Trans-Asia Oil plans to strengthen power arm
Trans-Asia Oil and Energy Development Corp. on Thursday entered into a subscription agreements with several investors covering P400 million worth of shares.
The proceeds from the placement will be used to finance the firm’s 134-megawatt (MW) power plant through South Luzon Thermal Energy Corp. (SLTEC).
“Proceeds from the private placement will be used by the company for its equity investment in the second 135-MW unit of SLTEC’s clean coal-fired power plant and possible investments in other power project opportunities,” said Giles Katigbak, strategic planning manager of Philippine Investment-Management Inc., the firm that owns Trans-Asia.
He said that these refer primarily to privatizations of Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp. (PSALM), which under the Electric Power Industry Reform Act is mandated to privatize all state-owned power assets. Excess proceeds from the placement may also be used for other general corporate purposes.
In a disclosure to Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE), Trans-Asia said that it recently entered into subscription agreements with non-related investors covering a total of 400 million shares with an offer value of P400 million.
“The offer has already been completed with the execution of subscription agreements with non-related investors covering a total of 400 million shares with an offer value of P400 million. The application for listing of these shares has been filed and is currently pending with the PSE,” Katigbak said.
Recently, Trans-Asia concluded its initial public offering (IPO) in the local bourse and offered P1.63 billion shares at a price of P1 apiece.
The firm’s chairman, Oscar Hilado, earlier told reporters that the proceeds from the IPO will be allotted to Trans-Asia’s power business.
For his part, Trans-Asia President and Chief Executive Officer Francisco Viray said that the proceeds will be used specifically to finance the company’s 54-MW wind project in San Lorenzo, Guimaras.
He said, however, that the company is still waiting for the go-signal from the government to proceed with the project.
