PSE forecasts P100B in capital raising through IPOs in final half

The Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) expects a string of initial public offerings (IPOs) to be held in the second half of the year that is expected to raise P100 billion worth of new capital in the equities market.
    

After the Villar family–led death care service provider Golden Haven Memorial Park raised P787.12 million through an IPO last month, cement manufacturer Cemex Holdings Philippines Inc. has started a P25.1-billion offering.

“For the next half, around three (more companies) hopefully to list. We are seeing in terms of the companies who have already engaged underwriters. No names basis, they have already started the process, it is just going to be a matter of time whether they will do public offerings,” PSE chief operations officer Roel Refran said.

Refran said they have been talking to companies who have intentions to hold an IPO that are close to submitting their listing applications.

Refran said the expected P100 billion worth of capital-raising is still much lower than PSE’s P200-billion capital raising target for the year.
    But while it is maintaining this year’s goal, Refran said “we will (still) take a look at it (goal).”

Refran believes that the British referendum’s result favoring an exit from the European Union will not affect the local market.

“We are not heavily dependent or interrelated now with the European markets in terms of the real economy or politics in general although we are obviously globalized, we connect with them,” he said.

Golden Haven Memorial Park Inc., the first company to go public this year, had said that it will use the proceeds from the IPO to expand its footprint in more locations across the country in the next few years and looking to add new component to its service offerings to meet a growing demand.

It said it will use the P778.2 million raised from the initial public offering (IPO) to fund its land acquisition, land development, construction and completion of Las Piñas chapel and crematorium and for general corporate purposes.
“So far, it’s (IPO) twice oversubscribed.

Actually it’s over two times. (It’s a) purely domestic (offering),” Golden Haven chief operating officer Maribeth Tolentino said.

Tolentino said the company, an affiliate of property developer Vista Land, would expand into four new sites this year – Pampanga, Nueva Viscaya, Batangas and Cebu with total estimated units of 39,000 valued at P1.8 billion.

“Based on the line-up of the parks that we’ll launch this year… we’re expecting much higher revenue for 2016,” said chief financial officer Roy Joseph Fernandez.
    Villar Group’s Golden Haven currently has presence in eight locations and has existing inventory with P1.5 billion sales value.

“We aim to expand Golden Haven also in areas where Vista Land (projects) are. Golden Haven in 97 cities and municipalities, that’s the long-term target, maybe in more than 10 years,” she said.

The company is engaged in five segments of the death-care industry –memorial park, columbarium, chapel, crematorium and keepsakes like the urn and caskets.
    Further, Fernandez said it was also looking to expand into pre-need planning services.
“This is the first IPO for the year. We are looking forward to several more IPOs.
(So we expect an) exciting year, remaining (months of the) year for us,” Refran said. 
The Cemex IPO worth P39.74 billion will be the biggest in PSE’s history.
    “The size of this IPO is a testament to the company’s confidence in the equities market as well as the country’s economic prospects,” Refran said. RIZA LOZADA