SEC clears SM Investments

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has cleared SM Investments Corp. (SMIC) from allegations it failed to disclose material information in violation of the Securities Regulation Code.

This as the commission en banc upheld the recommendation by the Corporation Finance Department which cleared SMIC from charges it violated the SRC for not disclosing a court case involving a property owned by its 93 percent-owned subsidiary Manila Southcoast Development Corp. (MSDC), in its registration statement.

According to the CFD, the property, valued at P12.3 billion, accounts for only less than 10 percent of the holding company’s total assets, and thus not considered material information.

The case stemmed from a complaint filed by Domingo Villafranca and Nomer Del Mundo, who both claim ownership of MSDC’s Hacienda Looc, a 57.5-hectare seaside property in Nasugbu, Batangas. The complainants alleged that SMIC misrepresented that MSDC holds clean land titles on the Batangas property, with its titles faced with a pending lawsuit.

The complainants said the undisclosed information are material facts that "will materially affect the value and marketability of the shares of the SM Group."

SMIC, however, insists that the cases involving MSDC’s property had already been dismissed by the Nasugbu Regional Trial Court due to forum shopping and lack of jurisdiction over the issue. Jurisdiction on the property reportedly belongs to the Department of Land Reform.