Filinvest holding firm beats PSE deadline

MANILA, Philippines - Filinvest Development Corp. has evaded a possible trading suspension of its shares after its major shareholder sold shares in the company via a private placement to comply with the exchange’s 10-percent minimum public ownership (MPO) requirement.

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange, FDC said ALG Holdings sold 636 million shares at P5 apiece to third-party investors, effectively increasing the listed firm’s public float to 10.16 percent.

In another development, Ayala-led chip maker Integrated Microelectronics Inc. disclosed its major stockholders would sell a portion of its stake to a public investor to allow it to meet the MPO rule.

Errant companies have until the end of the year to boost their public ownership to the required level or they face trading suspension on the first trading day of 2013.  They will also be subjected to a  higher stock transaction tax.

The trading freeze will be effective for a period of not more than six months or until June 30, 2013. After the lapse of the six-month suspension period, they will automatically be delisted from the local bourse unless they have by then complied with the requirement.

Once trading is suspended, any transaction on stock trades will no longer enjoy the preferential tax rate of 0.5 percent.

The Bureau of Internal Revenue will instead slap a capital gains tax equivalent to five percent of net capital gains amounting to not over P100,000. A 10-percent gains tax will apply on the excess.

A documentary stamp tax of P0.75 on each P200 of the par value of the stock will also be applied on the sale.

Trading of shares listed at the PSE are subject only to stock transaction tax equivalent to 0.50 percent of the transaction value levied on the seller.

In addition, companies must still pay listing fees while they are suspended.