Delisting out of the question for PNOC EC

PNOC Exploration Corp., the upstream oil and coal arm of state-run Philippine National Oil Co., on Friday maintained that it would not delist from the local bourse even though it failed to comply with existing rules.

According to the Philippine Stock Exchange, the public must hold at least 10 percent of PNOC EC’s stock. But the government, through Philippine National Oil Co., still holds 99.71 percent of PNOC EC’s shares, while the public owns only 0.29 percent.

PNOC  EC must now undertake a secondary offering of shares to comply with the 10-percent public float requirement of the PSE. The deadline has been set for Nov. 30.

In a statement, PNOC EC chair and CEO Gemiliano C. Lopez Jr. stressed that the secondary offering would not only be for compliance.

It will likewise “boost its capitalization, enabling it to enhance its capability to discover and develop more indigenous energy sources like oil, coal and gas,” Lopez explained.

He further assured the public and the government that the “best conditions will be obtained for the offer so that [the] company will get the best and highest price possible.” Amy R. Remo