IPCV to list shares

MANILA, Philippines - I-Pay Commerce Ventures Inc (IPCV), a unit of IP Ventures Inc., is listing its shares by way of introduction.

Introductory listing does not involve an initial public offering or IPO. Companies that go this route, however, are mandated to hold an IPO within a year from listing, based on Philippine Stock Exchange rules.

In a registration statement filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, IPCV said it would list 59.545 million common shares on the second board of the exchange with an initial listing price of P8.80 each.

The shares represent 100 percent of the company’s issued and outstanding shares.

Incorporated on April 16, 2007, IPCV provides end-to-end payment solutions, card issuance platforms, payment vehicles linked to electronic wallets, switching solutions, remittance services, customer relationship management applications, acquiring solutions, and any other value added services for payment processing and marketing these services to financial and non-financial institutions.

At present, the company provides remittance services in partnership with Western Union.

IPCV is focusing its expansion efforts on underserved areas outside Metro Manila. It expands its network primarily by franchising sub-agents and setting up operations throughout the sub-agents’ own branch network.

It also aims to tap into new markets for its remittance service through the use of information technology platforms. One market that the company plans to tap is the 29.7 million Internet users in the Philippines based on a recent study conducted by Yahoo! and Nielsen.

The company can readily access this market through its affiliates such as E-Games and Netopia, both of which are leading firms in the Philippine Internet consumer industry.