PSE to list shares on Dec 15

The Securities and Exchange Commission has given the go signal for the listing of the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) covering its entire outstanding capital stock of 9.2 million common shares.

The shares will be offered to the public through a listing by introduction on Monday, Dec. 15. The PSE shares will be traded on the first board of the exchange.

Intro listing refers to the listing of shares on the bourse without first undertaking an initial public offering (IPO).

As of end October, the PSE had 217 shareholders on record, with no shareholder owning five percent or more of the entire outstanding capital stock of the company. Under the demutualization plan, all trading participants were allotted 50,000 shares each.

The listing is a further step toward the PSE’s compliance with the ownership limitation requirements set by the Securities Regulation Code.

Under the SRC, no industry or business group may beneficially own or control more than 20 percent of the voting rights of the exchange. To comply with the ownership cap under the SRC, the PSE is required to offer its shares to other group of investors.

With the listing, the PSE expects to meet the 20-percent single industry share ownership limit under the SRC within the first quarter of next year. ATR- Kim Eng Capital was tapped as financial advisor for the PSE’s listing.

This early, several brokers have already signified their intention to sell their stakes to other interested investors.

PSE’s revenues are primarily derived from listing related income. Other sources of revenues are membership fees, data feed and miscellaneous fees which include service fees. Listing revenues for the first three quarters of 2003 comprised of annual listing maintenance fees (64 percent), additional listing fees (34 percent), and new listing fees (two percent).

In view of the increasingly competitive environment in which it operates, the PSE has drawn up a business plan designed at further increasing its revenues, enhancing its operational efficiency and further strengthening market integrity. Last year, the PSE posted a net income of P27.96 million, 52.87 percent higher than the P18.29 million registered in 2001.