‘Duterte magic’ charms Shell to push through with IPO

MANILA, Philippines - A combination of the previous administration’s hard work and the “Duterte magic” has done the trick for Pilipinas Shell Petroleum Corp. to finally proceed with its long-delayed public listing, its top executive said.

In an interview, Pilipinas Shell country chairman Edgar Chua told The STAR the company could not have found  a better time to conduct its initial public offering (IPO) than now, when business optimism in the country is soaring.

“Business community is really very bullish about the new administration coming and building on the gains of the previous administration. Now is really a good time,” Chua said.

“A successful IPO requires three things. One is that you have good financial results and two you have a good balance sheet. Those two have already been met. Three is that the market is quite good.  So I think the previous administration has contributed in making the market good and I think the Duterte administration is just building on the strength of the previous administration,” he added.

Pilipinas Shell is embarking on what could be the country’s biggest IPO ever, planning to raise up to P29.7 billion through the offering of up to 330 million shares.

Under the Oil Deregulation Act of 1998, the company should have listed at least 10 percent of its common stock within three years from the law’s effectivity.

“When we made the investment decision on the refinery then, that’s tied to the IPO. For a long time we were not sure what to do with the IPO. The law requires that if you have a refinery, you have to do an IPO. So once we’ve finalized that we will keep the refinery, then we decided we have to do an IPO,” Chua said.

Based on its registration statement filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, the local unit of Royal Dutch Shell intends to use net proceeds of the offering for capital expenditures, working capital and other corporate expenses.

Chua, who is set to retire from the company in October, said a publicly-listed Pilipinas Shell would result in bigger operations and network.

He said doubling the number of its retail stations across the country is also part of its growth plans.

“We will continue with our push for growth, at least grow with the market and at the same time to continue to help in the community because that’s part of our responsibility. It’s not just about making money but helping the community,” Chua said.