THE country?s oldest shipping line, Negros Navigation Co. (Nenaco), is seen seeking listing on the exchange again in 2010, in line with its plan to raise funds and pursue an aggressive expansion program after its expected exit from corporate rehabilitation four years ahead of schedule.

Nenaco president and chief executive officer Sulficio Tagud said that after three years of increasing profitability, the company was planning to grow its fleet and corner a substantial chunk of the country?s shipping market.

?By the end of this year, we will have already met the Securities and Exchange Commission?s requirements for listing, and that is three years of profitability,? Tagud told the Inquirer in an interview.

?(An initial public offering) will depend on market conditions and, of course, the valuation of the company after it exits rehabilitation,? he said. ?Probably, we?ll see that in 2011.?

Earlier this year, the company asked the Manila Regional Trial Court to terminate its rehabilitation that started in 2004. After filing for rehabilitation, the company also de-listed its shares from the local bourse. The rehabilitation was originally slated to end in 2014.

But Tagud said Nenaco had already repaid most of its obligations amounting to about P1 billion.

Nenaco was owned by Metro Pacific Investments Corp. (MPIC) before going into corporate rehabilitation in 2004. It had to undergo rehabilitation after failing to service its obligations.

MPIC has since then divested to avoid suffering further losses. Nenaco is now owned by KGLI?NM, a joint venture between Negros Holdings and Management Corp. and Kuwaiti port fund KGL Investments.

The entry of the Kuwaiti firm and the equity infusion that came with it were deemed instrumental in the company?s speedy recovery from its debt woes.

Tagud said the company still owed some of its suppliers about P400 million, but ?these [creditors] do not want to be repaid at a discount so we are servicing these loans properly.?

?By 2014, we will have repaid all of that,? he said.

As part of the rehabilitation, the company was forced to sell five of its nine ships to help repay outstanding loans. Since then, the company has been able to replace these ships with newer ones, which are now used solely for cargo operations.

Cargo operations make up 65 percent of the company?s total revenue.

Once the rehabilitation ends, Tagud said the company would be able to take out fresh loans to fund the acquisition of more vessels and state-of-the-art equipment that should make its operations more efficient.

Nenaco earlier reported a net income of P203 million in the nine month period ending in September.