PSE likely to miss this year’s capital target

As firms delay market plans

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) is likely to miss its target to raise P140 billion to P160 billion this year as some companies postponed their plans to tap the capital market.

PSE president Ramon Monzon said the local bourse expects to end the year with P105 billion to P110 billion worth of capital raised from the stock market.

At this level, the PSE would hit just the same level of capital it raised last year at P110 billion.

Among the companies that already listed are Alternergy Holdings Corp. which made its P1.61-billion market in March and Upson International Corp., a retailer of personal computers and other tech gadgets which went public on April 3, raising P1.65 billion.

Another company, Repower Energy Development Corp., a subsidiary of Pure Energy Holdings Corp. also listed while Enrique Razon’s Prime Infrastructure Capital Inc. has also announced plans to go public via an upsized P33 billion initial public offering (IPO) but no definite timetable has been given for its public debut.

Prime Infra is a holding company focused on infrastructure such as construction, energy, water, etc.

For next year, Monzon said it might still be difficult to reach the perennial target of the PSE of P200 billion in capital raised unless the big IPOs push through.

But Monzon said the PSE continues to woo several companies to proceed with their initial public offerings.

These include Lucio Co’s Cosco Capital, which plans to do a real estate investment trust (REIT) listing that could be the biggest IPO of the PSE this year.

Another IPO keenly awaited by the market is the real estate investment trust listing of SM Prime Holdings.

OceanaPhilippines also earlier signified its intention to list although no details were immediately available.

The PSE is also talking to property company Ovialand to revive its IPO plans.

For the first nine months of the year, the PSE reported a 19.9-percent jump in net income to P575.65 million, due to gains in financial investments.

The company’s operating revenues, on the other hand, slid by 8.7 percent to P1.10 billion, brought about by weaker listing and trading and clearing revenues, which were down by 19.3 percent and 8.8 percent, respectively.

During the nine-month period, the PSE had three initial public offerings, four follow-on offerings, four stock rights offerings, 10 private placements, and other types of additional listings.

The decrease in revenues was offset by the surge in PSE’s other income, which rose by 838.2 percent to P170.97 million from a loss of P23.16 million, and the controlled increase in total expenses, which was slightly up by 5.7 percent to P555.18 million.