Calata Corporation: SEC Clears Calata on Alleged Probe

Early this year, the Calata Corporation reached a market cap of 4 billion pesos with their astounding shares that reached 24 pesos per share. However, within the trade, the shares fluctuated which caused the allegations of a stock manipulation in the company.

Joseph Calata was firm all throughout the allegations claiming that his company was not involved with the accusation as their shares, when they reach the shareholders, are already beyond their control. They (the board), in fact, were the ones who called the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to look into the weird movements of the shares.

Recently, SEC ended its probe of the alleged stock price manipulation saying that the Calata Corporation is cleared from any involvement in the allegations. The SEC has reportedly imposed fines on several stock brokers which it found to have been responsible for the unusual price movements.

The SEC probe proved that our decision to seek the help of the regulators was both wise and right.
- Says Calata in an interview.

SEC also cleared that it wasn’t the Corporation itself which was under investigation, but the traders.

SEC also cleared that it wasn’t the Corporation itself which was under investigation, but the traders.

With the issue against the corporation "put to rest," the firm can now focus on their expansion program where they plan to increase the number of its outlets to about 250 using the proceeds from the initial public offering. With this expansion, more farmers and agricultural sector entrepreneurs can expect to have access to the more products and technologies.

Calata Offers a New Service for Farmers for Free

We would all be in trouble if we suffer on scarcity on produce of farms. After all, the Philippines is known to be an agriculture-dependent country as about one-third of its land area is classified as agricultural lands. In fact, according to a study, more than half of the total of poor Filipinos depends on agriculture. Also, food crops, particularly rice and corn, are said to be major contributors to agriculture’s gross value and have become major source of growth. These in particular are the reasons why farmers should be extra careful with their harvests.

However, recent studies have shown that farmers have been misusing farm inputs, including fertilizers that are not compatible with their soil. This mistake resulted to bigger expenses and reduced harvests for farmers. This can also lead to irreparable damage to the soil. If this continues, scarcity will surely be present in our country.

The 31-year-old CEO of Calata Corporation, Joseph Calata, aims to aid this problem. He came to the conclusion of building soil testing facilities and placing them on his stores for Luzon-based rice and corn farmers. According to Calata, these facilities will help prevent farmers from using fertilizers that do not fit their farms, which will lead to the aforementioned problems.

This is also expected to generate savings for farmers thus raising their income potential through the right and use of farm inputs.
- Calata also added in an interview.

In addition to the goal of Calata to help the savings of farmers, he is also offering this new service for them for free. This service would help farmers determine the right farm inputs to use that will be most compatible with their respective farms which would be an advantage to them as it would help them be more productive.

This technology  may be new to the farmers which goes to show that Calata is trying to be a leader in his chosen field by helping other businesses that involves agriculture, starting with farmers. One can say that he is trying to familiarize old school businesses to new agricultural technology.