SEC revamps listing board structure

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has approved the revamp of the Philippine Stock Exchange’s listing board structure.

By streamlining the structure for investors, the SEC will also get to observe global practices.

In a statement issued Friday, the PSE said that under the new rules, there would be two listing boards—the Small, Medium and Emerging (SME) board and the Main board.

The new structure will replace the previous three listing board structure of the exchange composed of the First Board, Second Board and the Small and Medium Enterprise Board.

“The new rules should help raise the profile of publicly listed companies by putting in place requirements that will further show the viability of the companies listing in the exchange. The new features of these rules should, in the process, also help promote investor protection,” PSE president and CEO Hans Sicat said in the statement.

Under the new rules, companies that will list on the Main Board must have an authorized capital stock of at least P500 million, and at least three years of operating history.

These companies should also have cumulative earnings before income tax, depreciation and amortization (Ebitda) of at least P50 million in the last three years prior to listing.

They must also have positive stockholders’ equity for the immediately preceding fiscal year.

Currently, companies that want to list via the first and second boards should have an authorized capital stock of P400 million and P100 million, respectively.

The first board requires at least a three-year track record of profitable operations, while the second board requires at least a one-year operating history prior to the listing application.

With the new listing board rules, a company applying for listing on the new SME board must have an authorized capital stock of P100 million or more, of which a minimum of 25 percent must be subscribed and fully paid.

“We would like to thank the SEC for again allowing us to pursue reforms to keep the market attuned with the needs of the times,” Sicat said. Miguel R. Camus