SPNEC becomes first pure-play solar firm to debut on PSE

Leviste-led Solar Philippines Nueva Ecija Corp. (SPNEC), the developer of what is planned to be the largest solar project in Southeast Asia, became the first pure-play solar company to list on the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE).

SPNEC’s shares closed at P1.01 per share on its market debut on Friday, 1% higher than its offer price of P1 apiece.

The solar power generation firm’s initial public offering (IPO) was oversubscribed, receiving P5.3 billion in orders for the P2.7-billion offering.

The oversubscription came as the company’s IPO was sized at the maximum of its indicative range of up to 2.70 billion shares at up to P1.00 per share, giving SPNEC a market capitalization of P8.12 billion.

In his welcome remarks, PSE president Ramon Monzon congratulated SPNEC as the first company to list under PSE’s Supplemental Listing and Disclosure Rules for Renewable Energy Companies approved by the PSE in 2011, which provides exemption from the PSE’s track record and operating history requirements.

“I am optimistic that this solar farm project will be equally successful and profitable as the two other solar farms of SPNEC’s parent company in Batangas and Tarlac,” Monzon said.

Monzon added that the IPO holds the record for having the youngest chairman of a listed company, as Leandro Leviste is only 28 years old.

“This should serve notice to other young entrepreneurs that they too can access capital through the stock market. On behalf of the Philippine Exchange Company, I’d like to congratulate Solar Philippines Nueva Ecija Corporation on its IPO and for being the first mover in the renewable energy space to list in the Exchange,” he said.

Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) chairman Emilio Aquino highlighted how SPNEC’s IPO marks a step forward for renewable energy in the Philippines.

“SPNEC’s listing today marks an ambitious step forward for the progress of both the renewable energy and capital markets in the Philippines. Its public offering accomplishes two major milestones: First, with the proceeds of the IPO, SPNEC aims to develop a 500 megawatt solar power plant,” Aquino said.

Proceeds of the IPO will be utilized by SPNEC for construction and development of its 50-megawatt solar project dubbed as Phase 1A, transmission line construction, lease for 2022, and general corporate purposes.

Capital raised from the offer will also be used to acquire land to expand the project beyond 500 MW, in support of SPNEC’s plan to develop the largest solar project in Southeast Asia.

Solar Philippines incorporated SPNEC in 2016 and secured a Department of Energy service contract to develop the Nueva Ecija project in 2017, with construction planned to start by the end of 2021.

Once operational, the project is intended to supplement the Luzon grid’s thin reserves and help prevent rotating outages that affected millions of Filipinos earlier this year.

“With this IPO, we hope it can be said that capital should not be the constraint for our country’s transition to renewable energy, as long as companies deliver,” Leviste said.

“I would like to thank our public shareholders, who have placed their faith in our ability to turn a powerpoint into a power plant. We strive to live up to these expectations, and create value from the use of proceeds, so that hopefully we will have much to show the next time we come to market,” he added.

Solar Philippines' other projects include one in Batangas with an operational 63 MW in partnership with Korea Electric Power Corporation; one in Tarlac, being expanded to up to 200 MW in partnership with Prime Infra of the Razon Group; and another two in Batangas and Cavite with a combined capacity of 140 MW planned to be fully operational by 2022.

SPNEC has engaged Abacus Capital and Investment Corp. as issue manager and lead underwriter and Investment Capital Corp. of the Philippines as participating underwriter for this IPO. — VBL, GMA News