PSE fundraising activities could reach a new high this year

The Philippine stock exchange’s capital raising activity this year could equal or even surpass the record 228.3 billion pesos in 2012, as companies continue to seek funds to finance their expansion, the senior executive said on Friday. the local stock exchange. PSE President and CEO Ramon Monzon said in an interview that capital raised in the first half of 2021 has already reached 122.46 billion pesos, with several huge fundraising activities planned for the second half of the year. These include the three real estate investment trust offers of Filinvest REIT Inc. (P14 billion), RL Commercial REIT Inc. (P26.7 billion) and MREIT Inc. (P27.3 billion) . Del Monte Philippines Inc. is also planning to complete an initial public offering worth 44 billion pesos, while fast food chain operator Jollibee Foods Corp. raises 12 billion pesos from the issuance of preferred shares. “Our all-time high for capital raising was during the Aquino administration… I hope we can get closer to that this year,” said Monzon. Monzon said that while bank financing remains cheap, companies are turning to the equity market as banks start to tighten lending standards due to the pandemic. Some companies may also reach their bank credit limit, so they are tapping the equity market for their financing needs, he said. The PSE reported that trading activity increased in the first six months, with daily average revenue of 8.96 billion pesos, up 21.9% year-to-date and by 35.9% year-on-year. Foreign funds recorded a net sale of 77.80 billion pesos from January to June.

Monzon said the flagship Philippine Stock Exchange index is expected to return to pre-pandemic levels in the short term if the government can meet its goal of vaccinating up to 70 million people by the end of the year. . “PSE still has many activities planned over the next six months, including the launch of new thematic indices, a data analysis platform and a revamped market education website. We will also continue to hold our twice-monthly market education webinars for retail investors, who have played a very important role in the development of the market during the pandemic, ”said Monzon. Capital raising activities from January to June included two initial public offerings, two follow-up offers, two stock rights offers and three private placements. “We are delighted that companies continue to tap the equity market for their financing needs. PSE’s capital raising activity remains strong and we remain optimistic about our ability to meet our targets by the end of the year. Next month we will be hosting a few IPO marketing events aimed at SMEs to convince them to take advantage of our relaxed listing rules and the pandemic fallback rule, which is in effect until next year ” , Monzon said. The PSE index closed at 6,901.91 on the last trading day in June, down 3.3% year-to-date. The all-equity index fell 0.7%. Among sector indices, the services, finance, industrials and mining and petroleum sectors posted gains while holding companies and real estate sectors both ended lower. “On May 14, the PSEi slipped to its lowest intraday of the year at 6,080.94, but we have seen the main index recover since then, testing 7,000 intraday points on June 16. For the month June, the benchmark gained 4.1% month over month on increased investor confidence as more Filipinos get vaccinated. If the government can meet its goal of vaccinating up to 70 million people. people by the end of the year or even approaching it, the stock market could return to pre-pandemic levels in the short term, “Monzon said.” PSE still has many activities planned over the six months, including the launch of new thematic indices, a data analysis platform and a revamped market education website.We will also continue to host our market education webinars twice a month for investors. retail, which played a very important in the development of the market during the pandemic, ”he said.