Petron Corporation plans to offer United States (US) Dollar-denominated senior perpetual capital securities within the year to pay for its debts and for other purposes.
In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange on Thursday, the company said that it has yet to determine the issue size, price, and rate of the securities, which are not for sale in the US.
The notes will be listed on the Singapore Exchange Securities Trading Ltd. (SGX-ST) and will be available “in denominations of US$200,000 and integral multiples of US$1,000 in excess thereof.” Its increase in rate of distribution was also pegged at 2.5%.
The planned issuance of the senior notes comes as Petron, the Philippines’ largest oil firm, will be benefitting from the passage of Republic Act 11534, or the CREATE Law, which will grant tax breaks to oil refineries.
Petron, also the country’s lone oil refiner, was likewise able to register its facility in Limay, Bataan with the Freeport Area of Bataan, which also means more tax breaks for the oil giant. The refinery, though, remains closed due to low margins stemming from low demand due to the COVID-19 pandemic and what Petron President and CEO Ramon Ang dubbed as “unfair” taxation.
As a result of these woes, Petron lost Php11.4 billion in 2020.