The holding company of taipan George S.K. Ty debuted on the Philippine Stock Exchange Friday, overcoming initial lukewarm interest in the issue to report strong demand for the stock from domestic investors.
At the same time, GT Capital Holdings Inc.’s vice chair Alfred Ty highlighted the “strong growth trends” of the companies under the group, noting that they were “in the midst of a changing economic landscape where opportunities and prospects for economic growth have never been brighter.”
He said all units of GT Capital—Federal Land Inc., Toyota Motors Philippines Corp., AXA Philippines, Global Business Power and the Metropolitan Bank and Trust Co.—exhibited strong growth in the first quarter of 2012.
As part of its P21.6-billion initial public offering, GT Capital sold 47.4 million shares to the public at P455 apiece, ending the selling period on April 16, 2012.
GT Capital’s debut also marked the first IPO on the PSE for the year.
Company officials said the issue was well received by both domestic and international investors, but noted that demand was “overwhelming” in the domestic market.
“Excluding the over-allotment shares, the domestic market accounted for 42 percent of the transaction,” the company said in a statement.
First Metro Investment Corp. president Roberto Juanchito Dispo said the domestic tranche was 2.24 times oversubscribed, with demand coming from both institutional and retail investors.
“This is a testament to the solid businesses owned by GT Capital and to the Philippines, as investors, both domestic and international, now have bullish market outlook, anticipating a much awaited credit rating upgrade soon, owing to strong economic fundamentals and governance,” Dispo said.
In the meantime, GT Capital president Carmelo Bautista said “the offering was extremely well-received by both international and domestic investors. Other than the overwhelming interest in GT Capital, this landmark transaction highlights the vote of confidence in the Philippine investment story.”
First Metro Investment Corp.— the investment banking unit of Metrobank—acted as sole domestic coordinator, domestic lead underwriter and bookrunner for the transaction, while UBS AG acted as the sole global coordinator and sole international bookrunner.
Maybank—ATR KimEng Capital Partners Inc., PentaCapital Investment Corp., UBS Investments Philippines Inc. and Vicsal Investment Inc. comprised the domestic participating underwriters syndicate.
By mid-afternoon trading, GT Capital’s shares had risen to P490 per share, representing a 7.69 percent increase over its offer price of P455.
Company officials painted a rosy picture for the holding firm, especially since its property arm had just reported P3.8 billion in “reservation sales” in the first quarter, representing a 113-percent rise over a year ago.
Its Toyota distribution chain, meanwhile, continued to dominate the local automobile market with a market share of 38.8 percent, having sold 12,645 units in the first quarter of the year.
“GT Capital and its component companies are now strategically positioned to grow further and to become a key partner in the emerging Philippine growth story,” Ty said.