SOFTWARE developer and marketer Ripple E-Business International Inc. is pursuing its plan to list in the local stock exchange via an initial public offering (IPO) this year despite volatile market conditions that have caused several firms to postpone similar activities.

Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) documents made available on Friday show that Ripple intends to raise a total of P20 million from the listing of 4.58 million new common shares carrying an offer price of P4.37 each. The SEC approved the request on July 7 and the firm is awaiting clearance from the Philippine Stock Exchange for the application filed on April 7 this year.

The number of shares to be listed will represent almost 30 percent of Ripple’s total issued and outstanding shares. Meanwhile, Asian Alliance Investment Corp. will act as the issue manager and underwriter of the sale.

Ripple is the developer of Barter Merchandise Management Solution, a software application targeted to those in the retail business. The firm is also the authorized reseller of ReadSoft, a cost-saving software said to minimize the manual handling of paperwork.

About P9 million of the net proceeds to be generated from the IPO will be spent on research and development of the Barter software as well as for the hiring of additional programmers and consultants. About P7.55 million will be spent on marketing Barter which is targeted for pharmaceutical and distribution companies. The balance of P1.2 million will be used for working capital requirements. Ripple said the funds will be spent within 18 months of its listing.

Due to the volatility of local stock prices owing to conditions brought about by the financial crisis, many firms have decided to shelve IPO plans, with others opting instead to list by way of introduction, an alternative method considered less risky since no funds are actually raised.

Software firms are said to be slightly more resilient to the crisis,  “particularly  now that a recovery in the global economy may be on the horizon,” said an analyst who specializes in technology companies who requested not to be identified.

The industry is targeting $1 billion in revenues next year, which will mostly be derived from exports, said the Philippine Software Industry Association.

Last year, Ripple reported a profit of P1.64 million or 53 percent growth over 2007. Revenues grew by almost 30 percent to P30.75 million in 2008 from the previous year.

Ripple was incorporated in 2000 by partners Victor T. Javier and Hubert C. Dy. The company’s original business was to provide software development and implementation services to clients on a project basis.