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Manila Bulletin devider Business devider The Stock Market devider China Bank, Security Bank back 240-MW Leyte solar farm with ₱9-billion loan

China Bank, Security Bank back 240-MW Leyte solar farm with ₱9-billion loan

Published May 6, 2026 11:19 am  |  Updated May 6, 2026 04:51 pm
From left, top row: Jaime Del Rosario, GRHI chief legal and compliance officer; Juan Miguel Marfori, EPI funding and deals supervisor; Benedict Allan Guinto, EPI funding and deals manager; April Ann Nerva, GRHI chief development officer; Julia Hanna Soriano, GRHI legal counsel; Danilo Jastine Jaro, GRHI financial controller; Rafael Macabiog, EPI chief operating officer; and Edward De Leon, EPI chief financial officer. Bottom row: Juan Paolo Colet, China Bank Capital managing director and head of execution; Arsenio Kenneth Ona, RCBC Capital president and CEO; Lilian Yu, China Bank executive vice president and institutional banking head; Martin Antonio Zamora, NAC president and CEO; Maria Patricia Riingen, NAC vice chairman and GRHI chairman; John Cary Ong, Security Bank executive vice president and wholesale banking segment head; Darlene Arguelles, GRHI president and CEO; Virgilio Chua, Security Bank Capital president and CEO; John Robert Camalig, Security Bank trust lawyer; and Josh Carlo Samson, Security Bank trust and other fiduciary services department head.
From left, top row: Jaime Del Rosario, GRHI chief legal and compliance officer; Juan Miguel Marfori, EPI funding and deals supervisor; Benedict Allan Guinto, EPI funding and deals manager; April Ann Nerva, GRHI chief development officer; Julia Hanna Soriano, GRHI legal counsel; Danilo Jastine Jaro, GRHI financial controller; Rafael Macabiog, EPI chief operating officer; and Edward De Leon, EPI chief financial officer. Bottom row: Juan Paolo Colet, China Bank Capital managing director and head of execution; Arsenio Kenneth Ona, RCBC Capital president and CEO; Lilian Yu, China Bank executive vice president and institutional banking head; Martin Antonio Zamora, NAC president and CEO; Maria Patricia Riingen, NAC vice chairman and GRHI chairman; John Cary Ong, Security Bank executive vice president and wholesale banking segment head; Darlene Arguelles, GRHI president and CEO; Virgilio Chua, Security Bank Capital president and CEO; John Robert Camalig, Security Bank trust lawyer; and Josh Carlo Samson, Security Bank trust and other fiduciary services department head.
Greenlight Holdings Inc. secured a ₱9.36 billion senior term loan facility to fund the ongoing construction of its 240-megawatt-peak San Isidro Leyte Solar Power Project.
In a statement, Greenlight said the joint-venture developer obtained the project finance package from China Banking Corp. and Security Bank Corp.
Greenlight Holdings is a partnership between Emerging Power Inc., which is the renewable energy arm of Nickel Asia Corp., and Shell Overseas Investments BV.
The solar farm, located in San Isidro, Leyte, is being constructed in two phases of 120 megawatts-peak each. It represents the first utility-scale renewable energy partnership between the Shell group and Nickel Asia.
Phase 1 began initial energization activities in October last year and is currently delivering electricity to its offtaker, Shell Energy Philippines. Full commercial operations for this initial phase are scheduled to begin this June, while the second phase is on track to begin energy delivery in late 2026.
The project aligns with the government’s push to increase the share of renewable energy in the country's generation mix, which remains heavily reliant on imported coal.
Once fully operational, the San Isidro facility is projected to generate enough electricity to power approximately 140,000 households and offset an estimated 91,000 tons of carbon dioxide emissions annually.
Maria Patricia Riingen, Nickel Asia vice chairman and shareholder representative to Greenlight Holdings, said the development underscores a shared commitment to advancing the nation's clean energy transition through projects of scale and long-term impact.
Lenders are increasingly targeting renewable energy assets in the Southeast Asian nation as the government aims to boost the share of renewables in the power mix to 35 percent by 2030 and 50 percent by 2040.
Security Bank Executive Vice President John Cary Ong said that financing the development is a step toward bolstering local energy independence. He noted that diversifying away from imported fossil fuels helps insulate the domestic economy from the price volatility of oil, liquefied natural gas, and coal.
China Bank Executive Vice President Lillian Yu expressed optimism about a long-term partnership with the developers, noting that this is the lender's first project finance transaction with Nickel Asia and Shell. Emerging Power and Shell have previously stated a target to develop one gigawatt of renewable energy capacity in the Philippines by 2028.

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Nickel Asia Corp. (NAC) Solar energy
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