Tycoon Edgar Saavedra’s recent solar power tie-up with San Miguel Corp. (SMC), one of the country’s largest conglomerates, strengthens a buy rating for his company, according to stockbrokerage house AP Securities Inc.
Earlier this week, Saavedra-led Citicore Renewable Energy Corp. (CREC) and SMC agreed to form a venture for a 153.5-Megawatt solar plant in Mariveles, Bataan.
Financial details were limited, but AP Securities, in a report titled “CREC Continues to Dance with Giants,” estimated the project cost at about P4.8 billion and the start of commercial operations by late 2027 to early 2028.
More importantly, this deal helps CREC meet its ambitious goals to build a 5,000-MW clean power portfolio by 2028.
“[CREC] has shown an uncanny ability to forge partnerships with giants. To recall, CREC co-developed the Arayat-Mexico solar farm with ACEN, and SM bought a 28.8 percent stake in CREC’s capital recycling machine, [Citicore Energy REIT Corp.],” said Alfred Benjamin R. Garcia, head of research at stockbrokerage house AP Securities Inc.
“This latest partnership is yet another testament to the company’s ability to tap the country’s largest groups to get its projects across the finish line and to meet its commitment to add 1.0-GW of renewable power to the grid annually for the next five years,” Garcia added.
Despite the project adding a modest 76.8-MW to CREC’s attributable capacity, AP Securities maintains a “Buy” rating on the company with a target price of P3.26 per share.
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Miguel R. Camus has been a reporter covering various domestic business topics since 2009.
