PSE mulls easier listing rules

The Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) is considering the relaxation of its listing rules for the second and small and medium enterprise (SME) boards in line with ongoing efforts to lure more companies to go public.

PSE president Francis Lim said the exchange is particularly keen on amending the track record and market capitalization requirements of the listing rules.

Under existing rules, second board issuers must have a market capitalization of at least P250 million and an operating history of at least one year prior to listing.

Companies intending to list on the SME board, on the other hand, must have been operational for at least one year with positive net operating income during the last financial year. They must have a minimum authorized capital of P100 million and net tangible assets of at least P5 million.

Lim said the board will discuss the planned changes to the listing rules later this week.

As this developed, the PSE and the Knowledge Institute, the education arm of accounting firm Sycip Gorres Velayo Co. (SGV), signed Monday an agreement aimed at encouraging more companies to list on the exchange to improve market breadth and liquidity.

The Knowledge Institute has sent out letters to around 200 client-companies, mostly business process outsourcing firms, inviting them to attend its seminar on listing at the exchange.

The PSE has stepped up efforts to convince big profitable companies to go public in order to provide the investing public with an expanded menu of stocks.

Last year, the exchange entered into a memorandum of agreement with the Board of Investments that binds them to implement the provisions of a law requiring companies registered with the BOI to offer at least 10 percent of their shares to the public within 10 years of registration.

Only two companies have so far listed this year: First Generation Corp., the holding company for all power generation assets of the Lopez family; and online brokerage house Citiseconline.com.

The PSE last year liberalized its listing rules to encourage more mining firms to raise funds from the stock market.

In lieu of the operating history and track record rules, the PSE will require mining firms to submit a certification from the Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) attesting that its mineral claims or rights as of the date of application are still valid and are being developed in accordance with the approved work program.