The board of directors of Phoenix Petroleum Philippines Inc. has approved the settlement of the P3.0 billion commercial papers that the firm issued on December 5 last year.

The Uy-led company apprised the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) that the CP issuance had a tenor of 360 days, hence, its maturity will be in December this year.

It must be noted that Phoenix Petroleum had undertaken several CP issuances last year, as part of the two-series P10 billion worth of commercial papers program that the company had registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in 2018.

Commercial paper is a form of unsecured, short-term debt facility that may be issued by a corporation for its funding needs or debt repayments. It is often offered at a discount from face value and issued on prevailing market interest rates.

Phoenix Petroleum carried out several cash-raising activity in recent years so it can shore up financial resources to bankroll its expansion projects.

And while 2020 is notably a pandemic year, the company concentrated on rationalizing its marketing approach so it can entice higher patronage of customers.

Beyond the innovation of contactless payments that it already instituted in a number of its stations, it was in early part of this year when the company also offered fuel delivery services primarily to small and medium enterprises (SMEs) – for this to become part of what is codified as “new fashioned platform” of selling petroleum commodities.

On that sale approach that kicked off last May, the company indicated that for customers with a minimum order of 3,000 liters, “a delivery option is available at select Phoenix stations in Mega Manila.”
Under the program, Phoenix emphasized that businesses wanting to avail of the delivery service may not need to be a traditional partner of the oil firm.

While Phoenix has been conventionally offering delivery of its fuels from depots, it was the first time that the company kick-started delivery of fuel straight from retail stations.

While recognizing the valuable role of petroleum products in keeping small and medium enterprises afloat and to underpin their recovery post-lockdown, Phoenix Petroleum noted that the fuel delivery service offer could potentially “provide a more convenient option for customers in need of quality fuel supply during a time when mobility can be challenging.”

The fuel delivery is a recourse that end-users with bulk petroleum needs could opt for in the “new normal” that will thrive as a business paradigm as the threat of the coronavirus has yet to wane.