Foreign investors acquire more Philippine stocks, sell less

Foreign investors bought more local stocks than what were sold in the first nine months of the year despite the volatility of global markets, the Philippine Stock Exchange said.

Net foreign buying at the local stock market stood at P15.6 billion in the nine months to September—37 percent higher than the P11.37 billion reported in the same period last year.

Even as the main PSEi index headed lower, compared to the end-2010 level at the end of the nine-month period, combined market capitalization of listed issues in the PSE still rose by 11 percent to P8.2 trillion from the P7.39 trillion seen last year.

At the end of September, the benchmark PSEi declined from that of last year by 4.8 percent, or 201.49 points, to end at 3,999.65.

The index hit a record peak of 4,550 in early August, but pulled back shortly after due to the turbulence in global financial markets.

“While it’s unfortunate that recent concerns over events in Europe and the United States have stalled our momentum, we still remain optimistic that markets will bounce back sooner compared with the global financial crisis a few years ago. The Philippine economy’s solid economic fundamentals should be key in helping us ride out the turbulence,” PSE president and chief executive officer Hans Sicat said in a statement.

In terms of sectoral indices, the mining & oil index emerged as the best performer. It was the only sector index that recorded gains, climbing by 47.2 percent from January to September. All other indices declined.

The PSE also reported that total value turnover during the nine-month period reached P1.05 trillion, 24.1 percent higher than the level reported in the same period last year. In the third quarter alone, value turnover amounted to P384.52 billion—up by 16.6 percent from a year ago.

“Though the market remains volatile, it hasn’t stopped us from continuing reforms in the capital market. These initiatives … have contributed to increased trading activity and interest in the PSE,” Sicat said.

Total capital raised in the first nine months amounted to P64.54 billion, an improvement from the P59.10 billion seen in the first nine months of 2010. This was due to the initial public offering of Megawide Construction Corp., the follow-on offering of preferred shares of San Miguel Pure Foods Co. Inc., and stock rights offerings of SM Development Corp., Metropolitan Bank & Trust Co. and Robinsons Land Corp.

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