P219-B capital raised via PSE in 2012 a record high

MANILA, Philippines – The capital funds raised at the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) hit a record high in 2012, buoyed by foreigners flocking to safe-havens and investor confidence in the country improved.

In a statement on Thursday, January 3, the PSE said listed firms rode on the equity market’s stellar performance, with P219.07 billion total capital raised through initial public offerings (IPO), follow-on offerings, stock rights and private placements.

This amount was 103.8% more than the P107.50 billion raised in 2011. This also beat the PSE’s P197 billion target for 2012, the year when the main index hit 38 all-time highs and grew 33% year-on-year, the second best performing in Southeast Asia.

Foreigner investors accounted for P110 billion, or about half of the total capital raised, the PSE said, citing preliminary data. The net foreign inflows in 2012 were almost twice the P56.52 billion foreign participation in 2011.

“This can only serve to strengthen our market as we tackle new challenges and opportunities in 2013,” PSE president and CEO Hans Sicat said.

“What’s most encouraging amidst the record-breaking numbers is that there’s still room to keep growing. The government continues to steer the economy to promising levels of sustained growth,” he added.

Capital raising

Five companies went public in 2012, raising P24 billion. They were:

• D&L Industries Inc
• GT Capital Holdings Inc
• East West Banking Corp
• Calata Corp 
• Coal Asia Holdings Inc

Listing by way of introduction were:

• Rockwell Land Corp 
• Yehey! Corp

The remaining P195 billion worth of capital proceeds were raised in the equity market via:

• private placement – P50.38 billion
• stock rights offerings – P52.07 billion
• follow-on offerings – P92.64 billion

P11-trillion market cap

As the equity market soared, so did market capitalization of all listed issues.

The combined market valuation of PSE-listed firms reached P10.93 trillion, up 25.7% from the P8.70 trillion in the previous year.

Total value turnover likewise hit a record of P1.77 trillion, up 24.5% from a year ago’s P1.42 trillion. This was partly attributed to the extension of trading hours up to 3:30 p.m. in early 2012.

Below was how the sectoral indices performed in 2012:

• Financials Index, up 57.5%, the top performer
• Property Index, up 55.6%
• Holding Firms index, up 47%
• Industrial index – up 25.5% 
• Services index – up 6.7% 
• Mining and oil – down 17.4%

Good governance

“The PSE has lined up several initiatives in the coming months to take advantage of the favorable business environment,” Sicat said.

“Hopefully, this is just the beginning of a positive transformational phase that will lift the capital market to the next stage of competitiveness. It’s definitely an exciting time right now for the Philippines,” he said.

The PSE pursued good governance practices in 2012, including the implementation of the 10% minimum public ownership rule, which resulted in the trading suspension of 7 errant firms starting January 2, 2013. – Rappler.com