Oceana Gold mulls listing at PSE

MANILA, Philippines - Australian miner Oceana Gold Corp., which is set to commission its copper-gold mine in Didipio, Nueva Vizcaya in the first quarter of 2013, is planning to list in the local bourse.

In an interview at the sidelines of the Mining Conference 2012 in Sofitel Philippine Plaza yesterday, Oceana Gold Philippines Inc. chairman Jose P. Leviste Jr. said the company would comply with the investment law that requires companies registered with the Board if Investments (BOI) to list in the local bourse.

 “We will comply to the requirements of the Board of Investments when we already in operation,” he said.

No timetable, however, has been set for the listing.

Under Rule 8 on Public Participation Requirement under the Omnibus Investments Code it is stated: “A registered enterprise, unless otherwise exempted shall, at anytime within 10 years from date of registration, be required by the Board to offer for sale to the public 10 percent or more of its total subscribed capital stock, voting, non-voting and any increase thereof.”

The Board of investments, however, has difficulty implementing the provision because of previous interpretation that this is merely directional in nature.

The BOI currently only urges registered firms to list in the local bourse.

Leviste said the Didipio project would become the first mining tenement in the country to operate under a Financial or Technical Assistance Agreement (FTAA).

“We also want to be a model green mining company,” said Leviste.

He said the project is on track leading to its commissioning.