NEXTASIA LAND is preparing for a potential initial public offering (IPO) as it undertakes pre-listing work under a Philippine Stock Exchange, Inc. (PSE) program designed to help companies get ready for the public market, according to its top official.

“We’ve been doing the PSE handholding program since two years ago. But since the market is bad lately, we haven’t done it yet. But it’s in the pipeline to do an IPO,” NEXTASIA Land President and Chief Operating Officer Dustin Y. Carreon told BusinessWorld in an interview on Sept. 1.

Mr. Carreon said the developer has been undergoing pre-listing preparations for about two years.

The PSE has been preparing potential issuers through initiatives such as its Listing Engagement and Assistance Program (LEAP), which provides advisory sessions, pre-listing assessments, and access to advisers at no cost to participating companies. The program forms part of the exchange’s broader effort to rebuild its IPO pipeline after several years of thin listing activity.

In July, PSE President and Chief Executive Officer Ramon S. Monzon said four companies under the program could be ready to pursue IPOs next year.

“We have four there that we have been meeting regularly, and I think they’re ready and prepared to do an IPO next year,” Mr. Monzon said at a media briefing.

It was not immediately clear whether NEXTASIA Land is among the four companies cited by Mr. Monzon.

Alongside its listing preparations, the developer has secured institutional financing to support its expansion.

NEXTASIA Land recently obtained a P982.81-million development loan facility from Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) to fund residential projects in Laguna and Batangas.

The five-year facility will support construction of the Estonia community in Calamba, Laguna, and the Florence community in Lipa, Batangas.

The two projects carry a combined development cost of about P1.94 billion and are expected to deliver 1,425 housing units.

The financing follows NEXTASIA Land’s first debt capital market issuance, a P300-million unsecured corporate note facility arranged and bookbuilt by BPI Capital Corp.

Together, the two transactions provide the developer with more than P1.28 billion in committed institutional and development financing.

“This development facility is a significant step in the next phase of NEXTASIA’s growth. It gives us the capacity to accelerate project execution while preserving a disciplined and sustainable capital structure,” Mr. Carreon said.

NEXTASIA Land develops affordable horizontal residential communities across Southern Luzon, targeting the mass-market segment with homes priced between P1.6 million and P2.5 million. Its developments feature solar-powered streetlights, provisions for future electric vehicle (EV) charging facilities, and partnerships with telecommunications providers such as Converge ICT Solutions, Inc. for broadband deployment. The company’s focus on affordable housing positions it within a segment long identified by government and industry studies as facing a substantial supply shortfall in the Philippines, where demand for low-cost homes has persistently outpaced construction.

— Juliana Chloe A. Gonzales