11 firms now PSE-accredited to provide independent valuation

MANILA, Philippines — There are now 11 companies with active accreditation from the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) as providers of fairness opinion and valuation report of listed companies, as well as prospective listing applicants.

Based on PSE rules, all fairness opinions and valuation reports submitted as part of a listing application should be prepared by an independent fairness opinion and valuation report provider duly accredited by the exchange.

The accreditation of the firm shall be effective for a period of one year from the date of a memorandum issued by the PSE announcing the provider’s accreditation. The accreditation is also subject to the firm’s compliance with reportorial requirements.

As of Feb. 3, there are 11 companies with active accreditation from the PSE, data from the stock market operator showed.

Among these are ING Bank Manila Branch, BPI Capital Corp., Unicapital Inc., SB Capital Investment Corp., FTI Consulting Philippines Inc., CLSA Exchange Capital Inc., BDO Capital & Investment Corp., Punongbayan & Araullo, First Metro Investment Corp. & Isla Lipana & Co.

The latest company to be accredited by the PSE is MIB Capital Corp.

In 2020, amid complaints from minority shareholders over the valuation of shares when there is a tender offer, such as when a company decides to voluntarily delist from the PSE, the local bourse tightened rules on fairness evaluation.

A tender offer occurs when an investor proposes to buy shares from every shareholder of a publicly traded company for a certain price at a certain time.

The investor normally offers a higher price per share than the company’s stock price, which is determined by a third-party fairness opinion provider.

However, in the past, shareholders have complained about the low price offered by those doing the tender offer.

Thus, the PSE accredited companies that can provide fairness opinion and valuation reports.