SPPI, sister firm plan to hold IPOs

Science Park of the Philippines Inc. and sister firm Pueblo de Oro Development Corp. are considering holding their initial public offerings within the next two years, according to a top company official.

Rommel M. Leuterio, president and COO of SPPI, said that while both firms were highly qualified to list on the Philippine Stock Exchange now, they opted to wait for a more opportune time to enable investors to see the company’s sustained growth.

The plan is to conduct the SPPI offering first, to be followed closely by that of Pueblo de Oro.

He said these companies could not be charged of “chain listing” since SPPI was not deriving 50 percent of its income from the property firm given the strong performance of its industrial estate business.

SPPI, through Regatta Properties Inc., holds a 54-percent stake in Pueblo de Oro. The remaining 46 percent is held by Bacon Property Ventures Inc.

Leuterio did not disclose the amount the said companies’ were planning to raise but noted that for an IPO to be meaningful, it had to generate at least P1 billion.

For this year, SPPI expects its net income to hit P900 million, from the P600 million it registered in 2012, on the back of increased demand for industrial estate spaces from foreign locators.

“Our primary market are investors from abroad who are looking for at least 15 hectares to 25 hectares. A lot of Japanese firms, for example, are looking here. A lot of big players have already expressed interest to locate in our latest industrial estate, the Light Industry and Science Park IV, but we can’t say yet who they are,” he said.

SPPI is investing P4 billion to develop the 260-hectare LISP IV, which may be completed in three years.

SPPI is the leading industrial estate developer in the Philippines with 800 hectares that are developed, under development, and/or being managed, spread out in six strategic locations in Luzon and Visayas. Two are in Batangas, another two in Laguna, one in Bataan and one in Cebu.