At a signing ceremony held last February 8 at the UnionBank Plaza in Pasig City, Union Bank of the Philippines (UnionBank), UnionBank GlobalLinker, and AB Capital & Investment Corporation (AB Capital) teamed up to promote financial literacy focused on financial market education for Filipino micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs).
Through the partnership, Filipino MSMEs will be given access to various resources designed to equip them with knowledge on initial public offerings (IPOs) and other topics related to becoming publicly listed. With the increased opportunities for business and growth, MSMEs can be prepared to transition from medium companies to become larger ones.
“We are excited about this partnership with UnionBank, with which we share a common goal of promoting financial inclusion,” said AB Capital Executive Chairman Antonio Jose Periquet Jr. “The capital markets, after all, should not be the exclusive domain of large corporations. They should be open to all entrepreneurs who meet the criteria of the investing public and regulatory authorities.”
“The idea came when we thought, ‘why don’t we partner with an investment house and bring something different in terms of equities, IPO learning, IPO services, etc. to our clients who are growing from a medium size to a large corporation?’ And that will differentiate UnionBank’s offers from other traditional banks,” said UnionBank SME and Micropreneurs Segment Head Jaypee Soliman. “And it’s not just for the medium and the large, but the small ones can also participate so they can understand how they can get to a point that they can be considered a large corporate.”
The move is aligned with the goal of UnionBank to promote inclusive prosperity in the country. By highlighting the advantages of becoming publicly listed through activities that are accessible to businesses of all sizes, UnionBank helps demystify misconceptions about IPOs and make going public easier for MSMEs.
“I’m very excited that we are going to be the first to have something like this. This is very interesting and we’ll definitely benefit the whole community of MSMEs,” Soliman said.
With the partnership now official, UnionBank, UnionBank GlobalLinker, and AB Capital are now preparing to roll out its first batch of activities in line with the partnership, beginning with a webinar to be co-hosted by the Philippine Stock Exchange this coming March 1, which aims to “strengthen the awareness of MSMEs on IPO listing as a viable capital raising platform to spur business growth.”