Pepsi-Cola Products Philippines Inc. said Monday its board has approved the appropriation of P800 million for payment of debts.

In a letter to the stock exchange, the company said the amount would be sourced from proceeds of its maiden offering that was held last February.

"In its resolution, the board also affirmed and confirmed the company's continuing commitment to implement the projects listed in the prospectus to be undertaken using the proceeds," Pepsi said.

Pepsi offered 1.14 billion shares to the public, raising about P4 billion. Of the amount, P1.2 billion would be used for its capital expenditure program of P2.5 billion over the next two years. Pepsi said the balance would be funded through internal cash or borrowings.

According to Pepsi chief financial officer Partho Chakrabarti, the company wants to increase its production capacity by 22 percent this year and expand five of its beverage plants in Cebu, Iloilo, Cagayan de Oro, San Fernando in Pampanga, and Rosario in La Union. Pepsi currently operates a total of 11 plants in the country.

"We had 72 percent utilized capacity or 135 million cases produced last year. We plan to increase this by 22 percent," he said.