MANILA, Philippines - Listed firms raised from the equities market a record P107.5 billion in 2011, up 26.6 percent from the 2010 level and 19.3 percent higher than the previous record posted in 2007, data form the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) showed.
Of the total, P9.04 billion was raised from the initial public offerings (IPOs) of Megawide Construction Corp., Puregold Price Club, Cirtek Holdings Philippines, Calapan Ventures and Touch Solutions.
Another P42.85 billion was raised from private placements, P40.61 billion through stock rights offerings, and P15 billion from follow-on offerings.
Total value turnover registered an all-time high of P1.42 trillion, 17.8 percent more than the P1.21 billion recorded a year earlier.
The PSE extended its trading hours to 1 p.m. last October as part of efforts to boost market liquidity. Beginning Jan. 2, 2012, trading hours will further be extended up to 3:30 p.m.
Meanwhile, the combined market capitalization of companies listed on the PSE reached P8.7 trillion, helped by the five percent improvement in domestic market capitalization, which capped the year at its highest recorded level of P7.24 trillion.
Preliminary figures also show that foreign investors went into net buying territory in 2011 in the amount of P56.52 billion, 59 percent higher than the year-ago figure of P35.62 billion.
In terms of sectoral indices, the mining and oil index emerged as the best performer in 2011, surging 68.5 percent. This was followed by the holding firms index which went up 3.4 percent.
“The index has been a top performer throughout the year compared with its peers in the region. In fact, the PSEi soared to record highs seven times this year alone,” said PSE president and chief executive officer Hans Sicat.
The 30-company PSEi ended the year on a positive note, advancing 35.33 points or 0.8 percent on Dec. 29, 2011 to close at 4,371.96. It was likewise, up 170.82 points or 4.1 percent from the closing level of 4,201.14 a year before.
“We are glad to report that despite the uncertainties in the global market that hounded us throughout the year, the local stock market has closed 2011 with yet another set of significant milestones,” Sicat said. - By Zinnia B. Dela Peña
