Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Secretary Ramon Lopez has lauded real estate developer Haus Talk, Inc. for being the first small and medium enterprise (SME) to be publicly listed for this year.
Madlambayan family’s business Haus Talk conducted its initial public offering (IPO) on the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) yesterday.
In his statement during the PSE listing of Haus Talk, Lopez said public listing could help SMEs to expand their businesses by tapping more financial resources through IPO.
“May this IPO serve to inspire more MSMEs to aspire for scaling up like Haus Talk. May this also serve to amplify the signal that our capital market is healthy and ready to support the growth of our MSMEs,” he added.
Lopez also underscored Haus Talk’s move for an IPO in the midst of the pandemic.
“Haus Talk has taken (the) bold step of joining PSE’s hand-holding program, and the results will surely inspire other SMEs to take the road to IPO toward expansion, growth, and sustained impact on clients, employees, and other stakeholders,” the trade chief said.
While the government is pursuing the “Build, Build, Build” program, he encouraged the private sector, including SMEs, to push for more construction and infrastructure projects that will support the country’s economic recovery and job creation amid the ongoing pandemic.
“(W)e enjoin you do your own ‘Build, Build, Build’ expansion plans as these economic activities not only contribute to increasing access to housing, but these construction activities will surely generate a multiplier effect in terms of job generation,” he added.
The DTI chief likewise thanked PSE President Ramon Monzon for “demystifying the participation of MSMEs in PSE”, as this would help them tap the opportunities in the equities market and improve governance in their firms.*PNA
