Hotels and Resorts Corp. (AHRC) for its projected 2,826 hotel-room portfolio by 2026 to also become EDGE Zero Carbon-certified, the IFC noted.
The IFC pointed out that ALI is the Philippines' biggest property developer, with over 11,000 hectares of land bank and 52 estates across the country.
The publicly listed ALI belongs to Ayala Corp., the oldest diversified conglomerate in the Philippines.