The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has approved the application of Asian Spirit, Inc. to increase its authorized capital stock from P300 million to P1 billion paving the way for the airline plan to undertake public stock offering..
Asian Spirit’s application was approved by the Commission en Banc yesterday upon the recommendation of the Company Registration and Monitoring Department (CRMD).
"We hereby recommend the approve of increase in capital stock of subject corporation from
P300 million to P1 billion with subscription of P175 million and partial payment of P100 million in the form of advances," the CRMD said.
The increase in authorized capital stock of Asian Spirit forms part of its plans to go public next year.
The airline earlier said it wishes to sell 30 percent of its shares to the public in 2006 to raise about
P300 million to fund its ambitious expansion program which include regional flights to China in the next two years.
The airline obtained its 25-year congressional franchise in March 2003 and its franchise agreement with the government provides for an Initial Public Offering (IPO) in five years.
If plans to go public would materialize next year, the airline would be two years ahead of its mandated public offering.
Meantime, the domestic carrier controlled by the families of Jack Po, Noel Onate and Antonio Turalba had just embarked on a $40-million fleet expansion by acquiring four Bae 146 jets for its expanding routes in Palawan and Ormoc.
The company had also just acquired the first of four newly-refurbished British Aerospace 146 jet plane dubbed as Jumbolino. Another would arrive in October, the third and fourth one within the first half of 2006.
Two of the Jumbolinos are 80 seaters and 2 are 100 seaters. The Dash 7 are 50 seaters.
Asian Spirit also known as the People’s Airline being founded as a cooperative is majority owned by a cooperative composed of its three major shareholders alongside aviation industry professionals and former staff and employees of other airlines.
