PE2 reaches out to gov’t-owned Amanah Islamic Bank on need for EE finance
MAKATI CITY, 27 May 2019 – The Philippine Energy Efficiency Alliance (PE2) shared its view on the need to bridge the PHP 12 trillion energy efficiency capital gap through 2040 in a deep-dive roundtable discussion on Islamic Finance with management of Al-Amanah Islamic Investment Bank of the Philippines (AAIIBP) and other renewable energy market stakeholders invited by the Center for Renewable Energy and Sustainable Technology (CREST).
AAIIBP is a government-owned universal bank authorized to perform and provide Islamic banking, financing and investment services pursuant to R.A. 6848, otherwise known as the Charter of the Al-Amanah Islamic Bank of the Philippines of 1990. In 2008, AAIIBP became a subsidiary of Development Bank of the Philippines, owning 99.9% of its capital stock, which introduced its current logo and tag name “Amanah Islamic Bank.”
The AAIIBP management team was led by its Chairman and CEO, Alex P. Bangcola. CREST was led by its Chairman, Roberto S. Verzola and President, Riedo A. Panaligan. PE2 was represented by its President, Alexander Ablaza, and its member services and communications manager, Luigi G. Eusebio.
AAIIBP declared its interest to invest in big ticket projects, as well as finance smaller projects related to renewable energy. It said that it welcomed other green finance opportunities such as energy efficiency lending.
For PE2, Ablaza emphasized that energy service companies (ESCOs) would need better access to debt finance, and that financial markets should be able to flow both on-balance sheet and off-balance sheet capital through bank and non-bank vehicles.
Former Senator and climate change advocate Heherson Alvarez delivered the closing remarks for the event.
