State-run Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) has increased its stake in Citicore Renewable Energy Corp. (CREC) to 7.48% after acquiring additional shares from Megawide Construction Corp., according to a regulatory filing with the Philippine Stock Exchange.
GSIS purchased 287.45 million CREC common shares from Megawide on June 25, bringing its total holdings to 834.33 million shares, equivalent to 7.48% of the company’s outstanding shares.
The latest acquisition raised GSIS’s stake above the 5% ownership threshold that requires shareholders to disclose substantial ownership under Philippine securities regulations.
The purchase follows GSIS’s acquisition of 320 million CREC shares from Megawide on May 8 and another 226.88 million shares on May 12, as the state pension fund steadily expanded its investment in the listed renewable energy developer.
The investment comes as CREC accelerates the rollout of new renewable energy projects across the Philippines.
The company recently energized solar power facilities in Pangasinan and Negros Occidental, raising its gross renewable energy capacity to 791 megawatt-peak (MWp). It aims to build 5 gigawatts of renewable energy capacity within five years and plans to energize additional solar projects in Pangasinan, Batangas and Quezon in the coming quarters as testing and commissioning activities continue.
“These recent energizations form part of our delivery of Green Energy Auction projects,” CREC President and Chief Executive Officer Oliver Tan said in an earlier statement.
CREC’s expansion forms part of its participation in the government’s Green Energy Auction Program, which seeks to accelerate the deployment of renewable energy projects to support the country’s transition to cleaner sources of power.
