The Philippine Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has called on financial executives to introduce more domestic companies to the capital market earlier in their growth, as the country continues to trail its regional peers in the number of listed firms and has yet to record an initial public offering (IPO) this year.

SEC Chairperson Francisco Ed. Lim said members of the Financial Executives Institute of the Philippines (FINEX), who advise companies on financing decisions, could help businesses weigh the capital market before they grow large enough to pursue an IPO.

"So bring the capital market into those rooms. Start the conversation early," Mr. Lim said in a speech before FINEX on Wednesday.

"Help our entrepreneurs see the capital market not as a distant destination, but as a platform they can grow into," he added.

Regional Listings Gap

The Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) had 279 listed companies as of Aug. 31, according to figures presented by Mr. Lim. That compares with 405 listed firms in Vietnam, 604 in Singapore, 867 in Thailand, and 2 in Indonesia.

The Philippines had likewise recorded no IPOs as of September, while the four other Southeast Asian markets logged between three and 43 new listings.

The comparison frames the SEC's appeal as a pipeline issue: expanding the number of companies that consider public-market financing is central to addressing the listings gap, alongside retaining existing listed firms.

Mr. Lim said the shortage of new entrants, rather than delistings alone, is the more fundamental issue facing the Philippine stock market.

"Since 2023, delistings have also outpaced new listings. But let us put that in perspective. Delisting is not uniquely a Philippine problem," he said.

"In 2025, the percentage of PSE-listed companies that delisted was actually lower than at the other four ASEAN exchanges we reviewed. So the deeper problem is not simply that companies are leaving. It is that too few new companies are coming in," he added.

Untapped Corporate Base

Mr. Lim said the Philippines holds a large pool of companies that could eventually tap the capital market, citing more than 200,000 microenterprises, 100,000 small corporations, 42,000 medium-sized companies, and nearly 8,000 large corporations, based on authorized capital stock.

FINEX members, he noted, are positioned to introduce businesses to capital-market financing because they advise company executives on funding decisions.

"I am not here simply to report what the SEC has done. I am here to challenge FINEX to help lead what needs to be done," Mr. Lim said.

"The PSE and Philippine Dealing & Exchange Corp. (PDEx) will do their part in strengthening the market. But the government and the exchanges cannot do this alone," he added.

"The SEC can open the doors. The PSE and PDEx can strengthen the market. FINEX can help more companies walk through those doors — and help them see why they should stay."

Regulatory Reforms Underway

The SEC has been pursuing changes to securities registration and shelf registration, as well as rules involving real estate investment trusts (REITs), Personal Equity and Retirement Accounts (PERA), and public ownership.

Mr. Lim said the measures are intended to make the capital market more accessible to companies and to provide enough value for listed firms to remain public.

"Our goal is not to keep every company listed. Our goal is to make staying listed worthwhile," he said.

SEC Clears Arthaland Rental-Pool Program

Meanwhile, the SEC has approved Arthaland Corp.'s rental pool program under its Securing and Expanding Capital in Real Estate Non-Traditional Securities (SEC RENT) framework and a direct public offering by Allied Care Experts (ACE) Medical Center-Pateros, Inc.

In separate statements on Wednesday, the corporate regulator said its commission en banc approved both registration statements at its Sept. 15 meeting, subject to compliance with remaining requirements.

For Arthaland, the SEC approved the registration of 166 consolidated leasing agreements under the company's Consolidated Leasing Solution (CLS) Program. The agreements cover 142 units in a Cebu City property and 24 units in a Taguig City development.

Under the CLS Program, participating commercial units on designated floors are grouped into a rental pool and offered to tenants as a single leasable space. Arthaland acts as the exclusive leasing agent, while participating unit owners receive a pro-rata share of net rental income.

The registration falls under SEC RENT, a framework covering securities involving rental-pool arrangements. Under the framework, property buyers place their units in a rental pool managed by a developer or operator and receive a share of the income generated from leasing the properties.

ACE Pateros Direct Public Offering

Separately, the SEC approved ACE Pateros' registration statement covering a direct public offering of 15,000 common shares at P1,000 each, for a total offer size of P15 million.

The shares will be offered in 1,500 blocks of 10 shares each, with a minimum subscription of one block.

ACE Pateros expects net proceeds of about P14.28 million, part of which it plans to use to purchase medical equipment in the fourth quarter.

The offering will be available to medical specialists and their relatives, as well as the general public. The shares will be traded over the counter through the hospital's internal staff on a first-come, first-served basis.

ACE Pateros filed the offering under the SEC's Securing and Expanding Capital for Hospital Entrepreneurs (SEC HOPES) program, which provides a streamlined registration process for public offerings intended to finance hospital projects.

— Alexandria Grace C. Magno

Source: BusinessWorld