Announcement of Philippines Hopewell Power Project to Receive One Hundred Ten Million US dollars Financing from IFC on February 5, 1993

PHILIPPINES HOPEWELL POWER PROJECT TO RECEIVE $110 MILLION FINANCING FROM IFC WASHINGTON, D.C., Feb. 5 -- The International Finance Corporation has approved a $110 million financing package to Hopewell Power (Philippines) Corp. for a 700-megawatt power plant located in Pagbilao, Philippines. Estimated total project cost is $888 million. IFC will provide $10 million in equity and lend $60 million for its own acount, with the remaining $40 million to be syndicated with commercial banks. IFC has also assisted in arranging co-financing for the project on a non-guaranteed basis from other financial institutions including the Export-Import Bank of Japan and the Export- Import Bank of the United States. The project will be undertaken by Hopewell on a Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) basis and is expected to start operations in 1996. Under the BOT arrangement, Hopewell will operate the Pagbilao plant for 25 years after which ownership will be transferred to the National Power Corporation. The Pagbilao plant will be the largest coal-fired thermal power plant in the Philippines. It is designed to help alleviate the acute power shortages in Luzon, the Philippines' largest power grid which serves the capital city of Manila. IFC is a member of the World Bank Group and is the largest source of equity and loan financing for private sector projects in developing countries. Hopewell Power (Philippines) is a subsidiary of Hopewell Holdings Ltd., a Hong Kong-based holding company with interests in property development, infrastructure projects and energy generation. Hopewell has been a pioneer in developing infrastructure projects in Asia on a BOT basis. (30) IBRD IDA IFC MIGA ICSID