Puregold to debut on PSEi, replacing Emperador

Retail tycoon Lucio Co-led Puregold Price Club Inc. is debuting on the 30-company Philippine Stock Exchange index, replacing liquor-maker Emperador Inc.

This was based on the latest PSEi recomposition which will take effect on March 13 (Monday), PSE president Hans Sicat said in a memorandum on Wednesday.

PSEi is the basket of the most traded, most liquid and well-capitalized listed firms in the country.

To qualify for the PSEi, companies must have a public float of at least 12 percent and must be among the top 25 percent by median daily value per month or for at least nine out of 12 months. They must be among the top 30 companies in the exchange based on market capitalization.

As of Wednesday, Puregold (which trades under the ticker PGOLD) was valued by the stock market at around P122.78 billion while Emperador (ticker:EMP) – which is part of the Andrew Tan group of companies – was valued at P114.45 billion.

“The inclusion of PGOLD in the main index is expected to lead to an upward pressure on its share price as funds tracking the index accumulate the issue. Meanwhile, the reverse is expected for EMP,” online stock brokerage COL Financial said in a research note on Wednesday.

COL has a “buy” rating on Puregold with a fair value estimate of P51 per share and a “hold” rating on Emperador with a fair value estimate of P7.75 per share.