Capital raised at the Philippine Stock Exchange Inc. (PSE) for both primary and secondary offer shares in the first quarter more than doubled to P41.63 billion, from last year’s P19.24 billion.
Capital-raising activities for the first three months of the year include one initial public offering (IPO), one follow-on offering, two stock rights offerings and two private placements.
“The approval of our amended listing rules should help accelerate IPO listings at the exchange, especially in the SME Board with the relaxed requirements and the adoption of a sponsor model for listing,” PSE president and CEO Ramon S. Monzon said.
“When approved, our proposed rules on preferred shares only listing and proposed revisions to the backdoor listing rules should also encourage more listings at the PSE.”
Average daily value turnover was up by 64 percent year-on-year to P10.99 billion from P6.68 billion last year. Foreign investors continued to exit the local market as net foreign selling for the quarter reached P47.91 billion, a 55 percent increase from P30.89 billion last year.
“Despite the increase in net foreign selling our market experienced record turnover for the first quarter as local investors increased their share in the trading volume to 74.3 percent from last year’s 54.6 percent,” Monzon said.
“Another noteworthy development was the increase in the participation of retail investors. Preliminary information shows that retail investors may have accounted for over 45 percent of turnover for the quarter from 26.9 percent in 2020.”
The benchmark PSE index ended the first quarter at 6,443.09 points, a 10-percent decline year-to-date. The All Shares index also finished lower in the first three months, down by 8 percent year-to-date.
“Uncertainty about the pace of the country’s vaccination program which in turn affects the prospects of the country’s economic recovery has discouraged foreign investors from investing in the Philippine market. But we expect that once a good percentage of the population has been vaccinated, these investors will soon regain confidence in our economy,” Monzon said.
Image credits: Nonie Reyes
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