The issue caught the attention of stock market observers, who noticed that Emperador—the whisky and brandy liquor giant owned by Kevin Tan-led Alliance Global Group Inc.—may have fallen slightly below the 20 percent public float requirement.
This is significant because companies in the PSE Index, which includes Emperador, are required to maintain at least 20 percent public ownership.
Share price reaction
Concerns over the rule breach caused Emperador's shares to plunge nearly 8 percent to P11.26 each on Monday.
It recovered toward the end of the session and finished with a gain of 1.15 percent to P12.36 apiece.
What the PSE did
In a message to InsiderPH, PSE president Ramon Monzon said the issue appeared to be a typographical error.
But he said the Exchange still ordered Emperador and AGI to fully explain the discrepancy.
Monzon said Emperador’s public ownership report, or POR, lists AGI’s stake at 79.48 percent, which means the company remains in compliance.
The problem is AGI’s latest quarterly report to the PSE, which puts the parent firm’s ownership at 81 percent.
“We issued letters to both AGI and EMI requiring them to explain this discrepancy, and the reply of both is that EMI’s POR is the correct number and that AGI’s number is wrong,” Monzon said.
“We did not accept their statements at face value, and we asked AGI to provide us the details that caused the discrepancy of 1.52 percent between the two reports,” he added.
Miguel R. Camus has been a reporter covering various domestic business topics since 2009.
