Active Alliance suspends trading of shares on PSE

Listed firm Active Alliance Inc., a company backed by Bienvenido Tan III, son of former BIR commissioner Bienvenido Tan Jr., has voluntarily suspended the trading of its own shares, which have increased in value by nearly 15-fold since the start of the month.

In a disclosure, the company said it would make a major announcement Wednesday to end weeks of speculation on fresh capital entering the company.

It said trading of its shares would be suspended until Monday next week.

AAI’s shares have consistently topped the local bourse’s list of most actively traded issues mainly on speculation that the group of ports magnate Enrique Razon Jr. would use the company to take its new casino venture public.

From a share price of P4.91 last November 8, AAI’s shares closed at P76 each on Monday.

Market rumors said Razon, owner of International Container Terminal Services Inc., has been in search of a small listed firm that he could use for the backdoor listing of his newly formed Bloomsbury Investments.

Bloomsbury is building a $1.2-billion integrated casino and tourism facility at the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp.-led Entertainment City near Manila Bay. The company is one of four groups with licenses to put up hotels and casinos in the identified gaming area, which, once developed, is expected to be a major tourist draw for the Philippines.

Razon was earlier rumored to be interested in a backdoor listing by buying into IPVG Corp. A backdoor listing is a way for private companies to go public by merging with or transferring their operations into listed firms.—Paolo G. Montecillo