Newly listed Solar Philippines Nueva Ecija Corporation (SPNEC) is searching for a partner to develop a 500MW project. The company just completed a 2.7 billion pesos (US$ 54.1 million) IPO on the Philippines Stock Exchange in the middle of December.
As a subsidiary of utility-scale PV project developer Solar Philippines, SPNEC is the first company to be traded in the Philippines Stock Exchange under the Supplemental Listing and Disclosure Rules for Renewable Energy Companies. This particular regulatory policy allows domestic renewable energy companies to be listed in the domestic stock exchange without disclosing its track record and operating history.
The proposed 500MW project is to be located in Nueva Ecija, the province that the company is named after. According to a related article posted on December 22 by news outlet Manila Bulletin, SPNEC is “preparing an initial 1,000 hectares” for the project and is seeking a partner to form a joint venture. The article said that the first phase of the project will entail an investment of around 4.88 billion pesos and install 50MW by the end of 2022. SPNEC will then install another 175MW in early 2023 or within nine months after the financial closing for the additional capacity. The article also said that some of the proceeds from the IPO is being used to develop the first phase, but the largest share of the proceeds has been allocated for acquiring more land to expand beyond 500MW. The company has touted this PV project to be the largest of its kind to date in Southeast Asia.
A related article posted by Bloomberg on December 16 said that the trading of SPNEC’s shares has been very hot, but there are some concerns about whether the company can maintain its share value after the initial frenzy. While SPNEC has no track record, the other subsidiaries of Solar Philippines have developed PV projects. Furthermore, Prime Infra, which is another major renewable infrastructure developer in the country, has so far invested around 3.5 billion pesos into Solar Philippines. The capital injections are expected to have given a boost to investors’ confidence in the company.