Biz Buzz: Frozen

Enduring a suspension order by Capital Market Integrity Corp. (the market regulation unit of the Philippine Stock Exchange) since May last year, local stockbrokerage Nieves Securities Inc. (NSI) is pleading for a way out of this limbo.

“A person convicted for committing a felony knows the duration of his/her imprisonment; the company, which is not even convicted of committing any crime, does not know when the suspension will end,”  NSI president Ching Ching Yan Tan wrote to corporate regulators.

NSI’s trading operations were suspended for its  alleged failure to secure PSE board approval for a change in ownership structure of at least 51 percent, failure to disclose any change in ownership constituting 10 percent or more within three days and failure to maintain a minimum unimpaired paid-up capital of P100 million.

Explaining its side on the matter, NSI argued that the transfer of shares that happened over a 12-month period did not constitute at least 51 percent of the firm’s shares. Since there was no transfer of trading right, it saw no need for prior approval from the PSE board. The brokerage also noted that the present NSI directors, officers and shareholders who were brought onboard only in 2011 had come in with the presumption that the earlier transfer of shares originally held by Nieves Sanchez in 2003 had been approved by the PSE considering that reports were diligently filed semi-annually.  “The company never intended to conceal any information regarding the transfer of shares,” the company said.

On the PSE’s rejection of NSI’s application to transfer shares to the current stockholders for “lack of sufficient relevant experience in the securities brokerage business,” NSI said it wasn’t aware of any black-and-white qualification as to the required experience of stockholders to enter the stockbrokerage business. Shareholders added that they were willing to put up the P100-million minimum capital (required for new brokers) if the suspension order would be lifted.

NSI is now controlled by a group that includes Ching Ching Yan (president) and Andrew Lim, who are business partners behind the 70-room Subic Bay Travellers Hotel and the 54-room Bacolod Avenue Suites. They got into this business upon the invitation of the former president of NSI. Even prior to investing in NSI, they have been trading stocks for more than 10 years. They told Biz Buzz they were committed to this business and were very much willing to rectify any mistake in order to resume trading.–Doris C. Dumlao

NextGen Co

After leading Puregold Price Club Inc. in the last 17 years during which it has grown from a niche grocery player into one of the country’s leading retailers, company president Leonardo Dayao is passing the baton to Ferdinand Vincent Co, son of Lucio Co. Dayao turned 70 last year but had to stay on for another year until a successor was named.

Vincent, who is in his early 30s, will assume the post of Puregold president effective June 1 this year. He has long been groomed for this position, having handled marketing, real estate, beverage and the group’s duty-free operations in Subic. He holds a BS Degree in Entrepreneurial Management from the University of Asia and the Pacific.–Doris C. Dumlao

Awarded

We’re familiar with how the country’s public-private partnership (PPP) program gets flak at home from time to time—either by its own doing or due to factors outside its control. Nonetheless, it remains highly regarded abroad and some of its projects may even go on to win awards this year.

That seems a possible scenario based on the short list for the Partnership Awards 2015, which recognizes and rewards the best PPP projects and organizations from around the world for 17 years now.

Three Philippine PPPs awarded in the last two years have made it to the current short list for the Partnership Awards, which include as many as 40 deals in various categories such as healthcare, education, energy and transportation.

The Department of Education’s PPP for School Infrastructure Project was named in the short list as well as two transportation department projects: the Automatic Fare Collection System (AFCS) and Mactan Cebu International Airport.

These projects were won by Filipino companies Ayala Corp. and Metro Pacific Investments Corp. for the AFCS and Megawide Construction Corp. and its partners for the Cebu airport and certain packages under the school infrastructure project.

The Philippines’ PPP Center, led by executive director Cosette Canilao, is itself a contender for the “best” government PPP promoter after bagging the “gold award” for the same category in 2014. For financial institutions, Henry Sy’s BDO Unibank is in the running for the financial adviser of the year award.

The final winners should be known in a few months, with the awarding to take place on May 14 in London.–Miguel R. Camus

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