A long-delayed IPO by PTT Oil and Retail Business (PTTOR), Thailand's biggest fuel retailer by revenue and volume, was given the green light by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Thursday.
Cash from the IPO will be partly used for a project to hire new graduates as part of attempts to restore the economy after the slowdown caused by the pandemic, said president and chief executive Jiraporn Kaosawad.
Energy policymakers earlier asked state and private energy firms to help boost the economy by creating jobs for 28,000 graduates.
Ms Jiraporn said the company plans to sell 3 billion shares, with par value set at 10 baht each. Registered capital is 120 billion baht.
Up to 2.7 billion shares will be sold to general investors, while the remaining 300 million shares are reserved for existing shareholders of PTT, the national oil and gas conglomerate.
PTTOR was spun off from PTT in 2018 with plans to list on the stock market.
The company's IPO plan was delayed, mainly because asset transfers from the parent company took more time than expected. Such transfers needed approval from the Public Private Partnership Committee in order to comply with the Private Investment in State Undertakings Act.
Thursday's approval by the SEC will make PTTOR the sixth core business to list on the stock market. The most recent, Global Power Synergy Plc, PTT's power generation arm, made its IPO in 2015.
"The next step is to organise a roadshow to attract Thai and foreign investors before the share sales," Ms Jiraporn said.
PTTOR said funds raised from the IPO will go to debt payment, working capital and capital spending.
The company plans capital spending of 77.4 billion baht from this year to 2024.
For domestic fuel retail, PTTOR plans to add 137 new petrol stations a year under a budget of 19.5 billion baht. Up to 80% will be run by local operators.
PTTOR plans a 3.7-billion-baht development for fuel-related services and liquefied petroleum gas business.
For non-oil business, PTTOR plans to branch out into coffeehouses and restaurants, including Cafe Amazon and Hua Seng Hong, as well as non-oil product storehouses and distribution centres at a cost of 2.6 billion baht.
PTTOR aims for 15.4 billion baht in capital spending for construction of 71 new petrol stations a year, mostly in Asean, until 2024.