PunoLaw is a leading banking and finance firm in the Philippines, with widely recognized and respected experts in the field. Our experience and deep understanding of the market and financing transactions allows us to advise and act as transaction counsel for lenders, project developers, banks, financial investors, private equity firms, and leading foreign and domestic corporations engaged in a wide range of industries.
Our banking and finance practice group works closely with our lawyers in project development, mergers and acquisitions, tax, and other practice areas to provide sophisticated and solutions-oriented advice in all types of banking and finance transactions.
Focus
Our key focus includes:
Banking and Financial Institutions Regulation
Our wealth of experience in Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (“BSP” or the Philippine Central Bank) regulations allow us to provide the highest quality advice to our clients. We advise large banks and financial institutions on structured financial products, securitizations and derivatives transactions. We likewise advise and assist on corporate governance and compliance issues, and are able to draw on our long standing relationship with the regulators to ensure we can offer pragmatic legal and regulatory solutions. We also advise foreign financial technology companies on regulatory, compliance and enforcement issues.
Project and Infrastructure Finance
PunoLaw has been instrumental in financing a large number of major energy and infrastructure projects in the last several years. With our team of project finance experts, we have paved the way for project developers, both foreign and domestic, to achieve project completion and commercial operations through the most suitable and responsive project financing arrangements with local and foreign financing institutions. Our clients include leading developers in renewable energy, gas and clean coal projects, tollways, airports, ports and other infrastructure projects. We regularly assist three of the largest Philippine conglomerates and act as counsel for their financing transactions. Our expertise has been recognized by the International Financial Law Review, Asia Legal Business, and other reputable publications.
Acquisition Finance
We advise financial investors in the financing of asset and equity acquisitions, and have successfully concluded major transactions for both foreign and domestic clients. Our finance experts work seamlessly with our mergers and acquisitions, competition law, and tax practice groups in financing our client’s acquisitions and ensuring that the financing arrangements are responsive to the preferred transaction structure.
Notes/ Bond Issuance
We have worked with the top business conglomerates in the Philippines in connection with notes and bond issuances necessary to finance their working capital and expansion requirements. Our experts regularly work with and maintain robust business relationships with leading investment banking groups, which is crucial for deal facilitation.
Syndicated Lending / Direct Lending / Specialty Finance
Our finance experts have a diverse deal portfolio that includes almost all types of debt contracts, which ranges from syndicated lending, direct lending, and specialty finance deals. We regularly work either with, or across the table to, banking institutions, arrangers and underwriters in connection with syndicated loan transactions. For direct lending and specialty finance, we have worked with various foreign financial investors and asset/fund managers in connection with equity financing initiatives of Philippine companies engaged in various businesses and industries. Our in-depth understanding of the market for these investments have allowed us to provide our clients with valuable and effective advice for structuring and implementing the financing transactions.
Representative Transactions
Our deals / transactions include the following:
- Counsel for Helios Solar Energy Corp. in connection with the financing of a 132.5 MW solar energy generating facility in Cadiz City, Negros Occidental, Philippines
- Counsel for Alternergy Wind One Corporation in connection with the financing of a 54 MW wind energy generating facility in Pililla, Rizal, Philippines
- Counsel for Asian Greenenergy Corp. in connection with the financing of a 10.5 MW solar energy generating facility in Kibawe, Bukidnon, Philippines
- Counsel for SNAP Benguet in connection with the Php15 Billion top-up financing in 2015 of the 105 MW Ambuklao hydropower plant located at Bokod, Benguet, Philippines and the 140 MW Binga hydropower plant located at Itogon, Benguet, Philippines
- Counsel for SNAP Magat in connection with the Php19 Billion re-financing in 2016 of the 360 MW Magat hydroelectric power plant located in Ramon, Isabela, Philippines
- Counsel for Manila North Tollways Corporation in connection with the refinancing of its outstanding project finance debt obligations in the amount of US$201.7 Million through a combination of (i) amended debt facilities, (ii) a new US Dollar term loan facility provided by Mizuho Corporate Bank, Ltd., and (iii) the issuance of fixed rate corporate notes in an aggregate principal amount of Php5.5 Billion
- Counsel for GNPower Dinginin Ltd. Co. in connection with the financing of its up to 1×668 MW coal-fired electric power generation facility and associated facilities located in the Mariveles, Bataan, Philippines
- Counsel for GNPower Kauswagan Ltd. Co. in connection with the financing of its up to 4×138 MW coal-fired electric power generation facility and associated facilities located in barangays Libertad and Tacub, Kauswagan, Lanao Del Norte, Philippine
- Counsel for the consortium of TEPCO and Marubeni in connection with the financing of the US$3.4 Billion acquisition of the shares of Mirant Asia-Pacific Limited for purposes of ultimately acquiring interests in three power generation facilities in the Philippines (Awarded as the Mirant Asia Pacific – Best Syndicated Loan by Asia Money Magazine Regional Deals of the Year 2006
- Counsel for Pagbilao Energy Corporation in connection with the expansion of the existing Pagbilao project, which consists of the development and financing of a 400 MW (net) coal-fired power plant and associated facilities on the island of Isla Grande, Ibabang Pulo, Pagbilao, Quezon, Philippine
- Counsel for the Export-Import Bank of Korea, Asian Development Bank, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation and other lenders in connection with the US$270 Million financing of the construction of the KEPCO SPC Power Corporation’s 200 MW circulating fluidized bed coal-fired power plant in Naga, Cebu, Philippine
- Counsel for Sithe in connection with the financing of the engineering, design, procurement, development, construction and operation of GNPower Mariveles Coal Plant Ltd. Co.’s 2×300 MW (net) clean pulverized coal-fired power plant in Mariveles, Bataan, Philippines through debt and equity investment in the aggregate amount of approximately US$1 Billion (Awarded the 2010 Project Finance Deal of the Year by China Law and Practice, a publication part of the Euromoney Institutional Investor’s legal media group)
- Counsel for Cebu Energy Development Corporation in connection with the Php16 Billion financing of the construction of the latter’s 3×82 MW circulating fluidized bed coal-fired power plant in Toledo, Cebu, Philippines
- Counsel for Panay Energy Development Corporation in connection with the Php14 Billion financing of the construction of the latter’s 2×82 MW circulating fluidized bed coal-fired power plant in Panay, Philippines
- Counsel for Energy Development Corporation in connection with its development and financing of a 150 MW wind energy project in Burgos, Ilocos Norte, Philippines
- Counsel for SN Aboitiz Power Corporation in connection with the US$380 Million financing and refinancing of the acquisition of the 360 MW Magat hydroelectric power plant from Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corporation (“PSALM”) (Awarded the “Power Deal of the Year, Asia Pacific” award by Project Finance International Awards 2007 and the “Best Project Finance/ Best Privatization Deal” award by the Asset Triple A House and Deal Awards for 2007)
- Counsel for SN Aboitiz Power-Benguet, Inc. in connection with the US$375 Million refinancing of its acquisition of the 175 MW Ambuklao-Binga hydroelectric power plants from PSALM
- Counsel for First Gas Power Corporation (“FGPC”) in connection with the partial refinancing of its project finance loans. FGPC is the owner of the 1,000 MW Santa Rita natural gas-fired power plant, located at Batangas, Philippines (Awarded by Project Finance as Asia Pacific Refinancing Deal of the Year for 2008)
- Counsel for First NatGas Power Corp in connection with the development and financing of the 450 MW San Gabriel project located in Santa Rita, Batangas, Philippines
- Counsel for Carmen Copper Corporation in connection with its US$300 Million fixed rate senior notes issuance in reliance on Regulation S under the United States Securities Act of 1933
- Counsel for First Gen Corporation in connection with the issuance of Php3.5 Billion unsecured bonds
- Counsel for the issuer in connection with the Php5 Billion offering of corporate fixed notes by Unified Holdings Corporation
- Counsel for Luzon Hydro Corporation in connection with the refinancing of its outstanding project finance debt obligations
- Counsel for Hedcor Sibulan, Inc. in connection with the financing of its hydropower project in Santa Cruz, Davao del Sur, Philippines
- Counsel for a company engaged in the service of offering mobile payments platforms that uses cloud-based technology that primarily offers mobile financial, mobile marketing and mobile payments services to self-banked (unbanked) consumers with mobile phone access and to merchants and retailers, from large multinationals to independent retailers who only accept cash
- Counsel for a multinational company, with over US$2.5 Billion capital raised, that provides private equity capital to a broad spectrum of companies across the financial services industry
- Counsel for an online social media and social networking service company that plans to allow its users to send and receive money through peer-to-peer payments using their social network and other applicable third-party service providers
- Counsel for an international company offering next generation platform for business to business payments using technology comparable to blockchain technology
