FIRST Metro Investment Corp. will be underwriting three initial public offerings (IPO) early next year.

Executive vice president Jose Pacifico E. Marcelo said these firms have sought the services of First Metro, the investment of Metropolitan Bank and Trust Co., the nation’s largest lender.

The companies are engaged in the property, food and retail development industries.

If things will proceed as planned, Marcelo said the companies, which he declined to identify, will likely raise combined proceeds of P7 to P10 billion.

“We are quite selective on companies that will offer to the public and we are targeting companies that are in leading positions in growing industries,” he said.

“These are the type of companies that we think would be our contribution to the development of the stock market,” Marcelo added during an interview Wednesday.

This year, First Metro is underwriting the IPOs of I-Remit and Splash Corp. as well as the follow-on sale of listed TKC Steel.

“We believe that our contribution to the capital market is really to develop local institutional investors to invest in equities,” he added.

Earlier, BDO Capital & Investment Corp. president Eduardo Francisco also said more IPOs are expected to take place later this year or early 2008.

The company is designing the IPO plans of a business process outsourcing company; a shipping firm; and Viva Communications, the holding firm for all the entertainment-related businesses of film and television producer Vic del Rosario.

“Most likely, these firms will raise a combined P10.5 billion in proceeds from the public sale,” he said. He added though that details of the offerings are still premature at this time.

BDO Capital, a full-service investment house and a wholly owned unit of Banco de Oro Universal Bank, has actively participated in several IPOs and follow-on offerings in the stock market.

It managed the public offerings of Anchor Land Holdings Inc., Phoenix Petroleum Philippines Corp., National Reinsurance Corp. of the Philippines and Aboitiz Power Corp. and the follow-on offerings of Alliance Global and Vista Land.

FIRST Metro Investment Corp. will be underwriting three initial public offerings (IPO) early next year.

Executive vice president Jose Pacifico E. Marcelo said these firms have sought the services of First Metro, the investment of Metropolitan Bank and Trust Co., the nation’s largest lender.

Etihad Airways adds more flights

ETIHAD Airways, the United Arab Emirates’ (UAE) national carrier, is increasing its Abu Dhabi-Manila flights from four to seven a week beginning next month.

WITH the call-center industry projected to grow a hefty 33 percent this year, ePLDT subsidiary iPLUS is offering start up call-centers an all-in-one premise-based solution, called Call Center in a Box (CCiB).

IN the near future, Filipinos will be tapped to help start up operations overseas of Dell contact centers.

In an interview late Wednesday, Dell Philippines country manager Michael J. Garrison said the Austin, Texas-based company is impressed with the work performance of Filipino contact center agents in its Pasay and Eastwood offices in servicing United States-based Dell clients for their different requirements.

SUN Life Financial-Philippines posted sales of more than P13 billion for the first six months of the year, where its first semester result is 97-percent higher compared to the same period last year.