go through Revin Mikhael D. Ochave, reporter
The Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) has increased its capital accumulation target this year from pesos 100 billion to pesos 170 billion, from real capital raised last year of 82.4 billion, the world's two largest economic and trade wars that have given fear of a global recession.
PSE President and CEO Ramon S. Monzon told a virtual press conference last week that the new goal is based on capital activities that have applied for and have not yet considered the initial public offering (IPO) that has not yet been considered.
He added: “We expect this year to be a very high year of capital accumulation, and a very successful year for PSE.”
Mr. Monsong said that as of May 14, the capital raised in PSE had reached 42.42 billion pesos.
Some of the expected large IPOs include West Side water franchise Maynilad Water Services, Inc. and mobile wallet operator GCASH's IPO.
“I'm really watching the IPOperating system, follow-up products, stock rights products and private placement Raise funds,” said the PSE chief.
Mr. Monsong hinted that GCASH may end up in an IPO later this year, but said it has not applied yet.
“GCASH has been talking to us,” he said. “Although there is no formal application yet, I know they are going to have an IPO later this year.”
“As for the actual timing, we don't know when it will be. They are trying to solve some of the problems, mainly valuation and determining the scale of the IPO that should be absorbed by the market,” he added.
Globe Telecom, Inc. It owns GCASH operator G-Xchange, Inc last month. Globe Fintech Innovations, Inc. (Mynt) shares 36% and the company said last month that its IPO for its electronic pallets will continue, but the timing remains uncertain due to market volatility caused by U.S. tariffs.
The United States and China announced last week that most of their recent tariffs had been suspended for 90 days, sparking hopes for a cooling down in the trade war.
The United States' joint responsibility for Chinese imports will be reduced from 145% to 30%, while China's taxes on us Imports will be reduced from 125% to 10%.
But some analysts point out that tariffs are still far higher than Trump's recoveryfIce, indicating that the prices of many consumer goods (from cars, food to clothes) will still rise.
Maynilad's latest prospectus priced at the P45.8 billion IPO listing on July 17, according to its latest prospectus. Requests to provide at least 30% of outstanding capital stock to the public under its legislative franchise in January 2027.
Dragonfi Securities, Inc. Jarrod Leighton M. Tin, an equity research analyst, believes PSE's capital raising goals this year are achievable.
“This is possible because the law requires Maynilad to be listed on PSE,” he said in a Viber message. “Inventory of the right products and follow-up products should be simple.”
“It's a better time to go for an IPO, as the U.S. market bottoms out as the trade war drops,” he added.
Michael L. Ricafort, chief economist at Rizal Commercial Banking Corp., also cites local and U.S. stock market conditions.
“So there may be more fundraising activities locally because companies that will sell their shares will be able to sell at a higher price and maximize the benefits they are able to raise,” he said in a Viber message.
PDS interest
Meanwhile, Mr Monson said PSE is seeking to increase its stake in Philippine Trading Systems Holdings Corporation (PDS) (PDS) to 97%, while market operators are awaiting the development of three government banks that sell their interest.
“We are talking to three government agencies that still own PDS shares,” he said. He refers to the Philippine Development Bank, which accounts for 3%, the Philippine Land Bank, more than 2.5%, the Philippine Deposit Insurance Company and the Philippine Deposit Insurance Company are less than 1%.
“It took us a long time to get this because as government banks, they have to follow certain rules before they can dispose of the investment,” the PSE chief said. “Currently, they are trying to get exemptions to make another public tender before selling to PSE.”
Last week, PSE closed 17,500 PDS shares of the Philippine Bankers Association (BAP), increasing its interest ownership stake in PDS to 91.6%, equivalent to 0.28% of the shares.
PDS operates Philippine Trading and Exchange Corporation (PDEX), Philippine Deposit and Trust Company and Philippine Securities Settlement Company.
After the market operator acquired PDS, Mr Monzon said PSE had agreed to place part of its ownership of the sale in bond trading platform PDEX in BAP.
“After some serious negotiations, we finally reached an agreement that PSE is willing to sell part of the PDEX ownership to BAP, but PSE will remain in control at 51% of the time,” he said.
“It is the banks that do a lot of transactions and generate revenue for PDEX,” he noted. “You want them to be partners, not as opponents.”
He added: “As a key stakeholder in the fixed income market, I think they are very helpful in coming up with new products that can be traded and offered to customers.”
In December, PSE reached 2.32 billion shares to acquire 61.92% of PDS shares. The transaction involves the acquisition of 3.87 million shares per share.
On Friday, the waist-solar PSE index dropped 0.02% or 1.33 points to 6,465.53, while the broad all-share index increased 0.02% or 0.93 points to 3,769.37.
