Market cap of Co holding firm seen at P94B

Alcorn Gold Resources Corp. (APM), which is transforming itself into the holding firm of retailer Lucio Co, expects its market capitalization to expand by more than five times to P93.94 billion with the infusion of various businesses under the group.

APM, which will be renamed Cosco Capital, had a market capitalization of about P18.1 billion as of Friday. At its projected market capitalization, APM expects to be valued higher than how much the market currently values some companies that are part of the benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange index, among them Belle Corp. (P50.68 billion); SM Development Corp. (P54.7 billion); and Manila Water (P64.3 billion).

“Operationally, the change will necessitate a shift of focus from a narrow, technical lens for mining, to a broader expertise geared toward mass marketing,” the company said in a regulatory filing. Doris C. Dumlao