Phoenix Petroleum issues P3.5-B STCPs

MANILA, Philippines - Independent oil player Phoenix Petroleum Philippines Inc. issued yesterday P3.5 billion worth of short-term commercial papers (STCP) to bankroll its expansion.

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange, the firm said the STCPs were issued in three tranches and were listed on local debt market Philippine Dealing & Exchange Corp. (PDEx).

Tranche D has a tenor of 90 days maturing in April 13, tranche E with a tenor of 180 days to July 12 and tranche F with a tenor of 343 days to Dec 22.

For the issuance, Phoenix Petroleum obtained an issuer credit rating of PRS Aa minus from local credit watcher Philippine Rating Services Corp., which means it has a strong capacity to meet its financial commitments relative to that of other Philippine corporates.

Phoenix Petroleum vice president for external affairs Raymond Zorilla said earlier this offering is a reissuance of the STCP issued earlier.

The first tranche was issued in 2010 and the second in 2013.

In October, the oil firm issued P1.26 billion worth of STCP, a reissuance of the P3.5 billion offered in two tranches which matured in the same month.

The recent STCP will have a maturity period of 123 days or until Feb. 22, 2016 and will bear an interest rate of 3.75 percent.

The company started with five stations in 2005. As of the end of September 2015, its retail station network grew to 447 stations from 418 stations last year, mostly based in Mindanao.

PDEx said this is the first listing for the year, which brings the total level of tradable corporate debt instruments to P543.04 billion issued by 35 companies with 103 securities.

“We are happy to note that Phoenix Petroleum, through this return listing, demonstrates the same confidence in the organized market that it had when it pioneered the listing of Commercial Paper Program in 2014,” PDS Group president and CEO Cesar B. Crisol said.

“In return, we at the PDS Group, commit to maintaining the environment of transparency and integrity of this market for the issuer community and other market stakeholders,” he added.