MANILA, Jan 4 (Reuters) – Seven Philippine companies plan to go public or offer real estate securities (REITs) this year, the stock exchange said Monday, representing a spurt in capital market activity in the economy still shaken by the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Philippines, one of the fastest growing economies in pre-pandemic Asia, has long struggled to attract companies to their stock market, with only seven initial public offering (IPOs) ) in the last three years.
But in 2021, at least three companies will go public and four holding companies will offer REIT offers, Philippine Stock Exchange Inc President and CEO Ramon Monzon said in a statement, without recognizing the companies.
Last November, DoubleDragon Properties Corp. said it expected to raise as much as 14.7 billion pesos ($ 306 million) through REIT in February.
REITs manage the assets of buildings such as hotels, office buildings and shopping centers that generate regular profit. They are attractive to investors who are looking for regular shares.
“While the current economic environment remains fragile due to the instability of the COVID-19 situation, we choose to be optimistic,” said Monzon, adding that the confidence of consumers will remain a challenge. investment.
The bourse will relax registration rules this year to attract more companies, Monzon said. Also, new features include short sales, additional category classification and indexes, and a data analysis platform, he said.
At 272, the bourse lists the smallest number of companies among Southeast Asia’s top peers.
Funds raised through the course rose 2.9% in 2020 to 104 billion pesos ($ 2.17 billion), mostly through IPOs and ongoing stock sales, spy data showed.
The Philippines’s broader stock index fell 8.6% last year, falling as much as 41% in March during a recent global market offset of coronavirus-induced. ($ 1 = 48.0100 Philippine pesos) (Reporting by Neil Jerome Morales; Editing by Christopher Cushing)