PSE hopeful more companies will revisit plans to go public

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) is hopeful that companies will revisit their plans to go public after third quarter numbers show that the economy is making a strong comeback.

PSE president and CEO Ramon Monzon said the volatility in the global markets weakened trading volume and forced some companies to postpone their initial public offering (IPO) plans.

“But even if these headwinds continue to make market conditions challenging, I do hope that the country’s resurgent third quarter GDP (gross domestic product) numbers and the improvement in corporate profits will provide investors enough reason to have a more favorable outlook on Philippine equities,” he said.

In the third quarter, the economy expanded by a better-than-expected 7.6 percent rate, with major  sectors such as agriculture, forestry, fishing, industry and services all posting positive growth during the period.

Among the companies that postponed their planned IPOs to next year are Razon-led Prime Infrastructure Capital Inc. and North Star Meat Merchants Inc. led by businessman Anthony Ng.

Monzon said the time is also ripe for market investors to look into the local bourse with its growing array of investment products.

The PSE recently hosted the first-ever PSE Campus Expo, a special financial literacy activity geared toward the next generation of investors.

Among the investment products discussed are real estate investment trusts (REITs). REIT shares, along with securities that are included in the PSE Dividend Yield Index are now among the Personal Equity and Retirement Account (PERA) eligible investment products. Other PERA investments are mutual funds and corporate bonds that meet the guidelines set by the Securities and Exchange Commission.