Nickel miner TVI Resource postpones Philippine IPO to H2

MANILA, March 2 (Reuters) - Nickel miner TVI Resource Development (Phils.) Inc (TVIRD) has deferred its planned Philippine listing for a second time to the second half of 2016 due to volatile market conditions, its chairman said.

The miner had initially planned to list on the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) in December last year, before deferring to Feb. 29 this year due to delays in regulatory approvals.

"While TVIRD has worked diligently with its underwriter and the regulatory bodies to pursue its IPO and PSE listing, global markets have been in extreme turmoil since the beginning of 2016," said Clifford James, who is also chairman and CEO of Canadian miner TVI Pacific Inc.

TVI has a 30.66 percent equity interest in TVIRD, which began nickel ore exports in 2014 from its Agata mine in Surigao province in southern Philippines. It is one of the country's 27 nickel mines supplying ore to processing plants in Australia, China, South Korea and Japan.

James said the market turmoil has made it "very difficult" for companies in all industries to pursue public offerings.

"We are seeing many planned IPOs being deferred to the latter half of 2016 to allow time for the markets to settle and to see the outcome of the presidential elections in the Philippines (in May)," he said in a statement.

The miner still planned to raise 1 billion pesos ($21 million) from the IPO to to fund a local gold and silver mining project.

TVI remained optimistic about TVIRD's listing prospects, James said, despite the still weak outlook for stainless steel demand and depressed nickel prices.

"The establishment of a public market for TVIRD shares will allow North American investors to better evaluate the value of TVI's interest and provide us with an essential source of non-dilutive funding," he said.

(Reporting by Erik dela Cruz; Editing by Richard Pullin)