The Philippine Stock Exchange is hoping to help companies raise up to P200 billion in fresh capital this year as it expects a record number of initial public offerings this year.

In a press briefing after the bourse’s annual stockholders’ meeting, PSE President Ramon S. Monzon said they have so far locked in about P150 billion in capital raised or still to be raised this year.

This consists of P76.7 billion from eights IPOs so far this year and about P75 billion to be raised in the coming months from four IPOs and two stock rights offerings (SROs).

“At the one at the rate we're going, we we think we will be having a record number of IPOs in a given year for 2022. However, we do not believe that we will be able to break the same amount of capital raised last year,” said Monzon.

He explained that, in 2021, there were two giant IPOs: the record P55.89 billion debut of Monde Nissin Corporation and the P13.85 billion IPO of Synergy Grid Development Corproation.

“Our listing pipeline remains robust...We are hoping that we can at least reach the P200 billion level in terms of amount of capital raised,” said Monzon.

Meanwhile, Monzon said the PSE may again revive its shelved plans to acquire the Philippine Dealing System, the country’s fixed income bourse, after the previous administration had not pursued its acquisition through the Land Bank of the Philippines.

“I would say it is still on the table. As you know, we had definite plans to acquire PDS in 2018 and we had to put our acquisition plans aside because, at that time, there was a move by the Secretary of Finance to have Land Bank buy PDS,” he noted.

Monzon added that, “But in the two and a half years since that expression of interest by the Secretary of Finance to have Land Bank acquire PDS, nothing has really happened. So, we feel we will be in a position to pursue this acquisition again shortly.”

During the PSE stockholders’ meeting, two new directors were elected to the board: Anthony Te of Armstrong Securities as the fifth broker-director and Government Service Insurance System Executive Vice President Diosdado Ebdane Jr. as a non-broker director.

Ebdane replaced former GSIS President and General Manager Rolando Jose Macasaet.

The rest of the PSE Board of Directors retained their seats, led by PSE Chairman Jose Pardo, President and Chief Executive Officer Ramon Monzon, as well as Independent Directors Former Supreme Court Chief Justice Teresita De Castro, Consuelo Garcia, Vicente Panlilio and Gilberto Teodoro Jr..

Anabelle Chua is the non-broker director representing issuers, Ferdinand Constantino is the non-broker director representing investors, while Tomas Alcantara is the non-broker director representing other market participants.

Also elected were broker-directors Diosdado Arroyo, Eddie Gobing, Wilson Sy and Ma. Vivian Yuchengco.