PSE on track to breach P200-B fund-raising target

THE PHILIPPINE STOCK Exchange, Inc. (PSE) is optimistic it can breach its P200-billion fullyear target for fund-raising activities at the local bourse, as the share sale of San Miguel Corp.’s food and beverage unit pushes through in the fourth quarter.

PSE Chief Operating Officer Roel A. Refran said in a panel discussion at the Philippine Investments Forum in Makati last Friday that capital raised at the stock exchange has so far reached P181.68 billion. The figure already exceeds the P160 billion worth of funds raised at the PSE in 2017.

“We’ve been hoping to hit that P200 billion (target) since Hans (former PSE President Hans B. Sicat). We’ve never reached that,” Mr. Refran told reporters in Filipino on the sidelines of the forum.

The remaining three months of 2018 will see the conduct of a follow on offering by San Miguel Food and Beverage, Inc. (SMFB). The food and beverage giant targets to sell up to 522.96 million common shares at P85 to P95 each. This excludes an overallotment option of up to 15% of the offer shares.

Without the over-allotment option, this could bring in P49.68 billion worth of fresh funds for SMFB, allowing the PSE to hit its fund-raising target for the year.

SMFB will announce the final price of the share sale on Oct. 25, with the settlement and delivery of shares scheduled for Nov. 12.

The expected record-breaking fund-raising activity comes amid the persistent volatility at the PSE for most of the year, which has prompted two firms — Del Monte Philippines, Inc. and CalComp Technology (Philippines), Inc. — to push back their initial public offerings (IPO) until market conditions improve.

Funds raised as of September came mostly from stock rights offerings, including P758.3 million from PetroEnergy Resources Corp., P20 billion from Robinsons Land Corp., P5 billion from Integrated Microelectronics, Inc., P2.898 billion from The Philippine Stock Exchange, Inc., P60 billion from Metropolitan Bank and Trust Co., P50 billion from the Bank of the Philippine Islands, and P15 billion from Rizal Commercial Banking Corp.

Only one company braved to enter the stock exchange this year, as property developer and construction firm D.M. Wenceslao, Inc. raised P8.15 billion from its IPO for its expansion plans.

Global Ferronickel Holdings, Inc. and DoubleDragon Properties Corp. also conducted follow-on offerings, raising P517.5 million and P4.5 billion, respectively.

Funds raised also includes those from private placements of IRC Properties, Inc., China Banking Corp., Basic Energy Corp., and Golden Bria Holdings, Inc.

Meanwhile, Mr. Refran said the PSE also targets to launch the program for securities borrowing and lending and short-selling before the year ends.

Short selling pertains to the sale of a security which “the seller does not own or any sale which is consummated by the delivery of a security borrowed by, or for the account of the seller.”

The approved guidelines indicate that only PSE member stocks and exchange traded funds are eligible for short selling, in addition to a limit of 10% of the outstanding shares of an eligible security to be sold.

The PSE executive explained that they are now finalizing the systems for short selling and SBL, which will be transacted through the Central Securities Depository of the Philippine Depository & Trust Corp.

Short-selling and SBL will also be made available to both local and foreign investors. —