PSE okays DITO CME’s P4.2-B share sale

The Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) has approved the P4.2-billion follow-on offering of DITO CME Holdings Corp., which would allow the telecommunications industry challenger to raise funds for expansion.

In a notice on Thursday, the PSE said the offer covered 1.95 billion primary common shares at up to P2.15 apiece. The final offer price will be set on Monday.

DITO, led by Davao-based businessman Dennis Uy, will offer the shares from Sept. 26 to Oct. 2, with a tentative listing on Oct. 10.

The company was supposed to do an P8-billion stock rights offering two years ago, but it had to cancel due to weak demand from investors.

DITO, which is still working to plug the bleeding in its balance sheet, plans to secure up to P40.26 billion in fresh funding through private placements until 2028.

In a related development, DITO Telecommunications (DITO Tel) had passed the National Telecommunications Commission’s (NTC) fifth technical audit, a must since securing a franchise in 2019 to become the country’s third telco player.

Favored in tourist destinations

In a Sept. 17 letter to the company, the NTC said DITO Tel recorded a national population coverage of 86.30 percent, exceeding the 84.01-percent requirement.

As for the minimum average broadband speed, DITO Tel registered 92.87 megabits per second (Mbps) and 597.70 Mbps for its 4G and 5G sites, respectively. Both are above the company’s 55-Mbps commitment.

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DITO Tel recently emerged as the favored mobile network provider in the country’s top tourist destinations, besting giants Smart Communications and Globe Telecom in most categories.

Analytics firm OpenSignal found in a study that DITO Tel came in first in terms of download speed, upload speed, video, availability, consistent quality and reliability.

In the first half of the year, DITO’s net loss ballooned by nearly ninefold to P28.18 billion from P3.43 billion a year ago as expenses swelled.

Revenues, meanwhile, surged by 54 percent to P7.66 billion, driven mainly by DITO Tel.