NexGen lists to PSE 300-M shares IPO
FILE PHOTO: Trading activity at the Philippine Stock Exchange in Manila's financial district of Makati is seen in a zoom shot.
(Photo by ROMEO GACAD / AFP)
Daily TribuneFILE PHOTO: Trading activity at the Philippine Stock Exchange in Manila's financial district of Makati is seen in a zoom shot.
(Photo by ROMEO GACAD / AFP)
NexGen Energy Corp. (XG), a renewable energy (RE) firm led by Dexter Tiu, listed on Tuesday on the Philippine Stock Exchange's (PSE) initial public offering (IPO) of 300 million shares at P1.68 apiece, with an overall option of 45 million secondary shares.
PSE president and chief executive officer Ramon Monzon welcomed the company as the first RE company to list on its small, medium, and emerging board.
“This IPO serves as a timely reminder to other small companies that need to raise capital that the SME board is a very practical and feasible listing group,” he said.
XG operates through its subsidiaries, Solar Powered Agri-Rural Communities Corporation, 5-Hour Peak Energy Corporation, and Airstream Renewables Corporation, which currently produce 13.86 megawatts of capacity.
Funds raised from the IPO will be utilized to execute its growth plans, while around half of the proceeds will be used for the construction and development of the company's solar project in Zambales and wind project in Cavite, Monzon said.
The company is also allocating capital to develop and acquire RE projects.
“Hopefully, this IPO will enable XG to increase its total capacity to 38.86 megawatts by the end of 2026,” the PSE chief said.
Going into the IPO
Moreover, Monzon encouraged companies to go into IPOs.
“I'm often asked these days if companies with IPO plans are correct in waiting for, as they say, better market conditions. My answer has consistently been, If your company has a good story and potential and it needs capital to pursue its development or expansion plans, that is the appropriate or correct time to lease your company,” he said, adding that the more companies defer their IPO plans due to ‘’poor market conditions," the more this becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.
NexGen Energy Corporation president Eric Peter Roxas further echoed the sentiment.
“When you need to raise capital for your operations, go for your IPO. Today, we are proud to be the third IPO this year and part of the PSE's goal to have at least six IPOs in 2024,” he said.
He recalled that the PSE Index, at the same time last year, was just around the same level as today, which he said is between the 6,300 and 6,500 levels, and gradually strengthened to the 7,000 level.
“We believe that NextGen is in the same position to ride a similar wave,” he said.