By Paolo Luis G. Montecillo
http://business.inquirer.net/money/topstories/view/20100729-283921/IPVG-to-list-second-unit
July 30, 2010 - Friday

LOCAL TECHNOLOGY firm IPVG Corp. is listing on the exchange another subsidiary this year in line with the company’s strategy to grow its businesses without putting too much strain on the parent firm’s finances.

In a disclosure on Wednesday, IPVG said its board “approved the plan of its subsidiary, IP Converge Data Center Inc., to register and list its shares with the Securities and Exchange Commission and Philippine Stock Exchange, subject to terms and conditions as the subsidiary may deem favorable to the corporation.”

IP Converge is engaged in providing data storage services to local companies in industries like telecommunications and finance.

The company did not say whether IP Converge would mount an initial public offering (IPO) or list by way of introduction—the method chosen by its sister firm IP e-Games, which went public in February.

IP e-Games has scheduled its IPO for the first quarter of next year, with plans to raise about P500 million to fund expansion activities.

IP e-Games is also planning a stock rights offering to further beef up its cash reserves.

Last week, IPVG president Jaime Enrique Gonzales Jr. said instead of the parent firm raising cash for its subsidiaries, the group had decided to list the unit on the exchange so they can do their own fund-raising activities.

 

By Zinnia dela Pena
Philippine Star – Business, page B6
http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=597905&publicationSubCategoryId=66
July 30, 2010 - Friday

MANILA, Philippines - Technology and gaming conglomerate IPVG Corp. is planning to take another unit, IP Converge Data Center Inc., public.

IP Converge is an IT and telecommunications company providing a wide array of managed data services and IT solutions to enterprises, institutions and other service providers including Internet data center services, dedicated Internet connectivity, network security, VOIP, and other IT solutions and applications.

Business World – Corporate News, Briefs, S1/7
http://www.bworldonline.com/main/content.php?id=15043
July 30, 2010 - Friday

I-Pay Commerce Ventures, Inc., a unit of listed IPVG Corp., has entered into an agreement with Canada-based Western Union Co. for money transfer services. “Under the International Representation Agreement, Western Union has agreed for I-Pay Commerce to offer in the Philippines the Western Union-branded money transfer services. The IPVG Corp. subsidiary initially plans to offer the services in 200 locations nationwide by the end of the year,” IPVG said in a disclosure. I-Pay Commerce will open another 300 locations by the end of 2011 and 500 by the end of 2012. I-Pay Commerce, the payment and remittance services subsidiary of the group, is certified by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas as a remittance agent “to provide value-added payment transactions to various partners locally and abroad.” Western Union’s payment and remittance services covers a combined network of more than 420,000 agent locations in 200 countries and territories. It has a total of 6,800 remittance agents in all over the Philippines.

Business Mirror – Companies, page B1
July 30, 2010 – Friday

Western Union has signed IPVG Corp subsidiary i-Pay Commerce Ventures Inc. (i-PCV), a back-end electronics payments provider for store and online businesses, as its newest agent to offer Western Union money transfer services.

GMANews.TV
http://www.gmanews.tv/story/197294/ipvg-to-list-subsidiary-ip-converge
July 29, 2010 - Thursday

Technology firm IPVG Corp. will soon list its subsidiary, IP Converge Data Center Inc., on the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE).

IPVG told the PSE late Wednesday that its board approved the plan of IP Converge to list its shares on the PSE.

IPVG president Jaime Enrique Gonzales Jr. said IPVG would list the unit on the PSE so that it can make its own fund-raising activities.

IP Converge is engaged in providing data storage services to local companies in industries like telecommunications and finance.

IP E-Games has scheduled its IPO for the first quarter of next year, with plans to raise around P500 million to fund expansion activities. It also plans a stock rights offering to beef up its cash reserves.

In the same regulatory filing, IPVG announced a tie-up with global money transfer giant Western Union for a local remittance service.

"Under the agreement, Western Union has agreed to let IPVG subsidiary IP Commerce Ventures Inc. (IPCV) to offer in the Philippines Western Union-branded money transfer services," IPVG noted.

IPCV is the payment and remittance services subsidiary of IPVG. —JE, GMANews.TV

Philippine Star – Business, page B27
July 28, 2010 – Wednesday

By Jennifer B. Austria
Manila Standard Today- Business, page A10
July 27, 2010- Tuesday

IP E-GAME Ventures, Inc., the online gaming subsidiary of listed technology conglomerate IPVG Corp., plans to raise as much as P500 million from an initial public offering slated early next year.

IP E-Game president Enrique Gonzalez told reporters following the annual stockholders’ meeting that the company approved the proposed increase in the authorized capital stock to 300 million from 100 million in preparation for the IPO in the first quarter of 2011 and stock rights offering by the fourth quarter of this year.

Gonzalez said the company tapped ATK Kim Eng Securities as underwriter and financial adviser for the offering.

The company in September last year signed a $10-million equity deal with GEM Global Yield Fund Ltd. that allowed the fund to purchase up to $10 million woth of E-Games shares.

By Danessa O. Rivera
The Daily Tribune- Business, page 8
July 27, 2010- Tuesday

Listed IP e-Game Ventures Inc. plans a stock rights offering in the fourth quarter and an initial public offering (IPO) by the first quarter of next year, IP E-Game Ventures Inc. president Enrique Gonzalez said.  ATR Kim-Eng will be the underwriter and financial adviser of the company for both undertaking, Gonzalez added.
 
The firm’s stockholders approved yesterday the rights offering and IPO during its annual meeting wherein the board of directors approved the negotiations for a standby debt financing,

“Markets have done quite well and that’s why we believe we’ll have a successful offering.” Gonzalez said.

He added that the company still has not come to final terms as they have dedicated the final decision to the ex-com.  However, he said the plans to raise would be approximately in the P500 million range.

Proceeds of IPO will be spent in launching new titles both in massive multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPG) and casual games which  will accommodate locally deployed and social networking games; in plans in entering game outsourcing phase (game BPO), studio development and game outsourcing, wherein some developments would be done and support functions will be provided for foreign game publishers; and in improving current infrastructure in the Philippines.

To accommodate the stock rights offering and the IPO, IPVG will also increase in authorized capital stocks to P350 million shares from P100 million shares.

In the first quarter, Gonzalez said the company turned profits with net revenues of P42 million and a bottom line in P1.1 billion after tax.  He also said the second half is “where you make money” as consumers spending becomes strong with their new product roll outs.  IP E-Game joined the stock exchange via introduction last February.

Meanwhile, IP E-Games parent company IPVG Corp. plans to list one more subsidiary by the end of 2010 or early 2011.  Gonzalez said the company focuses on growing its subsidiaries and enabling them to have better market to expand aggressively.

http://www.gmanews.tv/story/197039/ip-e-game-to-raise-p500m-in-initial-public-offering
July 27, 2010 - Tuesday

IP E-Game Ventures Inc., the online gaming subsidiary of listed technology conglomerate IPVG Corp., is planning to raise P500 million in an initial public offering early next year.

Enrique Gonzalez, IP E-Game president, said in an interview following the company`s annual stockholders meeting that the company has approved the proposed increase in the authorized capital stock to 300 million from 100 million.

This is in preparation for the public offering for the first quarter of 2011 and the stock rights offering by the fourth quarter of this year.

Gonzalez said the company has hired ATK Kim Eng Securities to underwrite and give IP E-Game financial advice on the offering.

In February, IP E-Game Ventures was listed by way of introduction on the stock exchange without having its shares traded on the floor. In September 2009, the company signed a $10-million deal with London-based GEM Global Yield Fund Ltd.

Under the agreement, IP E-Game would let GEM Global buy up to $10 million (P500 million) worth of IP E-Game shares.

The proceeds will be used for IP E-Game`s future business activities and engagements.

IP E-Game was organized in November 2005 to engage in the business of interactive gaming and content distribution. As of June 30, 2009, IP E-Game has 10 million gamers registered in the country. —JE/VS, GMANEws.TV

Business World – Corporate News, Briefs, S1/7
http://www.bworldonline.com/main/content.php?id=14811
July 27, 2010 - Tuesday

Listed online game publisher IP E-Games Ventures Inc. approved yesterday an increase in its authorized capital stock in preparation for its initial public offering (IPO) in the first quarter of next year. Enrique Y. Gonzales, president and chief operating officer of IP E-Games’ parent IPVG Corp., told reporters: “We target to raise an estimated P500 million for the initial public offering while [there will be a stock] rights offering in the last quarter of this year.” IP E-Games became a public company in February when it listed 33.5 million shares by way of introduction. “IP E-Games is a growing subsidiary of its parent firm IPVG. We plan to secure a better position in the market and expand aggressively. We also plan to publicly list another subsidiary by this year or early next year but we will make the formal announcement on Wednesday,” Mr. Gonzales said. Funds to be raised from the IPO will be used to launch to new casual gaming titles, he said.

By: Krista Angela M. Montealegre
Manila Times – Business, B2
http://manilatimes.net/index.php/business-columns/22357-ip-e-games-programs-capital-hike
July 27, 2010 - Tuesday

IP E-Games Ventures Inc. plans to sell its shares to the public in the first quarter of next year, after its existing owners approved an increase in its authorized capital stock. The shareholders of the online game publisher approved an increase in its capital stock from 100 million to 350 million shares in preparation for its maiden share sale, which is expected to raise P500 million.

“The market has done quite well which is good that’s why we believe we will have a successful offering,” said Jaime Enrique Gonzalez, IP E-Games president and chief executive officer, on the sidelines of the firm’s annual stockholders’ meeting.

Business Insight Malaya – Business, A2
http://www.malaya.com.ph/07272010/busi8.html
July 27, 2010 – Tuesday

Leading online gaming publisher IP-E Game Venture Inc. (IP E-Games) yesterday said it will go public in the first quarter of 2011 to raise P500 million to fund the launch of new game titles and venture into games outsourcing business.

In a press briefing, Enrique Y. Gonzales, IP E-games chief executive officer (CEO), told reporters that the company’s board has approved the increase of authorized capital stock from P100 million to P300 million for the planned IPO in the first quarter of 2011.

By: Miguel R. Camus
Business Mirror – Companies, B2
July 27, 2010 – Tuesday

Online gaming company IP E-Game Ventures Inc. expects to hold its initial public offering (IPO) in the first quarter of 2011, where it expects to raise about P500-million to fund new titles launches and its diversification into gaming business process outsourcing (BPO) sector.

In an interview following IP E-Game’s stockholders’ meeting on Monday, company president and chief executive officer Enrique Y. Gonzales said the company is tapping ATR KimEng Capital Partners Inc. as financial adviser and underwriter for the public listing.

BY: CANDICE MONTENEGRO, GMANews.TV
http://www.gmanews.tv/story/196617/band-master-brings-out-the-rock-star-in-you
July 22, 2010 - Thursday

Inside every music-loving Pinoy is a rock star dying to come out.

It doesn`t take much for a wannabe to release the pent-up music energy inside: strum an invisible guitar, play a few chords on an imaginary piano, or use a pair of chopsticks on the drums.

But not every Pinoy can rise as a rock god or a rock goddess. Thank God, there`s Band Master.

Band Master is the latest online music game that lets you unleash the rock star in you. All you need is a few hours to spare and a trusty PC that has at least 512 MB of RAM so it won’t go bust when you start to bust some moves. A caveat though, the game is highly addictive.

With many game options and modes to choose from, Band Master can keep you busy for hours! You don`t have to be a musical genius to get the game. Even tone-deaf players can play!

Finger dexterity, a fair amount of imagination and a whole lot of passion for music are all it takes to win the game. Band Master lets you unleash your inner rock star. That means no need for chopsticks to rock!

By Enrique Y. Gonzalez
Philippine Star – Business Life, page  H3
http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=594476&publicationSubCategoryId=82
July 19, 2010 – Monday

For most entrepreneurs, the search for capital can sometimes be a mix of a witch-hunt and searching for Yamashita’s treasure. A bit of a goose chase and loads of calculated behavior. The treasure hunter is the entrepreneur who is not part of a larger conglomerate, is not publicly listed, and runs a small- or medium-sized enterprise (SME). Without the backing of a large company with a strong balance sheet, or access to capital markets, most SMEs can find themselves stuck. Breakups may be hard, but rejection is usually what adds character to a person. The same can be said about the conservative bank’s rigorous credit process. It does not fit the borrowing profiles of SMEs and the lack of a venture capital market in the Philippines leave little option for SMEs to raise equity financing. Once rejected, the entrepreneur can either go to the valley of Forget It or to the highway of Let’s Go Get It.

For most entrepreneurs, the chances of selling ice to the Eskimos may well be higher than getting a prospective investor to write that check. Check out Dragons Den, a reality TV show that features the trials and tribulations start-up entrepreneurs face raising money. While it can indeed be a painful process, it is also a deeply rewarding one if you are successful. As the adage goes: No pain, no gain.

http://www.pinoygamingworld.co.cc/2010/07/dragonica-ph-closed-beta-starts-on-july.html
July 16, 2010 – Friday

IP e-Games is proud to announce that Dragonica, its newest Casual MMORPG, will start its CBT phase this July 19!

Expect a completely different Dragonica!

To those who’ve registered early for the CBT, you will get your Dragonica Slayer Pack on or before the CBT period! And for those who haven’t signed up, you can still do so and you might even be one of the 10,000 who will get the exclusive Dragonica boxed set!

You can also download the CBT client at the IP e-Games portal. Go to portal.e-games.com.ph/downloads/.

By Miguel Camus
Business mirror – Companies, page B1
http://www.businessmirror.com.ph/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=27227:ip-e-games-sets-ipo-in-february&catid=24:companies&Itemid=59
July 5, 2010 – Monday

Online gaming company IP e-Game Ventures Inc., which joined the stock exchange via introduction last February, is looking to generate additional funds via a stock rights offer and debt financing alongside its mandated initial public offering (IPO).

IP e-Games told the local stock exchange on Friday that it will engage the services of a financial adviser or underwriter for the planned financing activities.

“In order to finance the corporation’s various projects and operations, the board approved the proposal for share rights offering to be made prior to the corporation’s IPO,” IP e-Games said last week.

“The board approved [on Friday] to authorize the president to negotiate for a standby debt financing for potential acquisitions by the corporation,” it added.

The company also approved a plan to hold an IPO “on or before” its listing anniversary on February 17. The move was likewise supported through an increase in its authorized capital stock to 350 million shares, from 100 million.

Enrique Y. Gonzalez, president of both IP e-Games and its parent company IPVG Corp., said the company has “not yet” finalized its details such as offer size and target date for the IPO. He declined to name the company’s financial adviser.

IP e-Games listed a total of 33.54 million common shares on the second board of the exchange.

At present, IP e-Games is one of the leading online game publishers in the country. Its online gaming portfolio includes Cabal Online, RAN Online and Audition Dance Battle. The firm has commercially launched six massively multiplayer online role-playing games and three casual games in the Philippine market.

By: Paolo Montecillo
Philippine Daily Inquirer – Business B8
July 5, 2010 – Monday

Philippine Star – Business, page B5
July 5, 2010 – Monday

By Enrique Y. Gonzalez
Philippine Star – Business Life, page G4
http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=590401&publicationSubCategoryId=82
July 5, 2010 – Monday

The world evolves and so do you. There will be that Newton “Aha!” moment that will inspire you to move on to bigger and better things. Like Newton’s apple, and today, Steve Job’s Apple. Change is one of my favorite challenges, but as someone who has done it more than once, I advise that you don’t jump in blindly.

Starting a new business in any industry is always tricky. For one, existing industries have incumbents that compete with one another. Competition is good; it keeps everyone on their toes. However, if you are in the thick of it, it’s hard to see its beauty in the world of business. These competitive forces make it difficult for existing players, and even more difficult for new entrants. Existing players develop cozy relationships with distributors and retailers. They also invest a tremendous part of their budgets in advertising and marketing to stay top-of-mind among consumers. They have player money, what can I say? For some regulated industries, regulators make it difficult for new entrants. These all serve as “barriers to entry” or Rottweilers for the establishment, as I’d like to call them.

For example, if a new player wants to enter the deodorant market, they would have to convince distributors to open up their channels, retailers to carry the new product and consumers to buy it.

By Enrique Y. Gonzalez
Philippine Star – Business Life, G-1
http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=592571&publicationSubCategoryId=82
July 12, 2010 - Monday

The Romans believed in carpe diem. Horace used the term as part of a phrase that said, “Seize the day, trusting as little as possible in the future.”

The Romans’ problem with leaving things to chance is a paranoia shared by many successful entrepreneurs such as Andy Grove, founder of Intel. He once said, “When it comes to business, I believe in the value of paranoia. Business success contains the seeds of its own destruction.”

As I attended business forums in different countries, I noticed that many first-time entrepreneurs ponder the consequences of opportunity. It’s a global paranoia. It is not uncommon that newly minted entrepreneurs find themselves becoming serial entrepreneurs. They become addicted to opportunity, in love with the chase but forgetting about the destination. Like an Easter egg hunt on too many Red Bulls, they grab every egg they see and realize that there’s no basket to hold them in. This excitement turns into madness pretty quickly.

So while entrepreneurs must learn to master the art of clairvoyance with the proverbial crystal ball (also known as the newspaper, the ultimate treasure chest of ideas, it is only the seasoned entrepreneur that masters sniffing out the right opportunities and leaving the duds to the vultures. The trick is to continue cultivating that enterprise with the same paranoid zealousness as that of Intel. Look where that got them. Lust, caution.Here are some ideas:

1. An opportunity is not an island. Many new entrepreneurs decide to start a new business in a vacuum. They don’t bother understanding the broad economic environment, political and regulatory headwinds, not to mention industry trends that can normally lead to compromises or complications after capital has been committed and your enterprise is well on its way ... hopefully. While entrepreneurs should rarely be dissuaded from poor macro-economic indicators, it is always wise to know where the wind is blowing so you can chart your journey and do your resource planning properly.

Most businesses close shop in the first year due to lack of capital. If macro-environment is poor, an entrepreneur must forecast his cash flows well and not rely on unsecured sources of funding to bridge money-losing operations.

Case in point: Many a sugar trader went out of business in the Philippines after the 1974 quota law expired between the US and the Philippines, ending the economic subsidy between the two countries. Sh*t rolls downhill. It is critical that entrepreneurs understand decisions being made by the powers-that-be upstream, because eventually it will affect everyone downstream.

2. Make sure your opportunity is anchored on fulfilling a sustainable human want or need. Changes in the political, economic, social and legal landscape affect human conditions. Any changes in human conditions affects people’s lifestyles, desires, wants and needs. One of the most important tenets of opportunity screening is to ensure that one’s opportunity or big idea is based on fulfilling a sustainable want or need. Remember Pets.com? It raised US$300 million but blew it all on catering to an unsustainable need. Pets.com sold supplies to pet lovers at 1/3 of its cost in order to attract customers. The Internet didn’t revolutionize the convenience of buying pet food, as buying it in the real world was fairly straightforward (ergo, buying a stick of gum). Thus, Pets.com slashed prices in order to attract customers, forgetting that the primary purpose of a business is to make money. Eventually it closed down due to an unsustainable and unfeasible model. Pets.com is officially in the doghouse.

On the other hand, you have a company such as Amazon.com with over $10 billion in sales per year. The company has branched out into more than just books. Amazon is now a lifestyle brand, selling everything from clothes to ovens. Amazon’s strength is not only found with the ease and convenience of online shopping coupled with a world-class logistics infrastructure, which enables it to deliver products to customers in a timely manner and at a reasonable cost.

Its secret is that it sells things you need, and it sells products such as books, which normally take a long time for people to find in a traditional bricks-and-mortar store. By shopping on Amazon one can find their desired product (book, CD) much quicker and more conveniently.

These things you need to live can be bought with a click of a button. Amazon’s economies of scale allow it to purchase products at wholesale prices, ensuring the company a healthy profit margin. Everybody wins. When it comes to books and music, Amazon.com helps people find what they are looking for. This is clearly a sustainable need.

3. You must assess external and internal factors. An idea is only as good as its execution. Master one’s environment and know how to conquer it. Studying the competition, in particular, will help you understand the industry dynamics and how competition will react to your new product or service. The typical response of a competitor would be to launch a new and improved product to compete with yours, or often undercut by lowering its price. How do you keep yourself relevant in an ever-changing world that wants more, more, more?

In understanding competitive pressures, it is equally important to understand your own internal resources or capabilities. This involves assessing the capital, personnel, and infrastructure requirements of setting up the business that will deliver the product or service to the target customers. If you cannot clearly muster sufficient resources to set up the business and still forge on, you are clearly out of your mind. You need a capable management team and sufficient funding in order to execute properly. Your idea is only as good as its execution. Say it to yourself 10 times before pushing the “go” button.

4. Measure your unique value proposition in terms of longevity. Entrepreneurs are good at spotting fads and trends. Likewise, they are also good at spotting weaknesses or gaps in a marketplace. These gaps provide opportunities for an entrepreneur to launch a new product or service to cater to that unfulfilled segment of the market. Many great ideas came from the world of “give them something they never thought they needed.” Entrepreneurs must build to last. This requires serious long-term thinking and planning.

One clear success story illustrating this would be Tony Fernandes of Air Asia. I had the opportunity to meet Tony during a leadership summit in Jakarta, Indonesia. Air Asia’s value proposition was simple: travel within your budget. Air Cheapo. Tony quickly capitalized on his success in Malaysia and aggressively expanded into new routes around Southeast Asia before his competition could replicate his proposition. I mean, who in the age of luxe aircraft cabins would dream of going for something beyond economy? However, it seemed as if Asia liked this idea. People may aspire for airbeds, but in reality they really just want to get there. This is what this business model had to offer. He has since been able to secure all major routes and effectively locked out the competition, at least for now. Talk about carpe diem.

5. Lastly, if it is sounds too good to be true, it probably is. There is no such thing as the perfect opportunity. Humans are mortal, and earthly concepts are always flawed. Julius Caesar kept one person under his payroll whose sole duty was to whisper, “You are only mortal,” as Caesar paraded around Rome in his chariot. Call it a protection spell from hubris.

Even if an idea looks perfect from every angle, there is always a catch. Learn and love the term “Catch-22.” This should not deter you from pursuing the idea, but again, move slowly and wisely. I always rooted for the tortoise. Prevention is always better than the cure. As Steve Jobs wisely said, “You can’t connect the dots looking forward, only backward.” For a forward thinker, looking back is sometimes not so bad.

Remember recent fly-by-night scandals? That investment firm was promising monthly returns as high as three percent. That fly-by-night fund sucked out close to US$300 million from the Philippines before it came crashing down. Most — if not all — investors lost their principals. Yes, if it looks too good to be true, it probably is. The same went for those exotic financial instruments sold by Lehman right before the crash in 2008. It’s like Internet dating: if they are so good, then why are they single and selling themselves on the Internet?

There is an alchemy to starting a business and seizing an opportunity. I would modestly describe my decade-long affair with entrepreneurship and startups as extremely challenging. It requires unconditional commitment, dedication, and self-sacrifice. And guts — lots of it.

It is important for would-be entrepreneurs to understand what they are getting into.

Having said all of this, if you see an opportunity, and if you can do it, then go for it. This kind of rare confluence of factors and alignment of stars happens only once in awhile. It takes more than a great idea to bring home the bacon.

 

By: JAMES A. LOYOLA
http://www.mb.com.ph/articles/264984/ip-egames-sets-3-fund-raising-schemes
Manila Bulletin – Business B3
July 4, 2010 - Sunday

By Jennifer B. Austria
Manila Standard Today- Business, page A10
July 3, 2010- Saturday

IP E-GAME Ventures Inc., the online gaming subsidiary of listed technology conglomerate IPVG Corp., is increasing its authorized capital stock to P300 million from P100 million in preparation for a planned initial public offering.

IP E-Game said in a disclosure to the stock exchange its board approved the proposed capital hike prior to a public offering within one year from listing in the stock exchange.

http://www.gmanews.tv/story/195061/ip-e-games-hikes-capital-prepares-for-ipo
July 3, 2010 – Saturday

Listed online game publisher IP e-Games Ventures Inc. is increasing its authorized capital stock as it prepares for its mandated initial public offering (IPO).

In a disclosure to the bourse, the country’s only listed game publisher said its board had approved to hike the company’s capital to up to P350 million from the current P100 million.

“The board approved today to make an IPO on or before the listing anniversary of the corporation… it likewise authorized and appointed the Executive Committee to determine the terms and conditions of the Initial Public Offering," the company said in its disclosure on Friday.

IP e-Games became a public firm last February when it listed some 33.5 million shares by way of introduction.

In its first day of trading, IP e-Games saw its share price surging by 50 percent, the maximum daily price increase allowed in the local stock market, to close at P75 per share from an opening price of P50 per share.

On Friday, the company’s shares closed at P40.50 each.

Listing by way of introduction, or going public without selling new shares to the public, is usually as a preparation for an eventual IPO.

Under the Philippine Stock Exchange`s rules, a company listing by way of introduction will have to offer new shares to the public within 12 months.

Enrique Y. Gonzales, president and CEO of IP e-Games’ parent firm IPVG Corp., earlier said the gaming unit’s IPO could be done by the third or fourth quarter of 2010.

The company said it was now in the process of looking for a financial advisor and underwriter for the IPO.

Aside from the IPO, the company said would negotiate for stand-by debt financing, “for potential acquisitions of the corporation."

IP e-Games is a leading online game publishers in the Philippines offering a portfolio of online games including massively multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPGs) and casual online games. MMORPGs allow a large number of players to interact with one another over the Internet in a virtual world.
The company pioneered the free-to-play business model, wherein gamers are not required to pay a subscription fee to play online games.

Gamers are given the option of purchasing “in-game items" to enhance their gaming experience. Top officials noted that gaming was usually the bread and butter even of web-based social networking sites like Facebook but noted that e-Games was also trying to generate revenues from advertising.

By Krista Angela Montealegre
Manila Times – Business, page B2
July 3, 2010 – Saturday

By: Missy Silvestre
Game! Magazine – pp38-41
July 2010

They say that music is food to the soul. Not only does it inspire, awe and motivate, it also branches out to other forms of entertainment – like the gaming industry.

Music helps to establish and present a game’s theme in order to be fully effective. But what if the game itself revolves around music? Yeah, rhythm games have always been on the sidetrack of casual games, but you’ve probably never seen anything like this – yet if you got a knack for rhythm and if God has endowed you with an awesome mind-and-body coordination, then say hello to Band Master.
 
Band Master is the only online (music) rhythm game in the Philippines, preceding the late Philippine server of O2 Jam. Both are published by X-Play Online Games, Inc., the casual gaming leg of local online game publisher IP e-Games.