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Topline secures final SEC approval for April PSE debut

PHILIPPINE STAR/EHDA M. DAGOOC

CEBU-BASED fuel retailer Top Line Business Development Corp. (Topline) has secured approval from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for its planned initial public offering (IPO). 

“Our listing is a key step to our continued expansion as part of our vertical integration strategy to sustain our rapid capital appreciation,” Topline Chairman, President, and Chief Executive Officer Eugene Erik C. Laparasan Lim said in a media release on Monday. 

The company said it obtained final regulatory approval from the SEC for the public sale of about 22% of its common shares, or 2.15 billion primary common shares, with an over-allotment option of up to 218.84 million secondary common shares.

Last month, the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) issued a notice of approval allowing the company to list its common shares on the PSE main board.

The IPO offer period will run from March 24 to 31, 2025. The company’s shares will be traded under the symbol “TOP” starting April 8. 

The final offer price of 31 centavos per share was determined through a book-building process involving international and Philippine-based institutional investors, the company said. 

Topline has designated Investment & Capital Corp. of the Philippines as the issue manager, joint lead underwriter, and joint bookrunner for the IPO, while PNB Capital and Investment Corp. will serve as the joint lead underwriter and joint bookrunner. 

“We believe in Topline’s strong growth potential and its ability to deliver on its commitments. Throughout the IPO process, we have seen firsthand the company’s drive, passion, and strategic vision. With strong leadership at the helm, we are excited to see Top Line take this significant step toward its listing on the PSE,” ICCP Senior Managing Director Jesus Mariano P. Ocampo said.

Topline expects to raise about P624.6 million in net IPO proceeds, adding that it remains committed to its expansion plans, with P300 million allocated for the construction of 20 service stations and P180 million earmarked for fuel tanker acquisitions.

Due to the adjustment in its offer price, the company said it has also revised the allocation of IPO net proceeds, setting aside P134.6 million for working capital and P10 million for corporate purposes.

“We are fully committed to our IPO strategy, which focuses on integration, importation, and expansion to sustain our strong profit margins. This is why we are maintaining our allocation as initially planned for the construction of service stations and the acquisition of additional fuel tankers,” Mr. Lim said. — Ashley Erika O. Jose

FLI bets on gov’t tenants to drive office leasing growth

FILINVESTLAND.COM

GOTIANUN-LED property developer Filinvest Land, Inc. (FLI) is optimistic about the growth of its office leasing portfolio, with government tenants expected to absorb vacancies left by the business process outsourcing (BPO) sector due to remote work adoption, according to its chief executive officer (CEO).

“Our office portfolio delivered strong performance in 2024. Despite market headwinds, we achieved revenue and income growth,” FLI President and CEO Tristaneil D. Las Marias told BusinessWorld on the sidelines of Filinvest Group’s 70th anniversary celebration last week. 

FLI’s office leasing revenue, including that of its listed subsidiary Filinvest REIT Corp., rose by 3% to P4.81 billion, it said last week.

“For 2025, we are seeing signs of recovery, particularly in our office spaces catering to government agencies,” Mr. Las Marias said.

Given the strong contribution of government tenants to FLI’s office portfolio in 2024, the company plans to attract more state agencies through competitive bidding.

FLI also emphasized the need to diversify its tenant mix amid ongoing vacancies in the BPO sector, Mr. Las Marias said.

“The BPO sector faces challenges, as many companies prefer remote work. To address vacancies, we are targeting other tenant segments, particularly government agencies, which have the budget for long-term leases.”

In 2024, about 32% of vacated office spaces in Metro Manila were from the information technology-business process management sector, according to real estate services and investment firm CBRE.

“There is a notable flight to quality among government agencies. Given the superior specifications, accessibility, and overall convenience of our office properties, we see strong demand from this segment,” Mr. Las Marias said. 

Demand for FLI’s office spaces is also driven by their integration into mixed-use developments, offering direct access to residential, commercial, and retail establishments, he added. 

Mr. Las Marias also underscored the strategic locations of FLI’s office developments and their proximity to major transportation hubs.

“Living near the workplace significantly enhances convenience for employees. We take pride in developing office spaces that provide premium specifications, access to commercial and wellness amenities, and the option to reside within the same development.” — Beatriz Marie D. Cruz

HSBC Philippines appoints new IWPB Head

HSBC PHILIPPINES has tapped Pramoth Rajendran as its new International Wealth and Premier Banking (IWPB) head, it said on Monday.

The appointment is subject to regulatory approval, the bank said in a statement.

Mr. Rajendran has 20 years of experience in wealth and retail banking, including strategy, product, analytics, sales and risk.

Prior to this assignment, he was previously the IWPB Head for HSBC Vietnam.

He has also worked in The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corp. Ltd.’s Asia regional office in Hong Kong, as well as HSBC Australia.

“As we celebrate our 150th anniversary in the Philippines, Pramoth Rajendran’s leadership will be vital in delivering our strategy — growing our Premier and Wealth business, leveraging on our international connectivity by connecting our customer’s needs and aspirations to wealth and investment opportunities here in the Philippines and overseas,” HSBC Philippines President and Chief Executive Officer Sandeep Uppal said. — AMCS

Exports and life expectancy: some global trends

Next week, on April 2, US President Donald Trump’s “tariff reciprocity” — tariff equalization with major trade partners which have high tariffs on US exports to their countries — will take effect. The fear is that such a move by Trump will cause a major upheaval in global trade.

The top three largest merchandise (or goods) exporters in the world are China, the US, and Germany. China and Germany have regular trade surpluses while the US has a perennial trade deficit, an average of around $2.7 billion per day in 2024.

In terms of export market share, China, which joined the World Trade Organization (WTO) only in 2001, has expanded its share from 7.2% of total world exports in 2005 to 14.5% in 2024. The US has a flat share of 8.5% of the total, while Germany and Japan had declining shares of 9.2% and 5.6% in 2005 to 7.1% and 2.9% in 2024, respectively. Many other industrial countries have similar declining shares in total exports (see Table 1).

China overtook the US in 2007 — $1.22 trillion vs $1.15 trillion. One explanation is that this is due to the difference in power generation. From 2006 to 2007, the US added 101 terawatt-hours (TWh) to its grid while China added 416 TWh. China’s momentum continued and by 2011, China overtook the US in power generation, with 4,713 TWh vs 4,363 TWh, respectively. High electricity production means a high capacity to manufacture and mass produce almost anything. I am amazed by the fast economic performance and energy generation of China.

Talking about power, I must correct a mistake in my column last week, “On GDP size, exports, FDI, and electricity generation” (March 18). I wrote, “Recently the Maharlika Investment Corp. (MIC) invested in the NGCP.” It should have been “MIC invested in Synergy Grid & Development Phils., Inc. (SGP).” A Filipino company, SGP owns 60% of the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP), while China’s State Grid Corp. is the technical partner, with 40% of NGCP.

TAXES
The call for higher taxes on alcohol, tobacco, vapes, and sugar is alive again as an election campaign issue.

A survey done in 2023 by the Food and Nutrition Research Institute (FNRI) under the Science department about smoking prevalence in the Philippines said that the “percentage of currently smoking adults, 20 years old and above,” showed an initial decline from 23.3% of adult population in 2015 to 18.5% in 2021, then it rose to 23.2% in 2023.

Ironically this coincided with the increase in the tobacco tax, from P50/pack in 2021 to P55/pack in 2022, then to P60/pack in 2023. There was also a huge decline in tobacco tax revenues in this period, from P176.5 billion in 2021 to P160.3 billion in 2022, P134.9 billion in 2023, and P134 billion in 2024.

So the dual goals of imposing a higher tobacco tax — to reduce the incidence of smoking and to raise tobacco tax revenues — were not met, instead the opposite happened. A further increase in the tobacco tax rate will simply make smuggled and illicit tobacco products more attractive and tempting because of their low price in comparison with legal tobacco.

I also checked smoking prevalence and alcohol use in Asia over two decades, 2000 to 2020, and life expectancy until 2022. The data is mixed. Smoking prevalence and alcohol consumption in countries like China, Indonesia, and Singapore are flat yet their life expectancy is still rising. Smoking prevalence in the Philippines has been declining and its alcohol consumption is flat. Other countries have declining tobacco and alcohol use — Japan and South Korea. Others have seen a rise in alcohol use — India, Vietnam, Myanmar, and Cambodia (see Table 2).

There is also a conflict in social and health goals in the Philippines related to sin taxation. Many health activists want people to cut down, if not stop, their consumption of alcohol and tobacco products. But the same health establishments also want more billions of pesos from smokers, vapers, and drinkers, so if there is high consumption of legal products, it makes them happy because they will get more tax money.

Congress and the Department of Finance (DoF) should focus on getting higher revenues without raising the tax rates of many products and services. Recently the DoF issued new privatization guidelines of non-performing public assets.

Finance Secretary Ralph G. Recto emphasized that “Privatization of non-performing assets is among the strategic moves to raise much-needed revenues to fund the growing needs of our people. And by opening the doors for ordinary Filipinos to take part, we are also creating investment opportunities for them while contributing to nation-building.”

Good move, DoF. Cut the huge annual budget deficit and huge outstanding public debt stock by reducing the need for more borrowing.

 

Bienvenido S. Oplas, Jr. is the president of Bienvenido S. Oplas, Jr. Research Consultancy Services, and Minimal Government Thinkers. He is an international fellow of the Tholos Foundation.

minimalgovernment@gmail.com

PHINMA board OKs investment in community housing unit

LISTED conglomerate PHINMA Corp. said its board of directors had approved an investment of P250 million in its community housing unit. 

In a stock exchange disclosure on Monday, the company said its board approved investing in PHINMA Community Housing Corp. to fund capital expenditures, land acquisition, and other working capital needs.

The board also approved the appropriation of P500 million in retained earnings for investment in Construction Materials Group and P500 million in PHINMA Community Housing until Dec. 31, 2026.

For the nine months ending September last year, PHINMA’s attributable net income plummeted by 84.5% to P122.73 million from P791.53 million in the same period a year earlier. 

Gross revenue for the January-to-September period last year grew by 9.8% to P16.98 billion from P15.46 billion in the same period in 2023. 

The company’s gross expenses for the nine-month period rose by 12.6% to P15.1 billion from P13.41 billion previously.

At the stock exchange on Monday, shares in the company fell by 30 centavos, or 1.62%, to close at P18.18 per share.

PHINMA Corp. is a listed holding company that operates through its subsidiaries and has investments in education, steel products, housing, and property development.- — Ashley Erika O. Jose

Mariah Carey wins copyright lawsuit over ‘All I Want for Christmas Is You’

AMAZON

POP SINGER Mariah Carey defeated a lawsuit claiming she illegally copied elements of her holiday megahit “All I Want for Christmas Is You” from a country song of the same name.

US District Judge Monica Almadani in Los Angeles in a ruling on Wednesday said the writers of Vince Vance and the Valiants’ “All I Want for Christmas Is You” failed to show their song was objectively similar enough to Ms. Carey’s to support their copyright infringement case.

Attorneys for the songwriters, lawyers for Ms. Carey, and spokespeople for her label, Sony Music, did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the decision on Thursday.

Vince Vance and the Valiants’ “All I Want for Christmas Is You” was released in 1989 and reached the Billboard country charts during holiday seasons in the 1990s. Ms. Carey’s song appeared on her 1994 album Merry Christmas and has since become a popular standard, topping the Billboard Hot 100 chart every holiday season since 2019.

Andy Stone, who performs as Vince Vance, and co-writer Troy Powers filed the lawsuit in 2023. They said Ms. Carey’s song copied their song’s “extended comparison between a loved one and trappings of seasonal luxury” and other lyrical and musical elements, requesting at least $20 million in damages.

Ms. Carey responded last year that the songs were “completely different” and argued that any similar elements were common to many Christmas songs, such as “snow, mistletoe, presents under Christmas trees, and wanting a loved one for Christmas.”

Ms. Almadani determined on Wednesday that the songs were not similar enough for a jury to find that Ms. Carey had committed copyright infringement, citing differences in their melodies, lyrics, and other musical elements.

Ms. Almadani also ordered the songwriters to pay part of Ms. Carey’s attorneys’ fees, finding some of their filings contained a “litany of irrelevant and unsupported factual assertions.” — Reuters

New Ayala Land platform simplifies homeownership services

LISTED property developer Ayala Land, Inc. (ALI) on Monday launched Access Ayala Land, a digital platform that centralizes property management for homeowners of Ayala Land Premier, Alveo, Avida, and Amaia.

“Traditionally, homeowners had to navigate multiple channels for transactions. Access Ayala Land eliminates that hassle by providing a single, intuitive dashboard for tracking payments, receiving construction updates, scheduling appointments, and storing documents — all accessible via computer or mobile device,” the company said in a statement.

The platform offers real-time payment tracking and direct access to statements of account. Users can download official receipts and monitor outstanding balances. 

Homeowners can upload, store, and retrieve files within the platform, reducing manual submissions and improving document accessibility.

It also provides construction updates for buyers of pre-selling properties.

“The platform delivers convenience and transparency in the homebuying journey,” said Carissa Feria-Dare, Ayala Land vice-president and Premium Residential Business Group Project Development head. 

“Our homeowners put their trust in Ayala Land. Just as we elevate our products to better serve our customers, we likewise want to enhance the property buying and management experience,” she added. 

Earlier this year, ALI said it planned to allocate P95 billion for capital expenditures in 2025 to launch P100 billion worth of projects.

ALI said the platform is free for Ayala Land Premier, Alveo, Avida, and Amaia homeowners, who will receive activation details via e-mail. — Beatriz Marie D. Cruz

Manila climbs in financial centers list

(Still remains the laggard in the region)

The Philippine capital rose six places to 103rd out of 119 global financial centers in the 37th edition of the biannual Global Financial Centers Index (GFCI) by London-based think tank Z/Yen. The GFCI evaluates the future competitiveness of financial centers and is used as a reference for policy and investment decision makers. Manila’s GFCI rating went up by 33 points to 649, however, it was the lowest rating among its peers in the East and Southeast Asian region. In a separate assessment of financial technology (fintech) centers, Manila went up seven places to 93rd out of 115 financial centers.

Manila climbs in financial centers list

How PSEi member stocks performed — March 24, 2025

Here’s a quick glance at how PSEi stocks fared on Monday, March 24, 2025.

ADB calls for stronger Asian integration as trade wars loom

PHILSTAR FILE PHOTO

ASIAN ECONOMIES must strengthen their cooperation and partnerships in the face of geopolitical tensions and global fragmentation, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) said.

“Rising geoeconomic fragmentation due to continuing global policy shifts, while posing growing challenges, nonetheless offers new opportunities for the region to strengthen integration by facilitating intraregional flows of goods and services, capital, people, and knowledge,” ADB Chief Economist Albert Park said in a report on Monday.

The Asian Economic Integration Report is an annual review of progress in various dimensions of economic integration, including trade, global value chains, cross-border investment, finance, migration and remittances, and tourism.

The ADB sees significant progress in Asia and the Pacific in terms of regional integration, surpassing other regions, although the pace remains uneven across subregions.

“Over the past two decades, Asia has significantly tightened its regional economic integration, surpassing other regions in foreign direct investment (FDI) and the movement of people,” it said.

The bank estimated that the degree of Asia’s trade integration is comparable to that of the European Union plus the United Kingdom.

Hong Kong University of Science and Technology Economics Associate Professor Yao Amber Li said geopolitical tensions also highlight the need for stronger integration.

“The second round of trade wars from Trump’s administration, I think, provides more incentive for Asian economies to build regional blocs and making deeper commitments to trade agreement,” she added.

The ADB noted the Philippine-South Korea free trade agreement that took effect in December as an example of the rise of preferential trade agreements in the region.

It also mentioned the Philippines as a major source of out-migrants from Asia and a major recipient of total remittances in 2024.

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas reported that money sent home by migrant Filipinos rose 2.9% to $2.92 billion in January. — Aubrey Rose A. Inosante

EDC to release downgraded export targets next month

ICTSI PHOTO

THE Export Development Council (EDC) said it is hoping to release downgraded targets for the Philippine Export Development Plan (PEDP) next month.

“We convened the EDC executive committee weeks ago, where we had presented our simulations, assumptions, and mitigating measures,” EDC Executive Director Bianca Pearl R. Sykimte said on the sidelines of the UK-Southeast Asia Tech Week in Manila.

“Unfortunately, we had a very long agenda, so we are soliciting comments from the executive committee members on the simulations. So, we cannot release the final figures yet,” she added.

She said that there were a lot of headwinds in the last few years, which the EDC thought should be considered in setting the new targets.

“Definitely, we are downgrading the target. It has to be approved by the council. I think by April, when we have comments from the committee, we will release some figures,” she said.

“But we will have to maintain our targets in the Philippine Development Plan (PDP), because that is our commitment,” she added.

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas reported exports of $106.99 billion in 2024, up 3.3%.

Under the PDP, the target is for total exports to hit $107 billion in 2024. The PEDP, on the other hand, projects $143.4 billion.

“We have reached the $50 billion mark for services exports. I think we will have to factor that in,” Ms. Sykimte said, noting that services exports have been driving overall export growth amid the “erratic or dwindling” performance of merchandise exports.

She said that the EDC is also considering the protectionist policies of US President Donald J. Trump in setting the new targets.

“Those are included in our considerations. But in terms of these US policies, we are quite confident that (the Philippines) will be the least of their worries in terms of reciprocal tariffs,” she said.

“I think we are 30th in terms of their sources of trade deficits,” she added.

Ms. Sykimte, who is also the Export Marketing Bureau Director, said the bureau is no longer focused on the usual contact services exports but on game development, animation, software development, and healthcare information management systems.

“In goods, semiconductors play a big role in our export strategy, but since our electronics sector is investment-driven we really need to work with our investment promotion agencies to attract investment in those value chains,” she added.

Aside from semiconductors, she said that the other big exports are machinery and transport equipment, minerals, coconut, and bananas. — Justine Irish D. Tabile

Former Camp John Hay concession holder backs rights of condominium owners, golf shareholders

PHILSTAR FILE PHOTO

CJH DEVELOPMENT Corp. (CJHDevCo) urged the Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) to respect the rights of condominium unit owners and golf shareholders.

“There are about 400 (condo owners), and zero have signed up with BCDA. Why is it zero? Because BCDA is not offering them anything. They just want to take over the condominiums and hotels,” according to Robert John L. Sobrepeña, who chairs CJHDevCo, which formerly managed the Camp John Hay complex.

Speaking at the Money Talks with Cathy Yang program on One News Channel, Mr. Sobrepeña said there are three categories of ownership in Camp John Hay: estate lot owners, condo owners, and golf share buyers.

CJHDevCo said that there were about 400 condotel owners, 160 estate lot owners, and 1,900 golf club members affected by the BCDA takeover of Camp John Hay.

“In terms of investors, we have 1,900 golf shareholders, none of whom were given their rights to play in the golf course with their Securities and Exchange Commission-approved shares,” Mr. Sobrepeña said.

“None of the 400 condominium owners has been renewed or offered any kind of deal, and out of the 160 homeowners, I believe they have offered to 80-90 homeowners,” he added.

On March 10, BCDA President and Chief Executive Officer Joshua M. Bingcang said the government-owned corporation has signed fresh contracts with 95% of the estate lot owners.

For the hotel unit owners, he said that the BCDA is still studying what arrangements to make.

“I think the position of BCDA is they are not offering anything to the condominium and hotel owners; they are not offering any playing privileges to those who invested in golf shares many, many years ago,” Mr. Sobrepeña said.

He said that the golf shareholders and hotel unit owners have written to President Ferdinand J. Marcos, Jr.

“He has been silent; he has not replied,” he said. “So for CJHDevCo is about to write the President another letter, and hope for better luck than the homeowners and golf members.”

He said that the company’s letter to the President will ask for the government to respect the rights of the third parties in light of the Camp John Hay takeover.

“All these third parties have invested and trusted the public-private partnership of the government in Camp John Hay. They came in when the government enticed them to come in,” he said.

“Now that they are in, their homes are being taken away without due process, and that is something that is really unacceptable to a lot of homeowners and investors,” he added.

The BCDA took over the Camp John Hay property after the Office of the Baguio City Sheriff served CJHDevCo a notice to vacate following a Supreme Court ruling. — Justine Irish D. Tabile

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