Published : Wednesday, December 21, 2011 00:00 [ manilatimes.net ]
Written by : Krista Angela M. Montealegre
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has suspended a Batangas golf club and resort’s license to sell securities because of failure to comply with the regulator’s reportorial requirements.
In its website, the SEC said it suspended the registration of Evercrest Golf Club Resort Inc. and its permit to sell securities for a period of 60 days from the receipt of the order or until it submits the necessary documents and settles a penalty of P365,300.
“The company is henceforth prohibited from offering or selling its securities to the public until this order is lifted or set aside by the Commission,” the SEC said. In a letter dated October 11, the company requested an additional period of three to four months to comply, but the SEC denied the petition.
If Evercrest Golf Club fails to comply with the order within the 60-day period, the SEC will immediately initiate proceedings for the revocation of its registration of and permit to sell securities to the public.
In June, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas declared a failed bid for the sale of Evercrest Golf Club, previously owned by banker Jose Go, after no one showed up during its auction.
Monetary authorities took over the resort club from the now defunct Orient Bank as partial payment for emergency loans the lender obtained in the late 1990s.
Data from the central bank showed that the golf course, which has a hotel and clubhouse and runs to about 78,871 square meters, was valued at P1.736 billion.
The operation of the golf club has been suspended since November 2010 when the BSP got hold of the title. The Registry of Deeds issued the title of the property to the BSP in December 2010.
The BSP had said it would continue to look for other properties that it could take over because the golf course alone cannot fully pay Orient Bank’s liabilities.
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