BIZ BUZZ: Bourse merger bid revived

The Philippine Stock Exchange is reviving a merger bid for Philippine Dealing System Holdings Corp. (PDS), operator of the country’s fixed-income trading platform, to finally unify the country’s equities and debt markets.

During the PSE Star Investor conference, PSE chief operating officer Roel Refran said they “reinitiated” talks with the Securities and Exchange Commission with the aim of finally completing the merger. While Refran described the timetable as fluid, he hoped to get the regulator’s nod “by the first or second quarter of 2024.”

Readers might recall the PSE takeover of PDS fell through during the Duterte administration amid opposition from former Finance secretary Carlos Dominguez III.

But Refran said their unification with PDS still makes sense since this will make the PSE a “one-stop shop” capable of catering to multiple asset classes.

“A vertically integrated market is so much better than a disjointed market,” he said.

The business case for the merger certainly makes sense for the parties involved. The average investor is probably more interested in the PSE’s other plans to give anemic trading conditions a much needed jolt.

—Miguel R. Camus

No IPO, no problem

After deciding a few months ago to defer their initial public offering (IPO) because of lackluster stock trading, property development firm Ovialand Inc. wasted no time and continued to seek out capital to execute their growth plans.

Fortuitously, Ovialand and a listed foreign real-estate firm that had long been on the hunt for a strong local partner finally crossed paths. Perhaps it was a match made in corporate heaven as a handshake deal was struck within just 72 hours of meeting each other.

This Tokyo-based partner is one of the largest producers of condominium units in Japan and also manages an extensive leasing portfolio across their region.

After successfully establishing a presence in Thailand and Vietnam, they have been looking for a Philippine partner since 2018 and finally found it in Ovialand.

The Japanese company has expressed their commitment to support the growth plans of Ovialand.

Will an IPO still be in the cards? Destiny will decide.

—Tina Arceo-Dumlao