PSE delists Alsons, Sime Darby

The Philippine Stock Exchange has approved the delisting of Alsons Cement Corp. and Sime Darby Pilipinas Inc. (SDP) from the roster of traded stocks in the local bourse.

The PSE board of directors approved last Dec. 11 the requests of Alsons Cement and SDP for voluntary delisting of their shares from the exchange.

Delisting of shares of Alsons Cement shall be effected after the payment of delisting fee in the amount equivalent to the annual listing maintenance fee paid by the cement firm for 2002.

SDP requested that its shares be stricken off the exchange as early as Oct. 20, 1998 but it was only last Wednesday that its request was acted upon.

Alsons Cement applied for voluntary delisting of its publicly-traded shares at the PSE after having been acquired by another cement firm, Union Cement Corp. (UCC).

The Phinma-controlled UCC, the country’s largest cement producer, operates three cement plants in Northern and Central Luzon and a plant in Mindanao, turning out an annual combined capacity of 5.5 million tons or about 22 percent of the domestic market.

Alsons Cement, on the other hand, has two dry process lines in Northern Mindanao with a total capacity of two million tons a year, accounting for eight percent off the local cement market.

Meanwhile, SDP started its operations in the Philippines in 1927 as a branch of the International B.F. Goodrich Rubber Co. On Feb. 27, 1997, SDP changed its primary purpose from a manufacturing company to that of a holding corporation. Adding to its thrust is agribusiness, which includes distribution of agricultural equipment and plantation management.

SDP is also engaged in real estate through its wholly owned subsidiary, Sime Darby Realty Development Corp. (SDRDC).