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...