“However, we are willing to pay the fine. And I’ve talked to the Philippine Stock Exchange [PSE], which informed me that there are rules on delisting but which have not yet been triggered. Thus, the PNOC-EC will not be delisted, even if we do not comply [with the rules],” Almendras said.
PNOC-EC is required to implement a public float for at least 10 percent of its shares of stock to comply with the regulations of the PSE. The government owns 99.79 percent of PNOC-EC’s shares through PNOC, while the public owns the remaining 0.21 percent.
The energy chief said, however, the economic managers and the privatization council is about to come out with a final decision that says the option is that “we would like to keep PNOC-EC public,” he said in a news conference on Friday.
Almendras said they believe that keeping the PNOC-EC will put the appropriate discipline to ensure that it complies with all the requirements of the PSE.
He added that it’s not easy to be a publicly listed company with all the disclosure requirements.
Almendras said they, however, agreed that it was not good to go to the market considering that the market is on a slump.
He added that a group is being formed, to be headed by the Department of Finance. The group, according to Almendras, would determine the timing and value of the sale.
Almendras declined to give a specific timetable on when they plan to push through with the follow-on offering, “unless the stock-market prices start flying to the roof and demand goes up.”
Gemiliano Lopez Jr., PNOC-EC chairman and chief executive, earlier said the company does not want to be delisted and that it has already begun the selection process for hiring the company’s financial adviser or lead underwriter.
Lopez said they still have to decide on who to hire or the actual date for its float.
Lopez earlier said timing is important, while pointing out that PNOC-EC would like to assure everyone that the best conditions would be obtained for the offering so the company would get the best and highest price possible in the equities market.
Lopez said PNOC-EC does not want to be delisted from the stock market during President Aquino’s term.
“Aside from complying with PSE requirements by making the offering, the PNOC-EC would boost its capitalization, enabling it to enhance its capability to discover and develop more indigenous energy sources like oil, coal and gas,” Lopez said.
(Paul Anthony A. Isla)
