NOT enough. Riva Khristine Maala, assistant corporate secretary of Export and Industry Bank, sent the following letter, dated August 19, 2008, to the Philippine Stock Exchange: “Further to our disclosure last  August 14, 2008, please be advised that the bank’s annual report and financial statements for the period ending  December  31, 20007, as well its Securities and Exchange Commission [SEC] Form 17-Q report for the period ended  March 31, 2008, have still not been finalized. Since the Bank’s SEC Form 17-Q for the period ended  June 30, 2008, will require its First Quarter Report having been released beforehand, the Second Quarter Reports shall be submitted within five days from the date of submission thereof.” Is this how a bank with 18 directors including the chairman and his wife, comply with the reportorial rules of the SEC? Maala made the same explanation for the continued violation by EIB Realty, a subsidiary of Export Bank, of the full disclosure rule.

n  More questions. Maala’s filing is self-explanatory but is not informative as far as the public investors are concerned because it seems it was intended only to tell regulators of the bank’s inability to submit the required reports in compliance with the regulatory reportorial requirements. In its filing, Export Bank did not tell its small stockholders when it will file its audited financial statements for 2007, which it should have done in April. It simply told regulators that it has not “finalized” yet the report. What is taking the bank too long to “finalize” the report? How about the filing of the bank’s second quarter report “within five days” after it shall have filed its first quarter report? When does the counting “within five days” begin?

n Corporate battle. ATN Holdings Inc. has two boards elected on August14, 2008. One is headed by Arsenio Ng but was “ousted” in a separate election by the group of Renato Reyes. The group headed by Reyes group walked out after Ng, who chaired the meeting, refused to recognize his group’s nominees to the 11-member board. Ng’s group went on with the meeting and elected—along with him—Hilario Ng, Eric Rodriguez, Chee Chong Cheah, Bonifacio Choa, Hyland Si and Santos Cejoco. Reyes and his allies also held their own meeting and elected seven directors: Reyes, chairman and president;  Antonio Victoriano Gregorio III, corporate secretary and chief information officer; Leopoldo Veroy and Richard Palou, independent directors; Chi Ho Co; Jose Crisostomo; Ramon Abad, treasurer.

n  ATN ownership profile. With the fight for control of the board of ATN Holdings Inc. now brewing, Duediligencer is giving the public a view of the company’s ownership profile based on filings. As of June 30, 2008, ATN Holdings has authorized capital stock of 200 million shares divided into 120 million common A shares and 80 million common B shares.  A definitive information statement lists only four record stockholders holding 60.34 percent. Arsenio Ng tops the list as the record owner of 40.406 million shares, or 20.20 percent. As record stockholders, Guild Securities Inc. holds 2.271 million common A shares and 28.86 million common B shares, or 15.56 percent; Jaka Securities Corp., 8.434 million common A shares and 16.634 million common B shares, or 12.53 percent; and Abacus Securities Corp., 14.984 million common A shares and 9.14 million common B shares, or 12.06 percent. (The computation is based on 200 million outstanding common shares.)

n  Reyes bloc. Something is missing from the stockholders’ list sent by ATN Holdings to its stockholders for the company’s annual meeting on August 14, 2008. In their own filing, which they sent directly to the PSE, which was not posted among the disclosures of ATN Holdings, the group of Reyes claimed to own “approximately 52 percent” as of January 2008. It lists Reyes as owner of 47.748 million shares, or 23.874 percent of 200 million outstanding shares. These holdings, which are not enough to take the majority in the board unless Reyes’s allies have more shares to show, consist of 14.325 million common A shares, or 11.9375 percent of 120 million outstanding common A shares, or 7.1625 percent of 200 million outstanding common and 33.423 million common B shares, or 41.779 percent of 80 million outstanding common B shares, or 16.7115 percent of 200 million outstanding shares. Reyes is also a big investor in another listed company. He holds 5.758 million common shares, or 15.4 percent, in Lodestar Holdings Corp.

METRO Pacific Investments Corp. (MPIC) is considering the possibility of widening the public’s ownership in First Philippine Infrastructure, Inc. (FPII), a listed company it recently purchased from the Lopez group.

IT demands becoming more challenging in recent times

CHIANG Mai, Thailand—Working as an information technology (IT) specialist now demands evolution and adaptability that is as unprece-dented as it is challenging, experts said at the IBM Asean Service Management Summit that opened in this city Monday.

RP-made auto parts play big role in Mitsubishi plant

LAEM Chabang, Thailand—A Mitsubishi-owned car parts supplier based in Canlubang, Laguna is playing a major role in the Japanese car maker’s pickup and SUV exports.

LG relaunches brand,  looks at ‘premium market’

SOUTH Korean-owned LG Electronics will tap the “premium-seeker” market in the country as it sets to increase sales by 30 percent next year.

IPVG  to slow down on buying spree

LISTED IPVG Corp. plans to rein in its spending spree as its chief executive said weakening consumer markets may impact on fundraising.

Smart sees increased  usage of 3G services

SMART Communications Inc. has observed an increase in 3G (third-generation) service transactions since the start of the year and even expects usage to further surge with as it offers merged messaging packages.

Due Diligencer