Indophil revives IPO plan

Australian firm Indophil Resources NL is revisiting an old plan to list on the Philippine Stock Exchange as it faces the possibility of proceeding alone or finding a new partner or partners in the prospective $5.9-billion Tampakan copper gold mine in Mindanao.

Indophil’s majority partner in Tampakan, the merged Glencore Xstrata, is having issues on the approval of the merger by regulators in China.

Such issues have raised the question of whether the company should divest its 62.5-percent interest in the project. The Australian Securities Exchange-listed Indophil holds the 37.5-percent remainder.

“With a committed Philippine investor base, Indophil is well placed to proceed alone or in partnership to unlock the inherent value in Tampakan,” the company said in a report filed at the ASX last week.

“Our plan to obtain a dual stock exchange listing in the Philippines would be back on the table,” Indophil said in a report.

The Melbourne-based firm had taken initial efforts to list in the PSE in 2012, but this did not prosper as Tampakan subsequently suffered delays.

According to company chair Brian Phillips and chief executive Richard Laufmann, Indophil is convinced that for the Tampakan project to proceed, it “must be wholly embraced locally.”

“With approximately 30 percent of our listed shares now owned in the Philippines, Indophil has invested significantly in our in-country partnerships, alliances and relationships, and is well positioned to expedite the next phase of the Tampakan development,” Phillips and Laufmann added.

Last January, Laufmann said Glencore Xstrata advised Indophil of its preference to pursue divestment of its interest in Tampakan.

The Indophil executives noted that despite such advise, no formal divestment process has begun and that agreement on how to move forward has been reached with Glencore Xstrata.

“Regardless of how this evolves, the prospect for Indophil shareholders and Tampakan will remain positive,” they said.

“Indophil is focused on maintaining and progressing the Tampakan development plan, and is committed to working with Glencore Xstrata to secure an appropriate outcome,” they added.

Late in 2013, the Tampakan partners announced a substantial reduction in project expenditure, which was pushed down to less than $10 million.

The focus of activities was now on maintaining local community support and clarifying with the Philippine government the process and timeline for the remaining approvals required for project development to proceed.