MANILA, Philippines — MerryMart Consumer Corp. sizzled yesterday on its initial public offering as IPO-starved investors made big bets on a company engaged in essentials business especially in this time of the coronavirus disease 2019 or COVID-19 pandemic.
MerryMart hit the maximum daily price ceiling of 50 percent of its IPO price of P1 to close at P1.50 per share yesterday, marking the first IPO for the Philippine stock market in this challenging year.
Its chairman Edgar “Injap” Sia II, who led the bell-ringing ceremony yesterday at the PSE together with Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez, welcomed the strong investor reception, saying MerryMart’s IPO is a barometer of the economy.
“This IPO of MerryMart, done during this global pandemic is far better than any kind of survey, because this is a real thermometer of the underlying state of our economy. It shows that our economy is alive and ready to begin bouncing back. This IPO will not be possible if our government just did nothing. Our economy is tiding through the rough waters well, and that is possible because of the well thought out and decisive decisions that were put in. Definitely a lot of thought, work and intervention, unseen by most of us, was done to get our economy to survive,” Sia said in his speech during yesterday’s ceremony.
He said what is important in times like these is to have a relevant and well innovated business model.
“The company and the team have to be quick and nimble enough to adjust and calibrate simultaneously as the dust of the crisis settles and emerge successfully, stronger than ever, and move forward to the future in an even better market position,” Sia said.
MerryMart did a P1.6 billion IPO of 1.6 billion primary common shares at P1 each.
Proceeds of P1.6 billion will be used for capital expenditures and working capital for store network expansion.
MerryMart intends to open 12 additional stores by the second quarter. The company further aims to open 100 branches by the fourth quarter of 2021.
The stock market listing of MerryMart shows the strong confidence of investors in the Philippine economy even amid the crisis brought about by the pandemic, according to the Department of Finance (DOF).
In a statement, Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez called the initial public offering (IPO) of MerryMart a “good sign” of the country’s economic recovery.
“It represents an opportunity for investors to participate in the strong growth we anticipate in the coming period. This presents with us a glimpse of the coming sunrise,” Dominguez was quoted as saying during the company’s listing ceremony.
“This initial public offering signals trust in our good economic prospects. It shares in the optimism that, notwithstanding the global downturn engulfing us today, the Philippine economy has the fundamentals to rise quickly from the devastation wrought by the pandemic,” he said.
The finance chief said this is also an example of how “the government and the private sector can work together to inspire confidence in our ability to quickly recover from the crisis.”
Dominguez said he expects MerryMart to invigorate the retail sector, promote competition in the industry, generate more jobs and stimulate the economy. Mary Grace Padin