More firms to list with PSE in 2014

MANILA, Philippines – More firms are expected to list with the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) in 2014 as corporate appetite is expected to pick up next year, PSE president Hans Sicat said.

He added that more companies are likely to sign up with the local bourse through straight initial public offering (IPO) or through back door listing as the market is expected to recover from sluggish trading in December.

For 2014, two firms are already set to list with the PSE – oil and gas exploration firm  Frontier Oil Corp and Top Frontier Holdings Inc, a major shareholder of conglomerate San Miguel Corp.

Frontier Oil Corp  was supposed to list with the PSE this month, but pushed back its plans due to market volatility.

Top Frontier Holdings Inc, on the other hand, has been working on its listing by way of introduction with the PSE, and has already obtained approval from the Securities and Exchange Commission.

The PSE chief also noted that more companies are likely to list via backdoor listing, also known as reverse take-over, which happens when a private firm buys majority interest in a publicly traded company.

A total of 8 companies went public this year: Philippine Business Bank, Asia United Bank, Travellers International Holdings  Inc, Robinsons Retail Holdings Inc, AG Finance Inc, Concepcion Industrial Inc, Harbor Star Shipping Inc, and Discovery World Corp.

Del Monte Pacific Ltd, on the other hand, was listed by way of introduction, while First Metro Exchange Traded Fund was listed through the ETF board.

Despite these listings, the PSE president has said that capital earnings for 2013 will be lower than 2012. Last year was a record-breaking year for the local bourse in terms of capital raised.

The PSE had a rollercoaster ride in 2013.  The local bourse started 2013 with the main index reaching all-time highs as early as January. By May, the PSE breached the 7400-point mark after the country received back- to- back credit rating upgrades from Fitch Ratings and Standard and Poor.

But all gains for the year were wiped out by June by the announcement of the US Federal Reserve of a possible tapering of its stimulus package.

Trading at the local bourse in recent weeks have been slow as well, with the US Fed’s announcement of the start of its tapering by January 2014.

The PSE main index closed at 5,854.88 points on Monday, December 23, a day before the market closed for the two-day Christmas holiday. – Rappler.com