Premiere Entertainment eyes listing at Korea bourse

MANILA, Philippines – Publicly-listed Premiere Entertainment Philippines (PEP) approved yesterday a non-binding cooperation agreement with Tong Yang Securities for the possible listing of PEP securities in the Korean Stock Exchange.

Tong Yang is an investment bank that provides various financial services in South Korea.

PEP, which is focused on the gaming, entertainment and media distribution industries, earlier reported a 287-fold increase year-on-year in its 2008 annual revenues on the back of burgeoning demand for its software products.

The company posted P172.8 million in revenues for 2008, up from P600,100 the previous year, which it attributed to strong results from Digiwave Solutions, its newly acquired online gaming subsidiary. Digiwave accounted for P170.6 million, or 98 percent, of PEP’s revenues.

The amount includes P142.2 million in revenues from sales of software licenses and P28.4 million derived from the operation of gaming stations. Digiwave’s contributions to PEP’s balance sheet include the $3-million deal it struck with a South Korea-based company to sell Digiwave’s online gaming products in Asia.

Company officials said the revenue boost also confirms the astuteness and timeliness of PEP’s decision to shift its business focus from movie production and distribution to online gaming. Analysts expect continued rapid growth in the Philippine online gaming market in the coming years, forecasting as much as 40-percent annual growth for the sector.

In February this year, the leisure and gaming company secured an investment deal with a group of UK-based private equity investors that will inject fresh equity of up to $10 million (P470 million) into the company over the next three years.

Jung Ku Lee, PEP chairman and chief executive officer, welcomed the investment agreement as a boost to the company’s expansion plans, saying that “the injection of new equity will allow PEP to immediately proceed with its projects and bolster its ability to secure funding The expansion plans include forays into the hotel and real estate sector with the incorporation of four new property-focused subsidiaries - PEP Metro Leisure, PEP Olango Estate, PEP QC Estate and PEP Administracio.from other investors.”