Pilipinas Shell Petroleum Corp, the local unit of Royal Dutch Shell, has filed for an initial public offering that could be worth up to US$629 million, according to Reuters. The company is planning to launch the IPO in October, floating an 18.6 percent share of the unit's stock.
The company could be listed on the Philippine Stock Exchange in early November. If the move gets the nod by regulators, it will be the third IPO in the Philippines in 2016 and would also be one of the largest stock market listings for the country.
Pilipinas Shell operates one of the nation's two oil refineries, and is required by Philippine law to offer up to ten percent of its stock to the public. With the planned IPO, the company would offer up to 330 million shares at 90 pesos (US$1.91) each.
At US$629 million, the IPO would outstrip the recent offering of US$523 million Cemex Holdings Philippines Incorporated, which had been the largest IPO in the Philippines in three years. BPI Capital and JP Morgan will handle the floating. Money from the sale would be used for Pilipinas Shell's capital expenditures, corporate expenses and for working capital.
Difficult market conditions and the need to upgrade its refinery has thwarted Pilipinas Shell's plans for an initial public offering in the past. However, the market in the Philippines is now stabilizing with Manila's benchmark stock hitting a 15-month high last week. The success has prompted some to speculate that the country may fare better than its neighbors, which has also boosted confidence.
Noel Reyes, the chief investment officer of Security Bank Corporation, commented "The Philippines is an outlier because economic prospects for our country remain favorable. We are going to be the safe haven for Asia given that the growth track for other Asian economies is weak."
By Lincoln Brown for Oilprice.com
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