KONTAN.CO.ID - MANILA. The Philippines' Monde Nissin Corp, maker of ubiquitous Lucky Me! instant noodles, on Thursday filed for an up to 63 billion peso ($1.3 billion) initial public offering (IPO), in what is set to be the country's largest-ever listing.

The filing comes as the Philippines, a historical laggard in Southeast Asia in terms of fundraising and market activity, is shaping up to be the region's biggest IPO market this year.

The owner of meat alternative Quorn is seeking regulatory approval to sell as many as 3.6 billion primary shares at a maximum price of 17.50 pesos ($0.3605) each, regulatory filing documents showed. It can sell up to 540 million more shares through an over-allotment option.

In Philippine filings, IPO prices are typically set far above final selling prices.

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At the filing price, the IPO would surpass the record $627 million raised in the 2013 maiden share sale of Robinsons Retail Holdings Inc.

Monde Nissin is banking on growing demand for both consumer staples and higher-value products. Lucky Me! is an iconic brand in the Philippines while British meat substitute Quorn, bought in 2015 for $831 million, gives the firm a foothold in the healthy food category.

Investors and bankers said consumer retailers and REITs are lining up fundraising deals in the Philippines that could top $4 billion in 2021, more than the country's combined tally of the last seven years, Refinitiv data showed.

Only three firms debuted on the Philippine Stock Exchange last year, raising a combined 44.3 billion pesos ($912 million).

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Editor: Wahyu T.Rahmawati