Insider’s trade. San Miguel Corporation Retirement Plan (SMCRP) paid P2,091,642,151 in buying 36,940,600 shares in San Miguel Corp. The newly acquired shares, which the pension plan bought in January, consisted of 1,135,500 A shares and 35,805,100 B shares. In a filing, which was posted on February 11, 2008, on the web site of the Philippine Stock Exchange, SMC said SMCRP made its biggest acquisition on January 21, 2008, when it paid P760,688,500 for 13,830,700 B shares at P55 each. As of January 31, 2008, the pension plan directly owned 409,074,571 SMC A shares, or 12.96 percent, and 146,776,629 SMC B shares, or 4.65 percent. Previous report showed it directly owned 407,939,071 SMC A shares, or 12.92 percent, and 111,971,529 SMC B shares, or 3.55 percent. 

Equity update. Capital Research Global Investors of 333 South Hope Street, Los Angeles, CA 90071 reported in a filing that as of end-January 2008, it owned 15,098,070 common shares, or 7.999 percent of 188,749,013 outstanding shares, in Philippine Long Distance Telephone Corp. A year ago, on February 12, 2007, it owned 14,575,690 common shares, of which 2,636,940 were American Depositary Shares, or 7.734 percent of 188,455,895 outstanding shares. The increase in PLDT’s outstanding common shares by 293,118 resulted from the conversion of preferred shares and ADS into common shares and the issuance of common shares under the company’s employees’ stock-option plan. 

6:1 dividend. Philippine Racing Club Inc. now owns 210,636,433 shares, or 68.57 percent, in JTH Davies Holdings Inc. Its holdings include 180,545,514 shares which it received on January 23, 2008 as its participation in the 263,299,038 shares which JTH distributed to its stockholders as dividend entitling a stockholder to six shares for very share he or she owns. The dividend has a peso value of P131,649,519, at par value of P0.50, which JTH has set aside “for future expansion” leaving unappropriated retained earnings of P16.459 million. To accommodate the stock dividend, JTH has raised its authorized capital stock to 1.103 million shares, or P551.50 million, from 50 million shares, or P25 million. Including the stock dividend, JTH now has 307,182,211 outstanding shares listed on the exchange, up  from 43,883,173 shares. With the dividend, businessman Henry Sy Sr.’s 50,000 shares increased to 350,000 JTH shares. 

Stock watch. Listed on January 10, 1990, Philippine Telegraph and Telephone Corp. was last traded on December 9, 2004, when it closed at P0.33. With the continued suspension imposed on the stock by regulators, its small stockholders remain hopeful that the company would be rehabilitated to rid it of accumulated deficit of P7.277 billion as of September 30, 2007. As of end-2007, Republic Telecommunications Holdings Inc. is PT&T’s biggest stockholder, with 559,998,917 shares, or 70 percent. PCD Nominee Corp. holds 149,637,998 shares, or 18.70 percent, for Filipinos, and 7,338,498 shares, or 0.92 percent, for foreigners.

The Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) is listed among the beneficial owners of shares held by PCD Nominee with 14.55 million shares, or 1.4899 percent. GSIS directly owned these shares until March 30, 2007. 

Something in common. If ABS-CBN Broadcasting Corp. and GMA Network Inc. are now engaged in a protracted war over TV rating, they also have something in common. Both are racing in one direction as far as their listed shares are concerned: down. From a high of P34.50 on January 2, 2008, ABS-CBN, which has 770,702,241 outstanding shares listed on the exchange, has plunged to a low of P25, or a loss of P8.50, or 24.638 percent. GMA Network has not been doing better. It hit a high of P7.80 on January 2, 2008 and plunged to a low of P5.90 on January 28, 2008, or a loss of 24.359 percent, despite GMA7’s reacquisition of its own shares in the open market. GMA7 listed on July 30, 2007 its 3,361,133,000 outstanding shares of which it offered to the public 1,739,130,435 at P8.50 each.

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AYALA Land Inc. (ALI), the country’s largest real-estate developer, plans to offer 1 billion common shares to generate funds for expansion.

Chowking optimistic of 2008 prospects

CHOWKING Food Corp., the Oriental food restaurant of listed Jollibee Foods Corp., could register a 12 percent growth in sales this year and its market share may further expand.

VIVIAN Yuchengco, a former Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) chairman, is disappointed that Makati Business Club (MBC) executive director Alberto Lim is converting the organization into a political party via statements calling for the resignation of two Cabinet members allegedly involved in the broadband deal scandal.

SAN FRANCISCO—Yahoo Inc. got back to business Tuesday, announcing its first acquisition since Microsoft Corp. made its unsolicited takeover bid for the Internet company.

THE Philippine Stock Exchange index rose 22.45, or 0.7 percent, to 3,223.35 at the close Wednesday, extending Tuesday’s 0.7-percent advance.

San Miguel Corporation Retirement Plan (SMCRP) paid P2,091,642,151 in buying 36,940,600 shares in San Miguel Corp. The newly acquired shares, which the pension plan bought in January, consisted of 1,135,500 A shares and 35,805,100 B shares.