Nickel firm mines stock market to raise P1B

The Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) has approved a plan by miner Global Ferronickel Holdings Inc., one of the country’s largest nickel ore exporters, to raise as much as P1 billion from a follow-on public offering.

Global Ferronickel, listed on the PSE under the ticker “FNI,” was authorized to offer and list up to 250 million shares at an offer price of as much as P4 per share.

The offer price will be finalized on May 18. The offering will run from May 28 to June 1 while tentative listing date is on June 11, based on a memorandum from the PSE.

Abacus Capital & Investment Corp. acts as the sole underwriter for this reinitial public offering (re-IPO).

Global Ferronickel intends to use the proceeds to pay part of an outstanding loan of subsidiary, Platinum Group Metals Corp. (PGMC), from Taiwan Cooperative Bank Manila. The rest will be used for its operations in Cagdianao in Surigao (Caga Mines) covering 4,376 hectares.

Based on the group’s current dividend policy, at least 20 percent of the unrestricted retained earnings from the preceding year will be declared as dividends.

Trading participants will have an allotment of 50 million shares worth up to P200 million. Allotment per trading participant is 378,000 shares equivalent to about P1.52 million.

Global Ferronickel is currently valued by the stock market at P11.8 billion. It has a public ownership of 27 percent. —DORIS DUMLAO-ABADILLA