PLDT INC. has secured a P1-billion green loan from HSBC Philippines to fund its fiber network’s infrastructure expansion and modernization.
In a statement, Danny Yu, PLDT’s chief financial officer and chief risk management officer, said the project will work toward establishing fiber-fixed broadband, mobile data services, and carrier-grade wifi.
“We are pleased to start this journey with HSBC and anticipate further expanding our sustainable financing portfolio with other sustainability projects,” Yu said.
Yu added that PLDT’s “commitment to responsible business practices and long-term profitability is reinforced by its sustainable financing solution.”
PLDT also said based on its studies that compared with previous technologies, fiber cables generate less heat and no longer require cooling systems, thus, very minimal energy is lost to the environment.
A green loan is a type of financing that enables borrowers to finance eligible green projects using the proceeds.
Melissa Vergel De Dios, corporate chief sustainability officer, stressed that “the green fund will also be realigned with PLDT’s goal of achieving both energy efficiency and reduced carbon emissions.”
The decarbonization roadmap of PLDT, which seeks to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from Scope 1 and Scope 2 by 40% by 2030, when compared to the baseline year of 2019, is supported by this network upgrade.
PLDT also revealed their Home’s fiber-only service revenues increased by 9% or ₱4.5 billion increase, to a record ₱53.0 billion in 2023. Fiber-only revenues accounted for 88% of total Home revenues of ₱60.4 billion.
There were 3.2 million overall fiber subscribers as of the end of 2023, with 234,000 fiber net additions during the same period.
