FOR homegrown companies looking to scale, professionalize and create lasting impact, going public may offer the clearest path forward.
Just ask Cebu Landmasters Inc. (CLI) chairman and founder Jose Soberano III, whose company has grown from a two-man operation in Balamban town to the dominant real estate developer in the Visayas and Mindanao (VisMin) after listing on the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE).
“Our IPO (initial public offering) wasn’t just about raising capital,” Soberano said. “It was about embracing a new way of thinking—about growth, transparency and stewardship.”
Soberano was one of the speakers during the “Be IPO-ready: Leap-frogging growth in the Capital Markets” forum hosted by Straton Management and Famcor Franchise Management and Executive Development Corp.
Since CLI’s public listing in 2017, the company has multiplied its assets 16 times, from P6.5 billion to P109 billion as of 2024, while delivering an 18 percent in compounded annual growth rate in earnings and distributing P3.8 billion in dividends to shareholders.
The IPO enabled CLI to access broader capital markets, allowing it to launch over 126 projects in eight years, diversify into hotels and commercial spaces and cement a 90 percent market share in the VisMin residential segment.
The company’s bond and preferred share issuances in 2024 and 2025 raised nearly P10 billion, fueling township developments, hotel builds and land banking. CLI now boasts a 94 percent sell-through rate and a robust land bank of 115 hectares, with 200 hectares more in the pipeline. Revenues from leasing rose 56 percent in the first quarter of 2025, while hotel income surged 161 percent, strengthening CLI’s recurring income and setting the foundation for a future real estate investment trust.
Cultural transformation
But beyond the numbers, Soberano said, listing triggered a cultural transformation.
“We moved from intuition to discipline, from family habits to corporate systems,” he noted.
The company instituted stronger governance, onboarded independent directors, invested in professional management and earned accolades such as the Golden Arrow for corporate governance and Great Place to Work certification.
Crucially, going public amplified CLI’s social mission.
From delivering 14,000 affordable homes, the company is on track to complete 30,000 by 2029, part of its contribution to easing the country’s 6.7 million-unit housing backlog. Its townships in Davao, Iloilo and Cebu are also helping micro, small and medium enterprises thrive through retail spaces, offices and community infrastructure.
IPO visibility has opened doors to new partnerships, including CLI’s landmark joint venture with NTT Urban Development Group—one of the largest Japanese firms to enter the Philippine property sector. Both formed CLI NUD Ventures Inc. to develop a premium, Japanese-inspired, two-tower residential development in Cebu City.
CLI is also expanding into Luzon, with 12 new projects slated for launch in 2025 and reclamation ventures progressing in Iloilo, Cagayan de Oro and Cebu City.
Top Line’s journey
Speaking in the same event, fellow entrepreneur Eugene Erik Lim, chairman and chief executive officer of Top Line Business Group, said the decision to go public was similarly transformative.
Inspired by Soberano’s IPO journey, Topline began preparing for its own listing eight years ago and successfully debuted on the PSE in 2024.
“It wasn’t a walk in the park,” Lim said, noting that the company’s planned listing coincided with heightened market volatility triggered by U.S. President Donald Trump’s announcement of additional tariffs, which rattled global investor sentiment.
“But going public brought clarity, discipline and opportunity. More than expansion, it’s about good governance and the ability to serve our communities better,” said Lim.
Today, Top Line’s listing is helping accelerate growth across its subsidiaries in energy, ports, retail and tech, potentially doubling or tripling its revenue and footprint.
Soberano’s advice to private firms: look beyond the IPO as a capital event.
“It’s a mindset shift,” he said. “If you’re ready to be transparent, build systems and think long-term, the public market can help turn your vision into an enduring legacy.” / KOC