MANILA, Aug 19 — Shares of Petron Corp, the Philippines’ largest oil refiner, tumbled to their lowest in more than 11 months today after it said its employee retirement fund had sold US$100 million (RM315 million) worth of shares at a discount.

Petron, a unit of conglomerate San Miguel Corp, said in a filing that the Petron Corporation Employees’ Retirement Plan has agreed to sell a block of 380 million shares equivalent to a 4 per cent stake, at 11.50 pesos apiece. That represents a 9.5 per cent discount to the stock’s closing price on Monday.

Shares of Petron fell as much as 8.7 per cent in early trade, while the broader market was up 0.4 per cent.

It is the second time this year that the retirement fund has sold shares at a discounted price of 11.50 pesos per share.

Petron said it had tapped UBS AG to act as placement agent for the transaction which is due be completed via the Philippine Stock Exchange on August 26. No further details were immediately available.

Petron shares have fallen nearly 17 per cent so far this year, hit by concerns over the discounted share sales and the execution of its refinery expansion project. — Reuters