MANILA – AC Energy is studying investment opportunities in Vietnam after gaining a foothold in Indonesia, as it aims to become a regional player in renewable energy, its president said Wednesday.

The Ayala Corp power unit will operate its wind farm in South Sulawesi, the first facility of its kind in Indonesia, by the first quarter of 2018. It also expects to close its acquisition of Chevron’s geothermal assets in two weeks, AC Energy Holdings president John Eric Francia said.

“We want to expand in Indonesia further beyond these two assets,” Francia told ANC’s “Market Edge with Cathy Yang.”

“Vietnam seems interesting. It’s still early days. We’re studying the market and the opportunities. We’ll take it one step at a time,” he said.

Francia said AC Energy hoped to crack its second regional market in the next 12 to 18 months.

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AC Energy is in a "transformation" period, as it hopes to expand in Southeast Asia, while aiming to triple its renewable energy capacity by 2020, Francia said.

The company currently has a capacity of 1,300 MW, 300 MW of which is clean power. Francia said the company was aiming for 1,000 MW in renewable energy capacity by 2020.