Caltex may still hold IPO despite refinery closure, says SEC official

Securities regulators are urging Caltex Philippines Inc. to still consider offering its shares to the public despite the closure of its 49-year old refinery in Batangas.

Caltex closed down its plant in San Pascual, Batangas to give way to a P750-million world-class finished product import terminal.

A high-ranking official of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) said Caltex should still list its shares at the exchange as it enjoyed the benefits accorded them as a refinery. "They enjoyed being a refinery for a quite a long time. So on that basis, I think that they should really undertake an initial public offering," SEC official said.

Under the Oil Deregulation Law, oil refiners should make a public offering of at least 10 percent of their shares through the Philippine Stock Exchange.

Since it is no longer engaged in oil refinery, Caltex, a subsidiary of US multinational Chevron Texaco Corp., could no longer be required to undertake an IPO.

But the Department of Energy is now coordinating with other government agecies to determine whether there are other provisions or laws that could require Caltex to list.

The government has been under pressure to force oil refineries and telecommunications companies to offer their shares to the public.

Aside from oil companies, entities registered with the Board of Investments are also being encouraged by the SEC to list their shares in the exchange in line with efforts to promote more IPOs and revive investor interest in the equities market.

Despite the mandatory listing requirement for energy companies as well as those that have availed of fiscal incentives from the BOI, they were able to delay their listing, citing poor market conditions.

Among the oil firms operating in the country, only Petron Corp. made its debut at the PSE with the listing of 20 percent of its outstanding capital stock in 1994.

The SEC earlier said the BOI should draft the minimum capital requirements for BOI-registered entities qualified to list at the exchange.

SEC officials said that by listing, BOI-registered entities would be able to expand their capital base and finance capital expenditures.

The SEC had also urged the country’s top 5,000 corporations and SEC-registered entities with P50 million in assets and at least 100 million stockholders to list at the PSE.

Out of the 200,000 corporations registered with the SEC, only 237 are listed. Of the 237, only 100 are actively traded. – Zinnia dela Peña