Century Properties’ East Asia Power plans to widen public float

MANILA, Philippines – Dormant East Asia Power Resources Corp., the backdoor listing vehicle for high-rise property developer Century Properties Group, plans to widen its public float to 35-40 percent when stock market conditions turn favorable.

The planned equity sale would not just be to comply with the minimum public ownership required by the Philippine Stock Exchange but to build a corporation creating good values for shareholders, Century Properties chair and founder Jose Antonio told reporters on Monday after East Asia’s stockholders meeting.

The company has mandated foreign investment banks UBS and Macquarie to arrange the future shares offering. “They’re saying be ready for it,” Antonio, a former ambassador, said, noting, however, that the company would not rush into the capital market, given the turbulent global market conditions. “We’re waiting for the Greece story to unfold,” he added.

Antonio said the company would likely offer a combination of primary and secondary common shares but the bulk would be primary shares, thereby raising fresh funds for the company’s future expansion.

East Asia — which obtained shareholders’ approval on Monday to change its name to Century Properties Group Inc. alongside a quasi-organization framework and the backlisting of Antonio’s property company – has a public float of only 6.4 percent at present.  The PSE requires a minimum public ownership of 10 percent for a company to remain listed on its bourse.

During the meeting, shareholders approved an equity restructuring to pave the way for the backdoor listing of the property interests of the Century group.