THE Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) expects more petroleum and renewable energy (RE) firms to go public after it eased the listing rules for these types of companies.
In a press briefing on Thursday, PSE president and chief executive officer Hans Sicat said the bourse has already received “inquiries” from at least 10 companies interested in listing on the exchange.
The new rules, which became effective on September 8, are the result of a collaboration between the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the PSE and the Department of Energy (DOE).
A key feature is the easing of the one-year operating history requirement for oil and renewable energy firms seeking to list on the second board of the PSE. This would help “smaller” players to tap the PSE as they seek funding from the domestic equity market.
“If you look at the history from the PSE side, there have been few inquiries previously [from oil and renewable energy firms],” Sicat said.
DOE Secretary Jose Rene Almendras said his department has already awarded about 227 RE contracts, with another 200 pending applications, indicating strong interest from developers in this sector.
Tapping the DOE was crucial in this process, noted SEC commissioner Juanita Cueto, as she pointed to the DOE’s expertise in this field.
“Investments cannot be 100-percent safe, but at least the investing public knows the risks associated with investing,” she said in the briefing.
For his part, Almendras said another layer of protection may be added with the introduction of an “independent” body to review and validate claims made by oil and energy companies, given the sometimes speculative nature of the business.
“It should be group that will be neither government nor private but a pool of independent experts. Other markets already have something like this,” said Almendras. He said early discussions relating to the possible structure of such an organization have been made with the PSE and SEC.
The DOE wants RE sources like hydro, solar and wind power to account for 15,000 megawatts or half of the country’s power supply by 2030.
