Philstocks, Pointwest IPOs deferred until next year

MANILA, Philippines - The public listing of two companies – Philstocks Financial Inc., and Pointwest Technologies Corp. will no longer push through this year as originally targeted.

Philstocks has yet to fulfil a documentary requirement sought by the Philippine Stock Exchange while Pointwest has decided to proceed with its listing next year given its tight schedule.

This early, however, investor demand for the initial public offering of both companies has been very strong.

The two companies were hoping to list this year even as the US Federal Reserve is expected to raise rates this month.

Brokerage firm Philstocks Financial, formerly Accord Capital Equities Corp., recently obtained the nod of the Securities and Exchange Commission to raise funds through an initial public offering.

The company is optimistic about its growth prospects as it continues to capture a bigger market with the growing number of millennials or the younger generation investing in the stock market.

Philstocks has been growing its online business with the millennials accounting for the bulk of the growth.

 The brokerage firm recently launched the latest innovation of its online trading platform V5, aimed at improving the trading experience of stock market investors.

V5 is designed for trades to be made swiftly and hassle-free.

“Traders have the option to trade from their desktops, laptops, tablets, or mobile and smartphones. With the advent of social media, V5 has a feature which enables the user to link social media accounts so he can easily share his trading experience on Facebok and Twitter,” Philstocks said.

Pointwest, on the other hand, is a recognized IT company and was recently named best Filipino-owned  Company of the Year in the recent 9th International ICT awards.

The company plans to make its debut on the local bourse and raise at least P1 billion from the transaction.  Proceeds would be used for expansion.

To date, only four companies have listed on the exchange this year. These are Crown Asia, SBS Philippines, Metro Retail Stores Group and Italpinas Development Corp.