Young billionaire and Solar Philippines Founder Leandro Leviste is investing over P15 billion to create jobs in Batangas and other provinces through his Provincia Investments Corporation (PIC).
In an announcement posted on Solar Philippines’ Facebook page, Leviste said this new budget is in addition to the initial P5 billion of investments he made in Batangas through Countryside Investments Holdings Corporation.
As part of this, PIC recently acquired the largest poultry farm in Nueva Ecija, which owns approximately 60 hectares.
The company did not disclose the price of the transaction, but said the land was valued at an attractive price net of the value of the poultry structures.
These investments are primarily funded from the sale of secondary shares of SP New Energy Corporation (SPNEC) owned by Solar Philippines.
Meralco PowerGen Corporation recently paid Leviste’s wholly-owned Solar Philippines Power Project Holdings Inc. (Solar Philippines) P6.7 billion for 5.8 billion shares of SPNEC through a loan which will later be paid with pledged SPNEC shares.
Solar Philippines has raised approximately P15 billion to date from its SPNEC shares, and will continue to own approximately 29 percent of SPNEC.
SPNEC’s solar projects are concentrated in Batangas, Tarlac, and Nueva Ecija, where Provincia's first investments are also located.
In 2021, PIC entered into a loan agreement with Ayala’s AC Energy Corporation (ACEN) to fund the acquisition of land in Tarlac. The loan with ACEN has since been fully repaid.
Leviste’s company will work with Solar Philippines to develop its landbank in Batangas, Tarlac, and Nueva Ecija.
PIC aims to make provinces better than Manila and is focused on making value investments in real estate and equities for industrial, commercial, energy- and infrastructure-related developments.
By creating jobs in rural areas, the company seeks to increase household incomes and propel the sustainable development of its priority provinces.
“We are grateful to our partners who have helped our business grow. Now that we have this capital, it is our responsibility to invest it to benefit as many of our countrymen as we can,” Leviste said.