Cirtek shares up 13.57% on listing

Shares of semiconductor manufacturer Cirtek Holdings Philippines Corp. rose more than a tenth Friday in one of the most successful initial public offerings (IPO) this year.

Despite dismal market conditions, Cirtek shares jumped 13.57 percent yesterday to close at P7.95 each, outperforming the main blue-chip index, which fell 0.7 percent on the same day. The shares opened the day at P7.90, reaching an intra-day high of P8.27 and a low of P7.81.

Officials attributed the share’s performance to the company’s bright prospects, despite slowing demand from traditional electronics export markets such as the United States and Europe.

“We’re seeing growing demand from emerging markets in Asia,” Cirtek chair Jerry Liu said. “We’re seeing more orders in the fourth quarter of the year coming from Asia as well.”

Cirtek’s share sale did better than all other IPOs earlier this year. Industrial giant Megawide Construction Corp. saw its share price close flat on the day of its IPO last February. More recently, retailer Puregold Price Club Inc. saw its shares fall 12 percent on the day of its IPO early last month.

The Laguna-based Cirtek raised P295 million from the share sale, which was much lower than the P660 million it was allowed to raise by the Securities and Exchange Commission in September. Paolo G. Montecillo