Newly-listed cement manufacturing firm Cemex Holdings Philippines Incorporated announced during its debut on the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) that it will spend $300 million to build a new cement plant with annual capacity of 1.5 million metric tonnes. Cemex Philippines had raised P25.13 billion in the Philippines’ biggest IPO since 2013.
It offered over 2.3 billion shares, including 304 million shares to cover additional demand. The IPO shares represent 45 per cent of the company’s capital stock.
Cemex Philippines President and CEO Pedro Jose Palomino said the plant will be operational by the second half of 2019 and funded using the company’s cash flow.
Palomino said the company is "very positive? on the domestic economy as the current administration vows to continue to sustain growth across the country.
"We think the Philippines is a growth case. We believe that what is happening now has no U-turn, and the growth pace could even be higher. Our goal is try to grow with the country and join the whole community in this growth," Palomino said.
He noted that Philippine cement consumption is among the lowest in the world at 240 kilos per person per year. Philippines Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III (centre) joins Cemex and PSE board members in ringing the bell during the P25.1-billion IPO listing of Cemex. (Photo from the Department of Finance of the Philippines).
