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MANILA, Philippines — The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) sees 16 micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) potentially making a stock market debut as the regulator works to bring the capital market closer to small businesses.

SEC Chair Emilio Aquino on Tuesday said the commission was “still monitoring” these leads with the Philippine Stock Exchange.

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“We continue to see increasing interest in the different capital market-based products and services among our MSMEs,” Aquino said during the last day of the regulator’s two-year Roadshow on Capital Formation for MSMEs and Startups in Makati City.

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Apart from the potential initial public offerings (IPO), the SEC likewise saw 358 companies eyeing to crowdfund, or initiate fundraising for specific projects.

READ: PH gov’t’s recognition of MSMEs essential to their growth – Concepcion

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According to the corporate watchdog, 371 companies have tapped crowdfunding intermediaries for 1,212 projects since its capital formation campaign was launched in 2023.

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At the same time, MSMEs were able to raise P2.24 billion in capital.

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“The SEC sees the need for more financing instruments to be made available to our MSMEs who continue to face credit constraints,” Aquino said.

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“As overseer and regulator of the corporate sector and the capital market, we aim to create opportunities for businesses to realize their growth potential by availing of the limitless benefits of turning to the capital market for their capital needs,” he added.

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MSMEs still comprise a significant chunk of the country’s enterprises.

Data from the Philippine Statistics Authority show that as of 2023, there were 1.25 million business enterprises operating in the country.

Of this number, 99.63 percent, or 1.24 million, are MSMEs, while only 0.37 percent, or 4,640, are large enterprises.

The SEC visited 21 key cities nationwide during its two-year capital market roadshow, with over 3,000 on-site participants and 60,000 online attendees.

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Preliminary data from the BSP showed that net income rose to P95.2 billion as of end-July, up by 414 percent from the P18.5 billion in the same period last year.

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This comes after the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development found in its Philippine Capital Market Review that the country was lagging behind its Southeast Asian peers in terms of capital market development because of long processes and loose enforcement of government policies.

For its partlakers88, the SEC said it had already started cutting some of its processes and revised requirements to encourage companies to list.

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