By Honey Madrilejos-Reyes
Reporter
INVESTMENT house BDO Capital and Investment Corporation would be underwriting two possible initial public offerings (IPO) before the May elections, a clear indication of the sustained optimism in the local stock market.
In an interview with BusinessMirror, BDO Capital executive vice president Ed Francisco said one property company and a petroleum-related firm are planning to sell shares through the exchange and list them at the first board of the bourse.
"I cannot reveal their identities pending evaluation. What I can say is that after their respective IPOs, their market capitalization would hit the P1 billion level," Francisco said.
IPOs in which BDO Capital played a significant role include those of SM Investments Corp., Manila Water Co., International Exchange Bank, Banco de Oro Universal Bank, Highlands Prime Inc. and Manila Jockey Club.
A company that plans to list at the first board of the bourse must have a minimum authorized capital stock of P400 million and a track record of profitable operations for at least three full fiscal years prior to filing of the listing application.
This year, the Philippine Stock Exchange intends to lure at least 10 companies to go public or sell additional shares.
In 2006, First Gen Corp., CitisecOnline.com, Alliance Tuna Inc., and PNOC-Energy Development Corp. did public offerings.
On the other hand, listed firms that sold additional shares were Megaworld Corp., Metrobank, Ayala Corp., Robinsons Land Corp, Universal Robina Corp. and Chemrez Technologies.
Earlier, the BusinessMirror reported the plan of Figaro Coffee Co. to go public by the first quarter of 2007.
In an interview, Pacita Juan, one of Figaro's major owners, said the company is in the process of studying the market.
"Certainly, the direction is to go public," Juan said. "We are still in the initial stages of preparation, though. Our target is to do it early next year.
Figaro currently operates 41 coffee shops in Metro Manila, Luzon and Davao. It is among the few Philippine brands that have gone global, with international branches established in Shanghai, China and the United Arab Emirates. Other sites eyed for future expansion are Japan, Sweden, Taiwan, Denmark and Germany.
Known as the first Filipino coffee store to use homegrown coffee beans, Figaro was established in 1993 by seven friends, whose love for coffee was acquired from their travels around the world. The first Figaro store formally opened in November 1993, a simple kiosk located in one of Manila's major malls.
It recently opened its latest café at the SM Mall of Asia in Pasay City.
Figaro has been at the forefront of reviving the Philippine coffee industry, putting up the Figaro Foundation and establishing links with the local governments of Cavite and Batangas in support of programs for coffee-growing communities.
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