PSE, SEC extend 10% public float rule, 41 firms yet to comply

Listed firms in the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) that have yet to meet the 10 percent minimum public ownership (MPO) requirement of the exchange have until December 31 this year to comply or be suspended from trading.   As of the end of the third quarter of 2011, PSE data show that 41 listed companies “are non-compliant with the Exchange’s current MPO rule,” the exchange said in an email sent to news media Wednesday.   “Given that the public ownership of many non-compliant companies falls just below the 10 percent requirement, we are optimistic that they will comply with the deadline set in these rules,” PSE president Hans B. Sicat said.   Suspended listed firms have six months ending June 2013 to come up to 10 percent MPO or be delisted, according to the rules, which took effect Jan. 1. The PSE said the Securities and Exchange Commission approved the rules last December 19.   Those same rules provide for a window for appeal on “justifiable causes” such as a tender offer, merger or acquisition transactions to secure “an extension or granting of grace period before their shares are suspended,” the PSE statement stated.   “The amendments to the minimum public ownership rules form part of our continuing efforts to enhance corporate governance and improve market liquidity,” Sicat also said.   To monitor the progress of compliance over the coming months listed firms were required to report to the PSE 15 days after the end of each quarter their public ownership status report.   “We want to balance the interest of all stakeholders to ensure a more appropriate application of these rules.  So while we are extending the deadline to the end of 2012 for affected listed companies to comply with the MPO requirement, the imposition of trading suspension was advanced to as early as 2013 for companies that still fail to meet the requirement after the grace period,” Mr. Sicat said. — ELR, GMA News