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MANILA, Jan 4 (Reuters) – Seven Philippine companies plan to go public or offer real estate investment funds (REITs) this year, the stock exchange said on Monday, marking a rebound in capital market activity in an economy. still shaken by the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Philippines, one of Asia’s fastest growing economies before the pandemic, has long struggled to attract companies to its stock market, with only seven initial public offerings (IPOs) in the past three years.
However, in 2021, at least three companies will go public and four real estate firms will make REIT offerings, Philippine Stock Exchange Inc chairman and CEO Ramon Monzon said in a statement, without identifying the companies.
Last November, DoubleDragon Properties Corp said it planned to raise as much as 14.7 billion pesos ($ 306 million) through a REIT in February.
REITs manage real estate assets such as hotels, office buildings, and shopping centers that regularly generate profits. They are attractive to investors looking for regular dividends.
“Although the current economic environment remains fragile due to the unpredictability of the COVID-19 situation, we choose to be optimistic,” Monzón said, adding that restoring investor confidence will continue to be a challenge.
The stock market will relax listing rules this year to attract more companies, Monzón said. In addition, the new features will include short selling, aggregate industry indexes and rankings, and a data analytics platform, he said.
At 272, the exchange lists the lowest number of companies among the major Southeast Asian peers.
Funds raised through the exchange increased 2.9% in 2020 to 104 billion pesos ($ 2.17 billion), mainly through IPOs and subsequent share sales, data from the exchange showed.
The Philippines’ broader stock index declined 8.6% last year, falling as much as 41% in March during the novel coronavirus-induced global market sell-off. ($ 1 = 48.0100 Philippine pesos) (Reporting by Neil Jerome Morales; Editing by Christopher Cushing)
