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MANILA -Starting Sept. 26, Aboitiz Power Corp. and Metro Pacific Investments Corp. (MPIC) will no longer be part of the benchmark, 30-member Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi).
The two companies will be replaced by Bloomberry Resorts Corp., the operator of Solaire Resort & Casino, and Century Pacific Food Inc., the maker of Century Tuna and Argentina corned beef.
“The index constituent update is based on the requirements for inclusion in the PSE Index Series under the Exchange’s Policy on Index Management,” PSE said in a circular as it took note of the 20-percent public float requirement.
Aboitiz Power’s removal came after it bought back shares, which brought down its public float by a hair’s breadth to 19.9 percent.
The company repurchased shares to raise its stock price, noting that the current range “does not reflect the intrinsic value of the company and its future business prospects.”
“Even with this stock buy-back program, there is no intention to delist from the PSE, but merely to reward our existing shareholders with a larger share of a brighter future,” the energy company had said.
Tender offer
MPIC, meanwhile, has completed its tender offer program that reduced its public float to less than 3 percent. It is set to exit the local bourse by October.
The infrastructure and utility giant decided to undergo voluntary delisting as it seeks to operate as a private company moving forward.
Investors also took note of MPIC’s low share price in proceeding with the deal.
“The bidders feel that the intrinsic value of MPIC’s core investments in infrastructure in the Philippines has not been fully reflected in MPIC’s share price for some time,” a buying consortium composed of billionaire Ty family conglomerate GT Capital Holdings, Indonesian tycoon Anthoni Salim and Japanese industrial giant Mitsui said.
Despite this, the conglomerate led by billionaire Manuel Pangilinan is now preparing to launch an initial public offering for its toll road arm and water concessionaire.
The other members of PSEi are Ayala Corp., ACEN Corp., Aboitiz Equity Ventures Inc., Alliance Global Group, Inc., Ayala Land Inc., BDO Unibank Inc., Bank of the Philippine Islands, Converge ICT Solutions Inc., DMCI Holdings Inc., Emperador Inc. Globe Telecom Inc., GT Capital Holdings Inc.
Joining them are International Container Terminal Services Inc., Jollibee Foods Corp., JG Summit Holdings Inc., LT Group Inc., Metropolitan Bank & Trust Co., Manila Electric Co., Monde Nissin Corp., Puregold Price Club Inc., Semirara Mining and Power Co., SM Investments Corp., San Miguel Corp., SM Prime Holdings Inc., PLDT Inc., Union Bank of the Philippines, Universal Robina Corp. and Wilcon Depot Inc.
As a basket representing the biggest and most active stocks in the country, PSEi provides a snapshot of the market’s condition and its impact on the health of the economy in general.