Cemex Holdings Philippines (CHP), a subsidiary of Cemex, will on Tuesday launch an initial public offering to raise up to US$526m, reports Reuters.

The offering would mark the Southeast Asian nation's second and biggest IPO so far this year. Cemex Holdings Philippines has secured US$125m from seven cornerstone investors for the IPO, IFR said. Cemex aims to invest US$300m to open additional capacity in the Philippines in 2019.

“The new capacity will become operational by the second half of 2019,” said CHP president and chairman Pedro Jose Palomino. Palomino said the new capacity bodes well for the company as it is more efficient to produce locally rather than just importing from other markets.

In a separate interview, CHP director and vice president Paul Vincent Arcenas said the company is on track with its expansion project.

“We are on track with the expansion, which will add 1.5Mt of capacity. This will be in Antipolo and will bring our capacity to 7.2Mt from 5.7 Mt at present,” Arcenas told The Star.

The expansion project involves the construction of a new 1.5Mt, integrated cement-production line at Cemex’s Solid Plant in Antipolo. This would double the capacity of the Solid plant translating to a 25 per cent increase in the company’s cement capacity in the Philippines.

Last year, CHP also completed the capacity expansion of its APO plant in Cebu, the largest cement plant in the country, as well as a network of logistics centers in Visayas and Mindanao. The US$80m investment increased CHP’s cement production capacity in its APO plant by 40 per cent and helped improve distribution capabilities with additional terminals in Iloilo and Davao.

In addition, the Philippine unit also set up an US$18.6m waste heat-to-energy power plant which captures the excess heat in one of its cement production facilities to produce usable electricity, the company said.

Palomino said CHP is committed to be in the Philippines in the long run to help build a better future for the country. “We are in a very good moment in a good market,” he said.

Last year, the company sold 5Mt of cement. Philippine cement sales volume grew 13 per cent to 6.43Mt in the first three months of 2016 from 5.7Mt in the same period last year, according to the Cement Manufacturers Association of the Philippines.