Supercity looms as backdoor-listing vehicle

MANILA, Philippines — A group holding valuable landbank in the Bay Area – an emerging gaming and entertainment district – is backdoor-listing on the Philippine Stock Exchange using Supercity Realty Development Corp. (SRDC) as its vehicle.

The board of Supercity approved the issuance of 990 million new common shares in favor of Manila Bay Development Corp. (MBDC) and businessman George Chua, giving the new investor group 90 percent ownership, Supercity disclosed to the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) on Thursday.

MBDC and Chua will contribute to SRDC a total of 12 parcels of land located in Paranaque City with a total area of 22.75 hectares in Paranaque City.

The Bay Area – the vast reclaimed land along Manila Bay which is now home to the Mall of Asia complex, Pagcor Entertainment City, Metro Park and Aseana City – has seen land values hitting a new record high of P550,000 per square meter recently.

After a review of the transaction, PSE said this was covered by the rules on backdoor listing. As such, trading on Supercity was suspended on Thursday pending the submission of the comprehensive corporate disclosure requirement.

The board of SRDC also approved the amendment of its articles of incorporate to move its principal office to Paranaque City and increase its authorized capital stock to P1.5 billion from P155 million. The amendments will be submitted for stockholders’ approval in a meeting scheduled on June 26.

SRDC said the increase in authorized capital stock will enable the company to “secure properties along Roxas Boulevard, within the Reclamation Area of the Bay City (Boulevard 2000) development in Parañaque City, which would be a source of recurring rental income or future income from development projects.”

Incorporated in 2000 to engage in the business of construction, SRDC has completed a number of land development and housing projects, focusing on mass-, low-cost and middle-scale housing markets. Its major construction projects are located in Laguna, Rizal, and Quezon City.

Since 2008, SRDC has been trying to wind down its construction business and refocus into real estate development.  It is currently valued by the stock market at P145.2 million.