New Wave, Malaysian fund to invest in PH renewable projects

By Alena Mae S. Flores

PRIVATE equity investor New Wave Strategic Holdings Inc.

teamed up with Malaysian government-backed fund Emissary Capital Partners Sdn Bhd to invest $50 million in the Philippines’ renewable energy market that can generate up to 1,000 megawatts of capacity.

The proposal was presented to President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. during his three-day Malaysian state visit last week. The investment will partly fund companies in the RE sector including solar and wind farms in Northern Luzon.

“It is important that the Philippines develop a more mature eco-system with capital providers across various stages of the investment cycle. With Emissary’s entry into the Philippines, we are providing more founders and entrepreneurs access to growth capital as well as a regional network that can help them expand across SEA,” said New Wave director Enrique Gonzalez said.

Part of the funds will also go to the electric vehicle industry and clean energy and smart grid enablers, he said.

“Our value proposition is more than capital. We help businesses scale within the Philippines and can open up regional Southeast Asia access,” Gonzalez said.

New Wave and Emissary Capital identified the early stages of RE projects as the most challenging for companies to raise capital because of the perceived risks. They said equipping developers with an additional war chest with value-added involvement in predevelopment work would translate into attractive returns for the funds.

Based on the parties’ estimates, the establishment of a 1,000-MW bankable concession could generate an additional foreign direct investment of over $1.5 billion to complete the construction and operation of targeted sites.

The parties said the investment would support the government’s target of increasing the share of renewable energy in the country’s total energy mix to 35 percent by 2030 and 50 percent by 2040 as outlined in the updated Philippine Energy Development Plan.

Core inflation settled at 7.4 percent in June from 7.7 percent in May 2023. Core inflation averaged 7.7 percent in the first six months.

The BSP raised the key interest rates by a total of 425 basis points from May 2022 to March 2023, before taking a prudent pause in the last two Monetary Board meetings amid the sustained easing of inflation.

UnionDigital