Boss Energy shares join US-based OTCQB alternative trading system
Blackstone Minerals anticipates its OTCQB listing will raise awareness of its activities at Ta Khoa where it plans to produce critical materials for the South East Asian lithium-ion battery market.
Aspiring uranium producer Boss Energy (ASX: BOE) has confirmed its shares have been upgraded from trading on America’s over-the-counter pink open market to the OTCQB venture market under the ticker symbol “BQSSF”.
The move was made due to growing international demand for Boss equity and the fact that over 20% of its share capital is held by US investors.
It was led by global market operator MCAP Securities and investment banking firm Viriathus Capital and will see Boss retain its primary listing on the Australian Stock Exchange.
The OTC market is managed by a broker-dealer network as opposed to a centralised exchange and can involve equities, debt instruments and derivatives.
It is the largest alternative trading system in the US, quoting over 11,000 securities of companies listed on traditional exchanges and stocks that are not listed.
Strategic advantages
Boss said upgrading to the OTCQB had strategic corporate advantages which could benefit the re-start of its wholly-owned Honeymoon uranium project in South Australia.
“[It offers us] the opportunity to build visibility, expand liquidity and diversify our US shareholder base on an established public market without the rigid procedures common to exchange listings,” the company said.
To qualify for OTCQB admission, companies must meet high financial standards, follow best practice corporate governance and demonstrate compliance with applicable securities laws.
Boss’ membership is non-dilutive as no additional capital is required to be raised and no new shares will be issued in conjunction with the move.
Project activities
Earlier this month, Boss confirmed it would expand preliminary project execution activities for Honeymoon’s development.
The company is progressing planned activities in production schedule optimisation, equipment selection and contract and procurement negotiation, and has preferred vendors completing equipment design for long lead items as priority work streams ahead of a final investment decision.
Boss has also strengthened its management team with a string of recent appointments to provide more focus on critical path items including engineering and procurement and wellfield planning and development.