Two firms set to debut at stock exchange this week

MANILA, Philippines - The Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) will add two new companies to its roster of listed issues this week.

Two companies are slated to make their debut in the local bourse this week, encouraged by the optimism surrounding the stock market.

Phoenix Semiconductor Philippines Corp., the local unit of South Korea’s semiconductor giant, will be the fifth company to list in the PSE this year with listing date scheduled Monday, while technology firm Xurpas Inc. will be sixth with its listing on Tuesday.

Phoenix Semiconductor and Xurpas’ entry comes a week after the benchmark stock index hit a new record for the year.

Top Frontier Investment Holdings Inc., the majority shareholder of diversified conglomerate San Miguel Corp., listed by way of introduction in January this year, while DoubleDragon Properties Corp., Century Pacific Food Inc. and SSI Group Inc. held their initial public offerings (IPO) in April, May and November, respectively.

Phoenix Semiconductor has priced its maiden share sale at P3.15 each, allowing the firm to raise P1.02 billion and may reach as high as P1.45 billion if the oversubscription option is fully utilized.

Proceeds of the IPO will be used for the company’s expansion program that includes acquisition of machines, building improvement and the construction of a new facility.

The local unit of South Korea’s STS Semiconductor & Telecommunications Co. Ltd. will be the first semiconductor company to list in the local bourse since Laguna-based Cirtek Holdings Philippines Corp. in 2011.

Xurpas, meanwhile, is looking to raise P1.37 billion through the offering of 344 million shares at P3.97 each.

The mobile content developer plans to use the proceeds for the company’s expansion and acquisition plans for the Philippines and markets within the Southeast Asian region.