Smart, as a utilities' company, is required by law to list after a certain number of years of operations for transparency purposes. Under the terms of Smart's licence for digital services, it is supposed to go public by 2008 or 2009.
Industry sources said the planned public offering was timely, since the mobile company was starting to show profitability. The planned public offering was likewise expected to push up PLDT's share price.
Smart generated net earnings of Ps52 million $1.07 billion and Ps31 million last August and July respectively. The company reported a subscriber base of 2.3 million, including analog cellular users and that of sister firm Pilipino Telephone Corp.'s Talk...
