Solar Philippines’ initial public offering (IPO) earlier this month attracted Php5.3 billion in orders, nearly twice the Php2.7 billion it aimed to raise to fund its 500-megawatt (MW) “solar ranch” project in Peñaranda, Nueva Ecija under subsidiary Solar Philippines Nueva Ecija Corporation (SPNEC).
Abacus Capital and Investment Corporation, the underwriter for the IPO, said the oversubscription signified strong demand from investors who want exposure to the first pure-play solar company to list on the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE).
The oversubscription comes as the company’s IPO was already sized at the maximum of its indicative range of up to 2.7 billion shares at up to Php1 per share, resulting in SPNEC having a market capitalization of Php8.12 billion.
SPNEC will formally be listed in the PSE this Friday. Its IPO is the exchange’s tenth and last one for the year.
SPNEC is the first company to list under the Supplemental Listing and Disclosure Rules for Renewable Energy (RE) Companies approved by the PSE in 2011, which provides exemption from the PSE’s track record and operating history requirements. The company is currently at the pre-operational stage and has not commenced commercial operations.
“We are grateful for the public’s faith that we can turn this power point into a power plant, and hope our work can live up to these expectations,” Solar Philippines founder Leandro Leviste said in a statement.
“I am pleased that PSE can support [an RE] company with its fund raising requirements. The need for RE is more amplified now as more companies are turning to RE as part of their climate action program,” PSE President and CEO Ramon Monzon said for his part.
The IPO proceeds will be invested to complete the first 50MW of the project and acquire land to expand the project beyond 500MW, in support of SPNEC’s plan to develop the largest solar project in Southeast Asia.