The Securities and Exchange Commission plans to giver large companies like San Miguel Corp. a longer period to comply with the 20-percent minimum public ownership requirement.
SEC commissioner Ephyro Luis Amatong said extending the period beyond the 2020 deadline for companies with large capitalization was an option being considered by the corporate regulator to prevent crowding, in case many companies decided to sell equities over the next three years.
The final rules on minimum public ownership is expected to come out this month.
Amatong said the Philippine Stock Exchange also proposed a graduated scale which would mean the public float requirement would depend on market capitalization.
“We think there is something to their statement but the problem we see is bunching. We have already identified the companies that would be affected. Very few large companies would be affected like SMC. The problem is if we give them a short time frame, there would be bunching up. It might be better to give them a longer period of time,” Amatong said.
Amatong said most companies with a public float of less than 20 percent had expressed interest in complying with the 2020 deadline.
“Most companies can comply. It is only the large companies that may have a problem. So we have to balance that out,” Amatong said.
Amatong said he also expected some companies to delist from the exchange, such as the dormant listed firms which would likely have a hard time complying with the 20-percent public ownership rule.
The SEC earlier identified 68 companies with a public float of less than 20 percent.
The SEC said if all affected companies decided to raise their public float to 20 percent by end-2018, a total of P130.1 billion would be raised through the stock market.
Under the draft rules on minimum public ownership issued by the SEC last month, publicly-listed companies will be given a chance to gradually increase their public float to 15 percent by end-2018 and 20 percent by 2020.
Listed companies that will not be able to meet the public ownership requirement will be suspended and/or their secondary license will be revoked as provided for under the Securities Regulation Code.
Companies that plan to conduct a initial public offering should also sell at least 20 percent of their shares to the public.