Petron says P18-B bond listing signals trust of retail investors 

PETRON Corp., the country’s largest oil company, announced that it has listed P18-billion worth of its fixed-rate bonds on the Philippine Dealing and Exchange Corp. (PDEx).

In a disclosure on Tuesday, the company said the issuance, which marks the firm’s third listing on PDEx, was three times oversubscribed.

“We’re particularly proud of the reception from our retail investors, signifying their confidence in Petron and our future as a company. Despite some of the challenges we still face, we continue to pursue our strategic goals, and ensure that we deliver long-term growth for the company,” Petron President and Chief Executive Officer Ramon S. Ang said.

The P18-billion issuance forms the first tranche of the company’s shelf registration of P50-billion fixed-rate bonds.

The issued securities consist of Series E bonds maturing in 2025 with an interest of 3.4408% per annum; and Series F bonds with a 2027 maturity and an interest of 4.3368% per year.

“Proceeds from this fund-raising exercise will be used primarily for the redemption of Petron’s outstanding Series A Bonds due in October this year, payment of existing indebtedness, and partial payment of the power plant project,” Petron said.

The firm is currently developing a new power plant in Limay, Bataan which will add 44 megawatts (MW) of capacity to its existing 140-MW plant. The new facility is set to go online in the second half of 2022.

Petron’s latest bond offer earlier received a PRS Aaa rating from local debt watcher Philippine Rating Services Corp.

PRS Aaa is considered as the highest credit rating for long-term securities, and shows the obligor’s “extremely strong” financial commitment to meet its obligations.

BDO Capital & Investment Corp. acted as the sole issue manager of the issuance. The joint lead bookrunners and joint lead underwriters of the offer are: BDO Capital & Investment Corp., China Bank Capital Corp., Philippine Commercial Capital, Inc., PNB Capital and Investment Corp., and SB Capital Investment Corp.

Meanwhile, the co-lead underwriters for Petron’s offer are First Metro Investment Corp., Land Bank of the Philippines, and RCBC Capital Corp.

Petron registered a 18.60% share in the local market, as of end-June 2021, according to data from the Department of Energy.

Petron shares in the local bourse improved 2.82% or 10 centavos to finish at P3.65 apiece on Tuesday. —

Angelica Y. Yang