National Bookstore eyes 100th branch in 3 years

National Book Store Inc. (NBS), the country‘s biggest Filipino bookstore chain, is planning to raise its branch network to 100 within the next three years, according to NBS founder-owner Socorro Ramos.

Ramos said NBS aims to build 28 more new stores over the next three years in line with efforts to further boost its presence in and outside Metro Manila.

NBS operates 72 bookstores and seven compact school supply outlets around the country.

Funding for the expansion will come from a combination of internally-generated cash, loan or an initial public offering (IPO).

NBS is considering listing its shares on the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) to raise additional capital for working capital requirements.

The first National Book Store started as a stallshop in Escolta in downtown Manila before the Japanese occupation, selling supplies, GI novels, and textbooks.

In 2002, NBS posted a net income of P84 million on sales of P3.48 billion.

An IPO is a means of raising funds for expansion and capital, employed by companies as a cheaper alternative to the more expensive debt instruments such as bonds and bank loans.

An IPO is done by selling a portion of the company’s shares of stock at a price based on its book value or on its projected earnings for the year. These shares are then listed with the PSE so that stockholders and investors may trade the issue.

The exchange has been stepping up efforts to lure more IPOs in line with efforts to further spur the growth of the equities market, which grew 26 percent in 2004.

So far this year, only two companies – Manila Water Corp. and SM Investments Corp. were listed on the exchange. The Lopez-owned First Generation Holdings Corp. is scheduled to list in December this year.

The exchange is bent on seeing the listing of power firms, telecommunications firms and entities registered with the Board of Investments. The move is part of continuing efforts to restore investor interest in the equities market.

Despite the mandatory listing requirement for energy or oil companies, they were able to delay their listing, citing poor market conditions.

The oil deregulation law requires oil firms to offer at least 10 percent of their outstanding shares to the public three years from the effectivity of the law or in February 2001.

Among the oil firms operating in the country, only Petron is listed at the PSE with listing of 20 percent of its outstanding capital stock in 1994.

In line with efforts to promote more IPOs and boost trading activity, the PSE plans to ask the government to offer tax incentives for companies that will go public.