OceanaGold makes lackluster market debut

MANILA, Philippines — Australian-Canadian mining company OceanaGold Philippines Inc. (OGPI) saw a lackluster market debut yesterday after its share price dropped by more than six percent.

Shares of OGPI opened at P13.34 per share and closed at P12.50 or 6.2 percent lower than its initial public offering (IPO) price of P13.33 each.

OGPI’s lowest traded price was at P12.46 apiece. The mining firm’s share price averaged at P12.79 on its first day of trading.

OGPI, the market’s IPO curtain raiser this year, marked the first public listing of a mining firm in the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) in more than a decade.

It also becomes the first mining firm that holds a financial or technical assistance agreement (FTAA) to be listed in the PSE.

Luis Limlingan of Regina Capital said the decline in the OGPI’s share price could be attributed to some investors wanting to keep cash ahead of the release of inflation for April in the US this week and rebalancing of the Morgan Stanley Capital International index.

Limlingan added that recent volatility of commodity prices in the world market could also have been a factor to the drop in OGPI’s share price.

OGPI operates the Didipio gold and copper mine in Nueva Vizcaya. Both gold and copper are considered commodities.

PSE president and CEO Ramon Monzon said the local bourse added a “leading” mining firm to its roster of publicly listed companies with the listing of OGPI.

Monzon said the local mining industry has a “vast” potential that can “fuel economic growth.”

“The listing comes at a time when prospects for the mining sector are favorable. The government is looking to revitalize the mining industry to boost its potential contribution to the economy,” Monzon added.

OGPI, a wholly owned subsidiary of Australian-Canadian firm OceanaGold Corp., raised P6.08 billion from the IPO.

According to OceanaGold, the proceeds from the IPO of OGPI will be used to repay its debt that stood at $135 million at the end of 2023.

“We expect our mining operations to provide substantial dividend returns to our shareholders and more importantly to continue to share the benefits to the government and the communities, ensuring that we realize our purpose of mining gold and copper for a better future,” OGPI president Joan Adaci-Cattiling said.