PSE approves Ayala unit IMI’s listing plan

The Philippine Stock Exchange has approved Ayala-led Integrated Micro-Electronics, Inc.’s plan to list its shares without necessarily raising capital by selling these to the public. "We have already approved IMI’s listing by way of introduction and hopefully we can do that by January," PSE President Francis Ed. Lim said in a chance interview. Listing by introduction allows shareholders to trade the stock, while enhancing a company’s image since listed firms are supposed to follow good governance rules. Listing by introduction also makes it easier for the company to raise funds later by selling the stocks to the public. Mr. Lim said the Ayala-led semiconductor firm was among six companies with "serious intention" to join the bourse. Among those waiting for regulatory approval is property firm Globe Realty Holdings Corp. Mr. Lim did not identify the other companies, only saying that two of them were interested in offering real estate investment trusts, which the exchange hopes to start implementing next year. IMI plans to list 1.28 billion shares priced at a peso each. This year, two companies listed by introduction, namely agriculture firm Agrinurture, Inc. and miner Century Peak Metal Holdings. Only one company — software firm Ripple E-Business International, Inc. — sold shares to the public for the first time. With the stock market showing a 61.85% year-to-date improvement to close at 3,031.13 on Friday, Mr. Lim said companies now see a good comfort level for raising capital in the market. "Based on the current flow of listing applications that we have, whether it’s for an initial public offering, follow-on offering or stock rights offering, I am confident that we will exceed the level of capital raised in the equities market this year... I will not be surprised if we hit the same levels as we did in previous years," he said. Analyst Jun B. Calaycay of Accord Capital Equities Corp. echoed the same outlook, saying that 2010 "appears to be more conducive to initial public offerings" as investors adopt a cautious outlook as opposed to the pessimistic sentiment they had when the year started. — Kristine Jane R. Liu, BusinessWorld