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Manila Bulletin devider Business devider The Stock Market devider PLDT secures P2-billion loan from HSBC to expand fiber network in underserved areas

PLDT secures P2-billion loan from HSBC to expand fiber network in underserved areas

Published Oct 23, 2024 08:28 am

Pangilinan-led PLDT Inc. was able to raise as much as P2 billion from a social loan facility with HSBC Philippines with proceeds to be used to expand its fiber network coverage to the underserved and unserved communities in the country.

In a statement on Wednesday, Oct. 23, PLDT said it was looking to expand its fiber network coverage to remote areas and low-income communities as it only covers 59 percent of the 729 fourth to sixth-class municipalities identified by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).

PLDT said its ongoing initiative was aligned with President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s call for the telecommunications industry to focus on enhancing connectivity within geographically isolated and disadvantaged areas.

“The integration of PLDT’s sustainability agenda in the business is evident even in the way we fund our projects. We are happy to find a like-minded partner in HSBC who is helping to fund our efforts to narrow the digital divide and connect unconnected communities,” PLDT Chief Finance and Chief Risk Officer Danny Yu said.

For her part, PLDT Chief Sustainability Officer Melissa Vergel de Dios said that its inclusion of low-income municipalities would help foster inclusive growth and development in some of the underserved parts of the country.

Mimi Concha, head of wholesale banking at HSBC Philippines, said that HSBC was honored to support PLDT in its connectivity expansion endeavor.

“With this being HSBC’s first social loan facility to a telco company in the Philippines, it is noteworthy that this project will help support the improvement of access to the internet for Filipinos in these underserved areas so that they can actively participate and compete in the digital economy,” she said.

Earlier this year, PLDT secured a P1 billion green loan facility from HSBC to support the upgrade of PLDT’s network from copper to fiber. A fiber network uses less electricity resulting not only in operational cost savings but also in a lower carbon footprint.

At the end of June 2024, PLDT’s fiber infrastructure spans over 1.15 million cable kilometers, connecting both international and domestic markets.

Related Tags

FIBER BROADBAND PLDT INC. HSBC Philippines
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