The board of recently-listed Solar Philippines Nueva Ecija Corporation (SPNEC) approved on Monday the raising of the firm’s authorized capital stock from 10 billion shares to 50 billion shares, subject to stockholder and regulatory approvals. 

This would prepare SPNEC for asset-for-share swaps with parent firm Solar Philippines and additional capital increases to expand its solar project portfolio, subject to third-party valuations and approvals. SPNEC said it is planning to have further consultations and a stockholder’s meeting on this proposal. 

The firm said the move comes amid strong investor interest in its stock, which had over Php5 billion in trading over the past month and became the Philippine Stock Exchange’s (PSE) best-performing initial public offering (IPO) for 2021, closing the year up 28%.  

SPNEC was able to raise Php2.7 billion from the IPO last December. It is the first company to list under the PSE’s Supplemental Listing and Disclosure Rules for Renewable Energy Companies, which provides exemption from the exchange’s track record and operating history requirements. The company is currently at the pre-operational stage and has not commenced commercial operations.

“We are thankful for the level of interest in SPNEC, even as a single pre-operating project. At the same time, we note the feedback that adding our already operating or contracted projects would make SPNEC even more attractive,” Solar Philippines founder Leandro Leviste said in a statement.

“We see that other companies have successfully listed assets through share swaps, and we support SPNEC doing the same if that is what our public shareholders want,” Leviste added. 

SPNEC is the developer of the 500-megawatt “solar ranch” in Peñaranda, Nueva Ecija. Just before Christmas, it announced plans to expand the project by 1,000 hectares through a joint venture, though the partner has yet to be named.