The Philippine Stock Exchange announced Tuesday it will grant suspended companies more time to meet regulatory requirements before proceeding with delisting, a move aimed at safeguarding investors and maintaining the bourse’s limited roster of listed firms.
PSE president and chief executive Ramon Monzon said the exchange is prepared to offer suspended companies an extension to comply, allowing their shares to resume trading.
Monzon explained that most suspensions stem from the non-submission of required reports, such as audited financial statements and quarterly reports.
“As much as possible, of course we don’t want to delist companies because we already have a very small number of listed companies. To be delisting more is really counterintuitive,” Monzon said.
Among the listed firms currently suspended due to non-compliance with reporting requirements are Abra Mining & Industrial Corp., Cyber Bay Corp., Globalport 900, Inc., IP E-Game Ventures, Inc., Manila Jockey Club, Inc., MJC Investments Corp., Philippine National Construction Corp., Phoenix Petroleum Philippines, Inc., PT&T Corp. and Roxas Holdings Inc.
However, the PSE has also begun delisting procedures for several suspended companies, including Philab Holdings Corp. and Marsteel Consolidated Inc.
Monzon also noted that initiating a delisting procedure against a suspended company would necessitate imposing sanctions on both the company and its officers.
Under PSE rules, an involuntarily delisted company is barred from applying for relisting for five years. Its directors and officers are also prohibited from serving in another company seeking a listing.
In addition to the issue of suspended companies, several compliant publicly-listed firms have opted to go private. Last week, mass housing developer 8990 Holdings Inc. moved to voluntarily delist after nearly 15 years as a public company.
The majority shareholder of 8990 Holdings said the delisting “would unlock the intrinsic value of the company’s business and assets, which does not seem to be fully appreciated by the market.”
