FORMER TRADE SECRETARY Roberto Ongpin is set to use newly acquired Macondray Plastics Inc. as a backdoor listing vehicle for his property unit, Alphaland Development Inc., at the stock market.

The Philippine Stock Exchange suspended Thursday the trading on Macondray stocks pending the submission by the company of a comprehensive disclosure on the planned backdoor listing.

Macondray told the local bourse that its board of directors had approved an agreement with existing shareholders of Alphaland for the backdoor listing.

The proposed backdoor listing will involve the exchange of new shares of Macondray arising from a proposed increase in its authorized capital stock from P400 million to P5 billion.

A share of Alphaland will be exchanged for every 5.08 new shares of Macondray.

The company seeks to list up to 1.269 billion new primary shares.

Backdoor listing takes place when an unlisted company acquires or merges with a listed firm.

Shares of Macondray surged in previous months as the market anticipated the infusion of Alphaland into this listed company.

Macondray used to be controlled by the Lorenzo family and was engaged in the plastic packaging business.

The Lorenzos spun off Macondray?s traditional business into a new company prior to the sale of its controlling stake to Ongpin.

Alphaland?s flagship project is the Southgate Tower, a shopping mall and business process outsourcing hub near the the Edsa-Magallanes Metro Railway Transit 3 station. The property had been idle for 25 years until Ongpin acquired it from the Puyat family.
Ongpin?s property company is also developing a prime lot on Ayala Avenue in Makati City into an office tower.

It also inked an agreement with the Boy Scouts of the Philippines to develop the Sime Darby property, also on Ayala, into a mixed-use development.

Alphaland also plans to launch a 32-hectare project at the Manila Bay reclamation site (between SM Mall of Asia and Pagcor City) called the Alphaland Bay City, which will include a hotel in the middle of a marina, inspired by Dubai?s Burj Al Arab Hotel.

Ongpin, who represents the London-based Ashmore group, has been active in Philippine merger and acquisition deals in the last few years.

Ongpin has a stake, whether in his personal capacity or on behalf of Ashmore, in blue-chip firms Petron Corp., Manila Electric Co., San Miguel Corp. and Philex Mining Corp.