PETROSOL Platinum Energy PLC, a leading ISO-certified indigenous oil marketing company, has received a strong vote of confidence from investors after its maiden GH¢100 million corporate bond was oversubscribed by 178 per cent.
The company’s Series 1 and Series 2 Notes have been listed on the Ghana Fixed Income Market (GFIM) of the Ghana Stock Exchange (GSE), marking the first issuance under its GH¢200 million Note Issuance Programme approved by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the GSE.
The book build attracted combined bids of GH¢178.074 million against the GH¢100 million target, reflecting strong institutional investor confidence in the company’s credibility, governance and growth prospects.
The four-year Series 1 attracted GH¢114.277 million in bids against a GH¢50 million target, representing a 229 per cent subscription from 66 investors.
The five-year Series 2, on the other hand, received GH¢63.797 million in bids against its GH¢50 million target, representing a 128 per cent subscription from 18 investors.
Despite the strong demand, PETROSOL decided to accept only the GH¢100 million initially targeted, demonstrating what management described as financial discipline.
The Chief Executive Officer of PETROSOL Platinum Energy PLC, Mr Michael Bozumbil, said at the listing ceremony in Accra yesterday that the listing marked the fulfilment of a long-held ambition to take the company into Ghana’s capital market.
“We are working with the GH¢100 million. We will come back at the right time for the extra GH¢100 million because we want to remain financially disciplined,” he said.
Mr Bozumbil said the funds would primarily be used to strengthen working capital and improve fuel procurement efficiency, expand the company’s retail network and grow its business-to-business petroleum supply portfolio.
He said the company, which began as a petroleum business management and consulting firm, entered the oil marketing business in 2013 and commenced operations in 2014 with four stations.
It now operates 109 stations across 13 regions and employs about 490 people.
Mr Bozumbil said the company had cumulatively paid more than GH¢2 billion in taxes and regulatory margins since 2014, while consistently meeting its obligations to banks, suppliers, dealers and employees.
He said the company’s journey had not been without challenges, citing the energy crisis, deregulation, currency volatility, high inflation and intense competition in the petroleum downstream sector.
The Managing Director of the GSE, Mrs Abena Amoah, described the successful issuance as a significant development for Ghana’s corporate bond market.
She said corporate issuers had raised about GH¢24 billion since the establishment of the corporate bond market in 2015, while fixed-income trading volumes had continued to recover strongly following the Domestic Debt Exchange Programme (DDEP).
The Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Investment Promotion Authority (GIPA), Mr Simon Madjie, who delivered the keynote address, said PETROSOL’s listing demonstrated how Ghanaian businesses could use the capital market to access long-term funding, strengthen governance and broaden their sources of finance.
He, however, reminded the company that listing came with significant responsibilities, including timely disclosure, sound financial controls, effective risk management and honouring its obligations to investors.
BY KINGSLEY ASARE
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