PSE expects 7 new listings

For this year

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine Stock Exchange sees at least seven companies going public this year despite lingering uncertainties brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Of the seven, four will be REIT (real estate investment trust) listings.

The PSE did not identify the companies that would undertake an initial public offering, but industry sources said Filipino snack food giant Monde Nissin was one of them.

Monde Nissin is reportedly finally pushing through with its market debut after putting this on hold in 2015, industry sources said.

Other IPO aspirants include the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines while REIT aspirants are DoubleDragon, Filinvest, Megaworld and Robinsons Land Corp., sources said.

“We hope to have a robust IPO pipeline this year, including real estate investment trusts, to further grow the retail market,” PSE president Ramon Monzon said.

DDMP REIT has already filed an application for a REIT IPO estimated to raise around P14.7 billion.  It will issue 6.5 billion secondary shares at P2.25 apiece. The listing of the shares is scheduled on Feb. 26.

Its portfolio consists of seven buildings in its leasable properties in DD Meridian Park.

The Filinvest Group, on the other hand, is transforming Cyberzone Properties Inc. (CPI) into a REIT, to be listed on the PSE under the REIT Act of 2009.

FLI president and chief executive officer Josephine Gotianun-Yap said the listing of CPI would unlock the value of the Filinvest group’s office leasing business.

Many have been waiting for Monde Nissin’s market debut. Years back, it targeted to raise an estimated $300 million to $500 million to boost operations as the company targets to become a significant food and beverage player in the Asia Pacific region.

It was in talks with banks as early as 2015, but later on decided to defer it due to market volatility and also because it had to review their financials after pursuing global acquisitions, industry sources said.

The company is owned by Betty Ang, hailed by Forbes as the 26th richest person in the Philippines in 2016 with a net worth of $800 million. The company has been among the Top 1000 companies in the Philippines since 2000.

In 2015, it acquired Menora Foods, a family-owned Australian food company, its third acquisition in Australia, having previously acquired the Black Swan and Nudie food brands. It also acquired UK-based Quorn for $831 million in the same year.

In 2016, Monde Nissin entered into a joint venture with Nippon Indosari, Indonesia’s largest bread products producer to create Sarimonde Foods Corp.

The company also launched a partnership with Japanese retailer Uniqlo to launch shirts for men and women that carry Monde Nissin brands such as Lucky Me!, the Philippines’ leading instant noodles brand; and Bingo Cookie Sandwich, a favorite snack among teens.