‘SPNEC defies headwinds during stock market debut’

Shares of Solar Philippines Nueva Ecija Corp. (SPNEC) were little changed during its debut on the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) on Friday, closing at P1.01 apiece versus the P1 listing price, as the company braved headwinds early in trading.

“Despite the headwinds, we are delighted that the latest PSE IPO [initial public offering] of 2021 has ended at a high level. We believe in this issuance and look forward to SPNEC continuing to create value in 2022,” said Paul Soo, chairman and CEO of Abacus Capital and Investments Corp., the underwriter of the offering.

SPNEC is the first pure play solar company to be listed on the PSE.

The IPO was oversubscribed and received P 5.3 billion in orders for the P 2.7 billion offering, with strong demand from investors seeking exposure to the first pure-play solar company listed on the PSE.

This oversubscription comes because the company’s IPO was budgeted at the maximum of its indicative range of up to 2.7 billion shares to P1.00 per share, giving SPNEC a market cap of P8.12 billion.

“I am optimistic that this solar park project will be as successful and profitable as SPNEC’s parent company’s two other solar parks in Batangas and Tarlac,” said PSE President Ramon S. Monzon.

“This IPO is not only the first to be listed under the additional renewable energy rules, but also holds the record with the youngest chairman of a publicly traded company, Leandro Leviste, at the age of 28. This should warn other young entrepreneurs that they too have access to capital through the stock market,” he said.

“With this IPO, we hope it can be said that capital should not be the constraint on our country’s transition to renewable energy, as long as companies perform,” Leviste said.

Emilio B. Aquino, chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission, said regulators are optimistic that SPNEC’s example paves the way for more renewables companies to include under the additional rules.

“The listing of SPNEC marks an ambitious step forward for the advancement of both the renewable energy and capital markets in the Philippines. The public offering is reaching two important milestones: firstly, SPNEC aims to develop a 500 megawatt solar power plant with the proceeds from the IPO,” said Aquino.

“Second, this listing marks the first time a renewable energy company is listed in the PSE under the Supplemental and Disclosure Requirements for Renewable Energy Companies.”