MANILA, Philippines - Beer maker San Miguel Brewery Inc. said Wednesday, January 2, it is looking to voluntarily delist its shares from the Philippine Stock Exchange as its public ownership remains below the minimum required by regulators.

In a stock exchange disclosure, the company confirmed a newspaper report that said it is eyeing to apply for voluntary delisting after the Securities and Exchange Commission denied its request for extension of the deadline to comply with the 10% public float rule.

"San Miguel Brewery confirms that voluntary delisting is an option that is being considered following the denial of the company's request," company corporate information officer Ferdinand Constantino noted.

As of Dec. 28, 2012, San Miguel had a public float of only 0.61%. Trading in the company and 6 other public float-deficient firms was suspended on Wednesday. The 6 firms include:

• Alphaland Corp. (8.03% public float)
• Southeast Asia Cement Holdings Inc. (2.41%)
• PAL Holdings Inc. (2.30%)
• Allied Banking Corp. - 15% convertible preferred shares (1.51%)
• PNOC Exploration Corp. (0.21%)
• San Miguel Properties Inc. (0.06%)

Three companies -- Philcomsat Holdings Corp., Cosmos Bottling Corp. and Nextstage Inc. -- which also fall short of the public float rule were suspended last year for other violations.

Erring firms were given until Dec. 31, 2012 to comply with the ownership requirement, otherwise they would be suspended and eventually delisted.

The trading suspension starts January 2 and may last for 6 months. If after this period the firms still fail to comply, they will be automatically delisted.

Aside from being suspended, erring firms will be slapped with additional taxes for share deals outside the exchange, the Bureau of Internal Revenue previously said. These taxes include the 5% to 10% capital gains tax and the documentary stamp tax. - Rappler.com