Aboitiz Power may raise P8.4B from IPO

By Honey Madrilejos-Reyes

Reporter

ABOITIZ Power Corp. (APC) expects to raise P8.4 billion from an initial public offering (IPO) it is planning for the year. In a disclosure Thursday, the company told the Philippine Stock Exhange that said proceeds would fund the expansion of its power generating capacity. This, Aboitiz Power said, can be realized by participating in the government's  effort to privatize the National Power Corp. and the undertaking of greenfield or new power projects. In preparation for going public, APC filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) a preliminary statement for the registration of 7.2 billion  common shares. Of these, 1.8 billion new common shares would be sold to the public. APC is a wholly owned unit of Cebu-based conglomerate Aboitiz Equity Ventures (AEV), a publicly traded firm with exposures  in banking, shipping, power and food concerns. In January, the APC board approved the increase in the company's authorized capital stock from P5 billion to P17 billion. Out of this increase Aboitiz gave its parent firm common shares. In turn, Aboitiz Equity gave its unit shares of stock in Davao Light & Power Co. Inc., Visayan Electric Co. Inc., Hijos de F. Escaٍo Inc., Cotabato Light & Power Co. and other power companies.  *****  APC Mining seeks DENR approval to explore in Palawan   By Honey Madrilejos-Reyes Reporter  APC Mining Corp., a wholly owned subsidiary of listed APC Group Inc.,  wants the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) to approve a permit so that it can explore for nickel and chromite deposits in Brooke's Point, Southern Palawan. The permit covers an area of 2,787 hectares, adjacent to the mining claims of Macroasia Corp. and Celestial Nickel Mining Corp. The area reportedly has reserves of 8.6 million metric tons of ore that contains an estimated 1.75-percent to 2.2-percent nickel. So far, APC Mining has filed for six exploration  permits in the provinces of Zambales, Misamis Oriental and Palawan bringing the applied aggregate area to 19,801 hectares, basically containing chromite and nickel. Once exploration works prove the presence of mineable deposits at commercial quantities, the company would conduct exploration activities and apply for a Mineral Production Sharing Agreement with the DENR. The company's primary purpose is to engage in mining activities and take part in the government's thrust of encouraging investments in the mining sector. Its parent the APC Group, meanwhile, is 46.59 percent owned by Belle Corp., another publicly listed company. APC has investments in telecommunications, energy-related projects, mining and manpower outsourcing businesses.

 

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