SEC to launch energy investment ‘fast lane’

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) will launch in 2025 a platform to cater exclusively to energy companies in a bid to encourage more investments in the sector as electricity demand in the country steadily grows.

SEC Commissioner Javey Paul Francisco told reporters on Friday that the online platform dubbed SEC Powers (Securing and Expanding Capital for PowerGen Operators and Wholesale Electricity and Retail Services) would simplify the registration of securities for power generation companies and distribution utilities.

Going digital

“It’s like you’re going through an expressway, but if [the investment] is for an energy-related project, you’ll go off-ramp and make it faster,” Francisco said on the sidelines of a forum organized by the Economic Journalists Association of the Philippines.

Currently, the corporate watchdog has the so-called eSPARC, which allows companies to digitally apply for registration with the SEC, as opposed to having to physically go to extension offices.

Rather than competing with other companies on the main platform, Francisco said they wanted to integrate a “fast lane” for energy-related firms, particularly those that want to register securities before offering these to the public to help raise capital.

A dedicated team will be assigned to the new platform, he added. —Meg J. Adonis