SEC okays IPVG capital hike

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has approved the increase in the capital stock of listed information technology conglomerate IPVG from P500 million to P800 million.

The new capitalization comprises 800 million shares with a par value of P1 each.

IPVG earlier signed a deal with Singapore-based regional gaming firm Infocomm Asia Holdings (IAH) Pte. Ltd. giving the latter an option to buy shares in IPVG subsidiary IP-E Games Ventures Inc. within 15 months from date of execution of the agreement.

IP-E Games is the number one online games publisher in the Philippines. Among its strategic minority investors include the Philippine Star Group and EStore Exchange, an affiliate of GMA Broadcasting Corp.

Under the proposed deal, IPVG and its shareholders also have the option to purchase shares in IAH or a publicly-listed company owned and controlled by IAH.

IAH aims to become the leading operator and distributor of online games in Southeast Asia through strategic alliances with other online games operators in the region. It has obtained exclusive rights to two top-rated massively multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPG) in the region.

IPVG, on the other hand, has the exclusive rights to publish e-games portal of Terra ICT in the Philippine market. Its subsidiary IP-E Games has rights to Ran Online, the leading MMORPG in Taiwan, Malaysia, Hong Kong and Thailand.

IAH has also tapped IP-E Games as the exclusive publisher and distributor of several game titles including Granado Espada, an award winning MMORPG developed by Hakkyu Kim, the recognized "Father of Korean online games" and creator of Ragnarok.

The partnership takes both IP-E Games and IAH further into the rapidly growing Philippine market for MMORPG alongside other IP-E Games titles such as Ran Online, Battle Royale and Supreme Destiny.

"Our partnership with IAH and the introduction of Granado Espada into the Philippine market is a major milestone for both our company and the local gaming industry. With Granado Espada, and IAH, we can assure Filipino gamers a continued stream of leading triple-AAA titles. This is in line with our vision of giving local gamers playing experience on par with other countries such as Korea and China," said IPVG chief executive officer Enrique Gonzalez.

Gonzalez said this partnership reflects IPVG’s belief in IAH’s consolidation strategy and synergy which will enable both parties to expand each other’s business and presence.

IP-E Games president and chief operating officer Steve Tsao, for his part, said the company will continue to launch leading triple-AAA titles in the Philippines which will elevate the quality of game play for local gamers.

A recent study made by high-tech market research firm In-Stat shows that total online games market revenues for Asia Pacific in 2005 hit $3.2 billion, and is seen to continue to grow to $6.8 billion in 2010. The growth was attributed to the massive surge of Internet users over the past years.

In the Philippines, online gaming is likewise seeing explosive growth since it first hit its peak in 2003. The country’s online gaming population of 3.2 million gamers is expected to rise to 11 million by 2010.

With the steady progression of local Internet infrastructure, the Philippines is seen to become one of the most lucrative and highly valued market for online gaming.