6 firms still below minimum public float

MANILA, Philippines – Six publicly listed firms have yet to comply with the Philippine Stock Exchange’s (PSE) 10% minimum public ownership (MPO) requirement as of April.

In a statement on Thursday, May 16, PSE President and CEO Hans Sicat said that while 3 non-MPO compliant firms delisted this year, 6 are still trying to meet the requirement in the next 6 weeks. 

These firms are: 

• Philcomsat Holdings Corporation – 9.6%
• Southeast Asia Cement Holdings Inc. – 2.41%
• Cosmos Bottling Corporation – 1.79%
• Nextstage Inc. – 1.2%
• PAL Holdings Inc. – 0.55%
• PNOC Exploration Corporation – 0.21%

“By and large, the reinstatement of the MPO rule has achieved the goals both from the governance perspective and the objective to increase liquidity in the market. Moving forward, we will continue to assess the optimal level of the MPO requirement for listed companies in line with industry standards and the needs of the market,” Sicat said.

Under the reinstated MPO rules of the PSE, companies that fall below the 10% minimum by the end of June 2013 shall be delisted from the roster of listed companies. 

Since 2011, companies have complied with the MPO rule through divestments by their strategic shareholders or follow-on offerings. Some delisted voluntarily.

The PSE said the overall free float level in the local stock market increased to 33.4% in the first quarter of 2013.

From a total of 45 non-MPO compliant companies at end-2011, there are now only 6 companies that have yet to meet the MPO requirement. Shares held by public investors as of this period represented 30% of total domestic market capitalization. The increase in the share of market free float was equivalent to an estimated additional P400 billion worth of shares held by the public.

“Overall, our assessment is that the minimum public ownership program of the PSE has been successful.  The figures show that not only are there lesser non-MPO compliant companies, the program has also proved to increase the shares in the hands of public shareholders,” Sicat said. – Rappler.com