Stock market trading rights sold for P12M

MANILA, Philippines - - The Philipine Stock Exchange (PSE) has successfully bidded out the trading rights of Asian Capital Equities, Inc. for P12.3 million, but failed to sell 50,000 shares in the stock exchange held by the defunct brokerage. The trading rights, whose floor price was set at P8.5 million, went to an individual named Wee Lee Hiong, the sale certificate obtained by BusinessWorld showed. Documents showed that four parties participated in the public bidding: Tommy Kin Hing Tia, represented by Juana Lourdes M. Buyson; Wee Lee Hiong, represented by Norman Vincent L. Wee; First Abacus Financial Holdings Corp., represented by Paulino S. Soo; and Amalgamated Investment Bancorp., represented by Stanley L. Saguinsin. Mr. Tia is the president and chief executive of listed mining firm Omico Corp. Amalgamated Investment Bancorp. is affiliated with Makati Finance Corp., a finance company listed on the small and medium enterprises board of the PSE. Mr. Soo, meanwhile, is the nominee of trading participant Abacus Securities Corp. But all three bidders failed to match Wee Lee Hiong’s winning bid of P12.3 million. In a telephone interview, lawyer Joseph P. San Pedro, PSE Market Regulation Division head, said Mr. Wee still needs to secure PSE approvals. "He may opt to hold the trading rights and operate it within two or three years down the road, but has to comply with those requirements," Mr. San Pedro told BusinessWorld. The PSE was ordered by the Securities and Exchange Commission to liquidate Asian Capital Equities’ trading rights, with proceeds proportionately divided among clients hurt by the brokerage firm’s collapse in 2003. Mr. San Pedro said another public bidding for Asian Capital Equities’ 50,000 PSE shares will be conducted in three to four weeks. The minimum bid price for the PSE shares should be an amount not less than the closing price of the stock prior to the public sale. "We (PSE) will do another [public] auction for that and to be able to liquidate that, it could be attractive by maybe combining it with another 50,000 PSE shares held by Marino Olondriz y Cia, bringing about 100,000 PSE shares up for sale," he said. Marino Olondriz y Cia is also an inactive brokerage subject to liquidation orders from SEC, Mr. San Pedro said. The trading rights and PSE shares, he explained, had to be sold separately because the winning bidder of the trading rights might not want to be a stockholder of the exchange, and vice-versa. The market regulation division oversaw the bidding process, conducted and evaluated the bids, and awarded the contract last May 6. - L. Lee, BusinessWorld