Bloomberry joins PSEi; SMDC out

MANILA, Philippines—Bloomberry Resorts Corp., the first gaming firm to open at the country’s future gaming hub Pagcor City, is set to join the 30-company local equities barometer Philippine Stock Exchange index effective March 11.

Bloomberry, which is led by tycoon Enrique Razon Jr., will replace the SM group’s residential development arm SM Development Corp. on the PSEi, the PSE announced on Thursday.

The PSEi is the roster of the country’s most liquid, largest-in-market-capitalization stocks and most closely watched stocks.

The recomposition of the PSEi was as a result of a review conducted from January to December last year, the local bourse said.

To be included on the PSEi, a listed company must satisfy three criteria: the free float level, liquidity and full market capitalization. Under the PSE rules, a company can join the PSEi if it rises above the 25th position by full market capitalization, to replace the company that ranks the lowest. The same section provides that a company will be taken off the PSEi if it falls below the 35th position by full market cap and replaced by the company with the highest market cap among those included on the “reserve” list.

As of Thursday morning, Bloomberry had a market cap of  P152.5 billion while SMDC had a market cap of about P83.4 billion.

The SM group is currently studying a proposal to consolidate its property-related interests, which includes the possibility of SMDC being folded into flagship SM Prime Holdings.

With this inclusion, Bloomberry will join 29 other companies comprising the PSEi: Ayala Corp., Aboitiz Equity Ventures, Alliance Global Group Inc., Ayala Land Inc., Aboitiz Power Corp., BDO Unibank, Belle Corp., Bank of the Philippine Islands, DMCI Holdings, Energy Development Corp., First Gen Corp., Globe Telecom, International Container Terminal Services Inc., Jollibee Foods Corp., JG Summit Holdings, Metropolitan Bank & Trust Co., Megaworld Corp., Manila Electric Co., Metro Pacific Investments Corp., Manila Water Co. Inc., Philex Mining Corp., Robinsons Land Corp., Semirara Mining Corp., SM Investments Corp., San Miguel Corp., SM Prime Holdings, Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. and Universal Robina Corp.

Bloomberry is expected to open its $1-billion Solaire Manila entertainment hub by March this year.