EQUITY raised by listed firms through various capital-raising activities went up 78 percent in the first semester to P45.39 billion from P25.5 billion a year earlier.

Data from the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) shows the bulk of capital came from follow-on and stock rights offerings of companies. The same data shows a slack in equity from initial public offerings (IPOs) and private placements.

But PSE president Francis Lim is not worried about the drop in IPO proceeds. “We expect the figures for IPO proceeds to pick up dramatically in the coming months as we have a number of big IPOs in the pipeline,” Lim said.

These include the recent IPOs by Phoenix Petroleum, Aboitiz Power Corp. and the forthcoming sale of shares by GMA Network Inc.

Proceeds from two IPOs in the first half amounted to P2.92 billion, or 67.8 percent lower than P9.09-billion chalked up a year earlier. This year’s figures were from National Reinsurance Corp. of the Philippines’ P2.82-billion sale of primary shares and Pacific Online Systems Corp.’s sale of P104.78 million worth of primary shares.

Proceeds from private placements also fell to P80.47 million from P5.21 billion in the same comparable period. PhilWeb Corp. and Basic Petroleum were the gainers from this year’s placements.

Meanwhile, proceeds from the follow-on offerings went up 158.4 percent to P26.98 billion from P10.44 billion. The follow-on offerings allowed Filinvest Land Inc., to raise P5.92 billion; Rizal Commercial Banking Corp., P5.67 billion; Union Bank of the Philippines, P5.04 billion; and Alliance Global Group Inc. (AGI), P10.35 billion.

Equity from stock rights offerings hit P15.4 billion from January to June—roughly 20 times larger than P751.96 million in the first six months of 2006. These companies, along with the corresponding amount they raised in brackets, were Megaworld Corp. (P10.79 billon), EEI Corp. (P540 million), AGI (P3.11 billion) and Geograce Resources Philippines Inc. (P489.88 million).

“Stock prices, as tracked by the PSEi, continues to scale new highs; so expect more companies to take advantage of this positive development to raise needed funds by selling their shares to the public,” Lim said.

In another development, iRemit, the country’s largest Filipino-owned non-bank remittance company, is eyeing an IPO by the fourth quarter. First Metro Investment Corp. has been named as iRemit’s financial advisor, issue manager and underwriter for its shares offer.

iRemit plans to use money from the IPO to open new branches. It also wants to expand to new markets, and raise working capital to meet the increasing volume of remittances.

In the coming months, iRemit will intensify strategic marketing alliances and initiatives in countries with high density of Filipinos such as North America, Europe and Asia-Pacific. 

Established in 2001, iRemit has an existing network in 22 countries across North America, Europe, Australia, Asia, the Pacific Isles and the Middle East. It has 346 outlets, associates and agents worldwide, and more than 2,000 pay-out stations throughout the country.

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STOCK MARKET OUTLOOK 

LAST week: The benchmark stock index fell 1.26 percent week-on-week to 3738.28 for the first time in over a month, following the government’s announcement that it exceeded its first half deficit target by P10 billion to P41 billion due to poor revenue collections. 

THIS week: Jonathan Ravelas of Banco de Oro-Equitable PCI said last week’s close at 3738.28 supports the view that calls for a test of the 3,850 resistance level in the coming weeks.

“This recent move is viewed as a correction of the near-term bullish trend. However, the near-term risk lies at the break of the 3,600 [support] levels,” he said.

Meanwhile, another analyst who requested anonymity said investors will consider what President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo will say during her State of the Nation Address.

“As  usual, her economic policies will be interesting to hear, including plans on the sale of the government assets and stakes in companies like Meralco and San Miguel,” he said. 

STOCKS to watch: Mining stocks, according to another market pundit, will earn investors’ attention this week. Other “attractive” stocks include Meralco, FPHC, ABS-CBN and Megaworld.

EQUITY raised by listed firms through various capital-raising activities went up 78 percent in the first semester to P45.39 billion from P25.5 billion a year earlier.

MacroAsia eyes cargo handling facility

THE Lucio Tan-controlled MacroAsia Corp. plans to establish cargo handling or warehousing facilities within the mothballed Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 3 (Naia-3).

PHILIPPINE Airlines (PAL) already gave aircraft manufacturer Boeing Co. a partial payment for aircraft that will be delivered from 2009 to 2011.

MIDDLE-INCOME property developer SM Development Corp. (SMDC) is spending P300 million for the construction of the fourth cluster of its flagship project Chateau Elysee in Bicutan, Parañaque City.

Not Business as Usual: Tale of two companies with the same chairman

Did you know 1: Stock market investors are still talking about the disappointing performance of Aboitiz Power’s initial public offering. Prior to the July 16 listing, some got more than the set ceiling under the small investors’ program. Others were initially turned down and then called on the last day before listing with available allocations, payable only in cash.