Abacus unit plans listing shares at PSE's second board

MANILA, Philippines - Abacus Global Technologies Inc. plans to sell shares by way of introduction at the Second Board of the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) after its listed parent issued property dividends to its shareholders. The company plans to sell 340 million common shares with par value of P1 each, documents from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) said. AbaGT, a unit of Abacus Consolidated Resources and Holdings Inc., has an authorized capital stock of P500 million, 340 million has been subscribed and fully paid. The company’s listing by way of introduction does not involve an initial public offering as indicated under revised listing rules. AbaGT will be allowed to list after its shares were allotted to 300 Abacus Consolidated stockholders as approved on January 24 this year. “(The listing is authorized) for securities that are of such amount and are so widely held that their adequate marketability when listed can be assumed," the SEC document read. The company, then named G-Tech Philippines Inc. in 1993, started out as a business that leased online lottery equipment for Pacific Online Systems Corp. One year after, it was acquired by Abacus Consolidated, prompting the change of its corporate name to Abacus Gaming Technologies Inc. In 2004, it changed its name again into AbaGT. In April, it sold a portion of its holdings in its lottery equipment leasing business. In August, it acquired two hotels in Batangas City and a 30-hectare land in the same area. It later sold its Pacific Online holdings to its parent. - GMANews.TV