Petron seeks to raise P50B from bond market foray

Petron Corp. is looking to bring to the market P18 billion in fixed-rate bonds, the first tranche of a P50-billion planned offering within the next few years.

The oil firm plans to list these at the Philippine Dealing and Exchange Corp. system after it secures the go-signal from the Securities and Exchange Commission for a shelf registration. This practice allows a company to offer in tranches new shares within a period of time, allowing it to act fast when market conditions are good.

Considering that regulatory approvals are still needed, Petron is not yet ready to disclose additional details.

However, the San Miguel group subsidiary intends to appoint BDO Capital & Investment Corp. as sole issue manager as well as the group of BDO-CIC, China Bank Capital Corp., Philippine Commercial Capital Inc., PNB Capital and Investment Corp. and SB Capital Investment Corp. as joint lead bookrunners and joint lead underwriters.

In another development, Petron’s refinery in Limay, Bataan, is now back in operation and is “stabilizing” after undergoing an economic shutdown beginning February 2021.

Being the sole remaining crude oil refiner operating in the Philippines, Petron earlier this year downplayed concerns it might follow Pilipinas Shell Petroleum Corp. in quitting the refining business. Last year, Shell converted its Tabangao facility in Batangas into an import terminal that could accommodate medium-range vessels.

At Petron’s annual stockholders’ meeting held last May, company president Ramon Ang said the refinery in Limay, Bataan, was “a very viable business” unless the government reimposed strict community quarantine measures that would send demand for fuel to a steep drop. INQ