MVP says VITRO REIT IPO may still happen this year

MANILA, Philippines — PLDT’s VITRO REIT is keeping its sights set on launching its planned initial public offering (IPO) before the year draws to a close amid concerns it may be pushed back to next year.

PLDT president and CEO Manuel V. Pangilinan told The STAR that the company intends to proceed with the IPO later this year.

“We will do our best to launch by year-end,” Pangilinan said when asked about the possibility of the IPO being moved to next year.

A source familiar with the deal told The STAR that the IPO could be postponed further to a later date.

“So we’ll see. Maybe there’s a chance that it will happen later part of the year, depending on the order book also,” the source said.

“But because interest rates are going up, it becomes more expensive. REITs are priced as a coupon above the government rate,” the source added.

Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) president and chief executive officer Ramon Monzon said in an interview with Bloomberg TV late last month that VITRO REIT has postponed its listing date because they are in the process of closing deals with cornerstone investors.

VITRO REIT, a wholly owned subsidiary of PLDT’s ePLDT Inc., was earlier targeting to list on the PSE on Oct. 12.

The IPO will mark the first digital infrastructure real estate investment trust (REIT) in the Philippines.

As an asset class, REITs are required to declare dividends of at least 90 percent of their distributable income.

The registration statement and REIT plan for the planned P24.2-billion IPO was submitted to the Securities and Exchange Commission last June.

The plan includes the offering of 1.91 billion secondary common shares, with an overallotment option of 286.96 million shares, at a price of P11 apiece.

PLDT earlier said the proposed VITRO REIT IPO follows the issuance of SEC Memorandum Circular 1, Series of 2026, which revised the implementing rules and regulations of the Real Estate Investment Trust Act of 2009.

It said the amended rules broaden the framework for income-generating real estate to include real properties held for the purpose of generating recurring and predictable cash inflows, including digital infrastructure assets such as information and communications technology infrastructure and data centers.

In a recent forum, Monzon cited the immediate and transformative impact of the amended REIT guidelines, saying that it is already proving to be a powerful catalyst for new listings.

“We are seeing an immediate, positive market response, headlined by the recent VITRO REIT listing application. Furthermore, recent discussions with toll road operators reveal a strong intent to do an IPO for their merged toll operations,” Monzon said.

“Expanding the scope of eligible asset classes is clearly poised to inject significant momentum into the capital markets,” he said.

Monzon, however, said the current high-interest rate environment may moderate the pace of new REIT listings as investors capitalize on competitive yields from alternative assets, such as preferred shares.

Aside from the VITRO REIT, two more IPOs are expected to take place before the year ends.

Mynt Inc., the parent company of e-wallet giant GCash, is proceeding with what could be the country’s biggest IPO in history next month.

The company’s offer period is targeted to run from Oct. 6 to Oct. 12, with a target listing on the main board of the Philippine Stock Exchange under the ticker “GCASH” on Oct. 20.

SeA (Southeast Asia) Focus Portfolio hedge fund manager Eric Jurado said the robust lineup of over 20 domestic and foreign institutional investors lining up for Mynt IPO highlights the firm’s solid long-term fundamentals.

He said their involvement signals that experienced international investors have finished their due diligence and determined that Mynt presents a compelling investment case.

“For an international asset manager investing in a new market, committing cornerstone capital means putting its investors’ money behind a company it believes offers an attractive long-term opportunity,” Jurado said.

“It does not guarantee that the investment will succeed. No institutional investment can do that. But it does indicate that professional investors have conducted their own due diligence and concluded that the potential long-term return justifies committing capital at the IPO,” he said.

Meanwhile, Cebu-based shipping operator Aznar Shipping Corp. is also targeting to set sail with a P737-million IPO by December.

For its IPO, Aznar Shipping plans to offer of up to one billion primary common shares, with an over-allotment option of up to 100 million secondary shares, at an indicative offer price of up to P0.67 per share, subject to a bookbuilding process.