Cemex stocks firm up in market debut

MANILA, Philippines - Cemex Holdings Philippines Inc. (CHP), the local subsidiary of Mexican cement giant Cemex, successfully raised P25.13 billion from its initial public offering of shares.

Cemex shares closed 35 centavos higher at P11.10 on their first trading day Monday compared to the IPO price of P10.75 apiece.

Finance Secretary Carlos “Sonny” Dominguez rang the opening bell at the PSE.

CHP president and chairman Pedro Jose Palomino said the company was happy with the positive reception of investors as well as with the presence of Sec. Dominguez during the listing ceremony.

“This is one of the biggest transactions in the country. We realized that there is a strong interest in the financial community abroad. The Philippines is becoming extremely interesting for investments and for us it’s a good opportunity to engage investors abroad,” Palomino said.

The company sold 2.34 billion shares including an over allotment option of up to 304.95 million shares.

Proceeds from the IPO would be used for refinancing, Palomino said.

 This year, the company has set capital expenditures at P600 million to P650 million, which will be funded using internally generated cash.

“We are really engaged in the growth of the country,” Palomino said.

 After the IPO, the estimated public float of CHP is 45 percent.

BDO Capital served as the lead underwriter for the offering while Citigroup Global Markets Ltd, Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corp. Ltd and J.P. Morgan Securities Plc were the joint global coordinators and bookrunners.

Ed Francisco, president of BDO Capital, said the deal was oversubscribed by at least two times, attracting institutional foreign investors such as AC Capital PTE, Avanda Investment Management PTE, BlackRock,  Fullerton Fund Management Co. Ltd., Target Asset Management PTE and Wellington Management Co.