Trans-Asia eyes stocks rights offering to double capital stock to P8.4B

MANILA, Philippines—The board of directors of the Phinma-led Trans-Asia Oil and Energy Development Corp. approved on Monday an increase in the company’s authorized capital stock to P8.4 billion from P4.2 billion.

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange, Trans-Asia Oil said that the P8.4 billion would be divided into 8.4 billion shares at a par value of P1 apiece, which would be funded by a stock rights offering.

The terms and conditions of the offering, including the final issue size, rights entitlement, offer price and record date, have yet to be determined by the board of directors.

Trans-Asia Oil president Francisco Viray confirmed in a text message that the doubling of the company’s capital stock was in preparation for the planned power projects, which include a 135-megawatt coal-fired facility in Batangas and its wind power projects, the first of which would be the 54-MW Guimaras wind farm, should the final feed-in-tariff rates be issued in 2012.

Through the South Luzon Thermal Energy Corp., Trans-Asia Oil and the Ayala-led AC Energy Holdings Inc. will, meanwhile, jointly build the 135-megawatt coal facility starting this year.

A P9-billion project loan facility signed with lenders Banco De Oro Unibank Inc., Security Bank Corp. and Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. is expected to fund the coal-fired power plant, which is targeted to be operational by mid-2014.

Trans-Asia Oil, as a wholesale aggregator, will purchase all the generated output of South Luzon Thermal’s coal power plant over the next 15 years.

Apart from its planned coal plant in Batangas, Trans-Asia had reported that it was also mulling to put up a similar 135-MW facility in Mindanao to help shore up the critical power generation capacity in the island.

Trans-Asia Oil has already begun the pre-engineering and feasibility study to build a similar coal facility in Northeastern Mindanao, similar to what was being built in Batangas. Should the company proceed with the project, it would have the power plant to start operations by 2015.