SEC okays capital hike of JTKC Equities to P2.5B

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has approved the increase in the authorized capital stock of JTKC Equities Inc., the investment arm of the Tiu family, from P1 billion to P2.5 billion to cover the grant of stock dividends to shareholders.

In its application filed with the SEC, JTKC Equities said the entire P1.5-billion capital hike has been subscribed and paid for by the Tiu family.

“The amount of P1.5 billion has been appropriated for stock dividends which shall be applied as payment for subscription to the increase. The dividends shall be distributed proportionately among stockholders of record as of Dec, 31, 2007,” JTKC Equities said.

JTKC has investments in companies involved in a wide range of industries — from banking to real estate, manufacturing, and hotel and resort properties. Among these are TKC Steel Corp., Sterling Bank of Asia, remittance service firm I-Remit Inc., the Discovery chain of small luxury hotels, the Mansions Group of serviced apartments in the old tourist district of Malate, housing developer JTKC Land, Dakota Residences and Kent Vinyl Tiles.

The group also owns the Discovery Suites in Pasig, Tagaytay and Boracay.

JTKC and its subsidiaries produce world-class quality steel pipes and billets, serving the needs of long steel producers and various industries, from construction and water utilities, to oil and gas exploration and developments around the world.

Sterling Bank, on the other hand, is a thrift bank with 12 branches as of February 2008.

I-Remit aims to capture a significant chunk of the huge annual inward remittance by overseas Filipino workers around the world at $8 billion to $12 billion per year. It seeks to revolutionize the remittance industry by employing the latest IT technology utilizing the Internet platform, cutting down the usual remittance period from one week to as short as three hours from the time the remittance instruction has been received from the foreign side.