WE would like to think that the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is not only good at warning the public against unregistered business entities doing business in the country, especially those based abroad.
These reminders to the public are all very good, but what about the scams perpetrated in the Philippine Stock Exchange by listed companies like Abra Mining ($:AR)?
What happened to the months-long investigation by the SEC on this scandal that caused millions of pesos of unwary investors and retail traders to be frozen since the brazen cheating of selling non-existing shares to the public was uncovered and the stock suspended on March 3, 2021?
In Investagrams, a participant called Crypto posted yesterday, "$PSE:AR -- pa-Tulfo na yan, tiyak gagalaw mga yan."
This is a sign of the public's exasperation on the issue of Abra Mining.
Also, what happened to the promised stock dividends by Italpinas Development Inc. ($:IDC) that were approved by the Board on Sept. 25, 2020?
On Jan. 22, 2021, the IDC announced that this stock dividends will be 195,383,419 shares, or 45 percent.
On Aug. 3, 2021, IDC said its increase in capital stock is still pending with the SEC, so it cannot yet issue the stock dividends.
IDC explained thus: "We wish to update the stockholders of the Company that the application for the amendment of the Articles of Incorporation of the Company for the increase in authorized capital stock of Italpinas Development Corp. is still pending with the Securities and Exchange Commission.Considering that the stock dividends will be issued from such increase in capital stock, the Company may only issue the dividends after the SEC has determined the record date and has approved the aforesaid application."
Note that many shareholders were "naipit" when they bought into $:IDC in November last year when it was trading at 3.70 and also last January when it revisited the same price range, and held on to the stock waiting for the dividends that did not materialize. $:IDC is now just worth 1.94 a piece.
The firm Synergy Grid & Development Phils. ($:SGP) has the same problem with the SEC, this time about its suspension.
We don't know if it is the IDC, Abra Mining, Synergy Grid or the SEC and the PSE that should be blamed -- or all of them -- but the undue delays and "kapalpakan" have caused the freezing of millions of pesos worth of investments from the public, and millions more of opportunities lost.
Perhaps the $:AR issue will be resolved and the dividends of $:IDC will finally be given during the 10th wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, in the time of the Omega variant!
Feedback is welcome from non-readers at ports.reports@gmail.com.