FINANCE Secretary Carlos Dominguez III said the government is keen on acquiring 66.67 percent of bond exchange operator Philippine Dealing System Holdings Corp. through the state-run Land Bank of the Philippines to further improve the capital market.
“… Certainly it can move the capital market ahead. It is very important for us, you know the insurance companies want to invest in bonds, right now they can’t because there is no marketplace to do it, it hasn’t been developed,” Dominguez said in a briefing.
“We want to develop this market, it is not going to get developed when every time we talk to people who want to buy it they postpone it, so we might as well do it ourselves,” Dominguez said.
The finane chief referred to the recent announcement of the Philippine Stock Exchange on the postponement of its P3.16-billion stock rights offering to March, citing unfavorable conditions among global markets that affected the local bourse.
The PSE earlier said it was offering up to 11.5 million shares priced at P275 apiece in the stock rights offer. The exchange will use half of the P3.12-billion projected net proceeds the finance the acquisition of PDSHC.
But Dominguez said a DoF’s own review of the PSE’s public statements about compliance in relation to the acquisition of PDS showed the agency first announced it in May 2013.
“… So are these guys worth to be counted on? This is already five years, just to be compliant with the law. It is not as if we are asking them a special deal… ,” he said.
“We are forced to do this… we did not want to do this, it is not a priority for us but if the private sector cannot do it and we see the need for the improvement in the capital market (then) we will do it,” Dominguez said.
Land Bank president Alex Buenaventura last month said the state-run lender has started conducting its due diligence in the proposed acquisition of 66.67 percent of PDS.
Buenaventura said in a statement Tuesday he had a “very fruitful meeting” with the Securities and Exchange Commission to discuss the procedure seeking an “exemptive” relief with the regulatory body.