IT firm buys into Lepanto mining for P502.5 million

The Lepanto Consolidated Mining Co. board has approved the private placement of 3.35 million common shares of stock for 15 centavos per share or a total of P502.5 million by information technology firm Yapster e-Trade Inc.

“The amount raised from the sale will be used towards further exploration and initial development of the copper and gold project and settlement of outstanding debt,” Lepanto reported to the stock exchange.

A two-year lock-up period will be implemented on the purchased shares. Lepanto’s copper and gold mining project sits at an area adjacent to its Victoria project in Benguet province.

Lepanto has drilled over 35 kilometers in the Victoria area. Lepanto said it hopes to complete a feasibility study on the new site, Lepanto reported. Yapster e-Trade, Inc., a unit of 2tradeAsia.com was incorporated 18 May 1999, and was granted pioneer incentive by the Board of Investments (BoI) as being the first in the country to integrate both front and back-office facilities in the trading of shares.

2TradeAsia is the licensed online arm of F. Yap Securities, Inc. (FYSI), one of the mainstays in the Philippine Stock Exchange. The company’s vision is to be the leading & preferred interactive online stockbrokerage investors’ partner in Asia. RIZA LOZADA