SMC to delist 3 units in PSE

MANILA, Philippines - Diversified conglomerate San Miguel Corp. (SMC) is looking at delisting its beer, property development, and food businesses at the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) before the end of the year.

SMC president Ramon Ang said in an interview with reporters that the conglomerate is set to voluntarily stop the trading of the shares of San Miguel Brewery Inc., San Miguel Properties Inc., and San Miguel Pure Foods Co. Inc. since it could not comply with the rules on public ownership.

The PSE requires listed companies to maintain a minimum public float of 10 percent starting next year.

“If we can’t comply with the PSE rules then we will voluntarily delist by the end of this year,” he stressed.

The PSE already warned that the exchange would start suspending companies that fail to comply with the minimum public float requirement next year.

“We will still try to sell shares but if the economic situation does not improve then we can’t do anything but to delist,” Ang said.

San Miguel Brewery’s operations extend from its domestic base throughout the Asia-Pacific: China, Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam. From the original cerveza brewed in 1890, San Miguel has since produced a wide range of popular beverage products which are runaway market leaders in their respective product categories.

Available in over 60 international export markets, flagship product San Miguel Beer is among the world’s largest selling beers, and a leading brand in the Philippines, Hong Kong and South China. Affiliated brands Anker Beer and Blue Star also hold dominant positions in their home markets.

San Miguel Pure Foods Company, Inc. offers a diverse array of food products spanning across the entire value chain ranging from B-Meg feeds and San Miguel Mills flour to Purefoods hotdogs, Magnolia chicken or Monterey ready-to-eat meat dishes.

The Food Group’s operations range from breeding, contract growing, processing and marketing of basic meats, to the manufacture of refrigerated, canned and ready-to-cook meat products, butter, cheese, margarine, ice cream, flour and flour-based products as well as animal and aquatic feeds.

Although initially established to be San Miguel Corp.’s corporate real estate arm, San Miguel Properties later diversified into commercial property development in market opportunities.

Its current portfolio of projects includes mixed-use developments with economy to middle-income housing as its core products. Its real estate development projects: Bel Aldea, Maravilla, and Muralla in Cavite and Wedgewoods in Sta. Rosa, Laguna.

In the works is San Francisco Laketown, a development that will recreate the beauty of San Francisco City, USA, right in the heart of Cavite. To capitalize on the vast opportunities in tourism, San Miguel Properties has launched its first real estate tourism effort: the Monte Maria project in Alfonso, Cavite.