GT Cap power unit mulls IPO

MANILA, Philippines - Two power industry players – a power generator and a transmission service provider – are looking to sell shares to the public as early as next year, company executives said.

The public offering of tycoon George S.K. Ty’s Global Business Power Corp. (GBPC) and a subsidiary of the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP) in the local bourse are hinged on expansion plans and completion of existing deals.

“Maybe sometime next year if the market situation warrants it,” GBPC president Arthur Aguilar told reporters.

“As you know we went through a due diligence with (parent company) GT Capital Holdings Inc. We got the governance systems set up already for the public listing,” Aguilar said.

In April, GT Capital went public after a P21.5-billion initial public offering (IPO).

“By [next year] we will have an expansion program that is quite clear already. We are now just formulating it,” Aguilar said.

For instance, the company is still conducting a study for a third coal-fired power plant in Iloilo given increasing demand in the province.

Subsidiary Panay Energy Development Corp. will lead the construction of an 82-megawatt (MW) power plant worth P10 billion.

Furthermore, Aguilar said the firm in looking to expand in electricity-starved Mindanao.

“It is an area of interest and you know they need power there,” Aguilar said, adding that Mindanao needs another 300-400 MW in the next three years.

Late last month, GBPC subsidiary Toledo Power Co. said it will build another 82 MW coal-fired power plant in Cebu that will cater to the mining operations of Carmen Copper Corp.

GBPC is already close to the grid cap in the Visayas given its 633-MW capacity.

“We got to go elsewhere. We still have room for one or two more plants.After that, that is it,” Aguilar said, adding that Luzon is not an option due to big players in the area.

Meanwhile, the NGCP is looking to sell shares to the public as compliance to the requirements of Republic Act 9511 of 2008 that granted the transmission franchise to the company.

“It can be the subsidiary who will do the IPO for NGCP. It does not have to be NGCP directly,” said Joseph Ferdinand Dechavez, senior adviser to NGCP president Henry Sy Jr.

“We are doing it because we have to comply with the requirements of the franchise,” Dechavez said.

Under the law, the country’s sole transmission provider should sell at least 20 percent of its shares to the public within 10 years from the commencement of its operations.

The listing in the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) of any company which directly or indirectly owns or controls at least 30 percent of the concessionaire will also be considered as compliance to the listing requirement.