RP is best-performing bourse in the region for January

The Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) emerged as the best-performing bourse in the region last month as the composite index surged 196.73 points or 10.8 percent to 2,019.56 from 1,822.83 in December last year.

Year-on-year, the Phisix surged 33.9 percent from 1,508.30 in 2004. Trading volume was also significantly higher at 71.9 billion shares or an increase of 877.2 percent from only 7.4 billion shares the previous year.

PSE data showed that value turnover climbed 92.4 percent to P40.503.4 billion last month compared with P21.050 billion in Jan. 2004.

Last year, the PSE was the second-best performer among other exchanges in Asia, rising 26.4 percent or 380.5 points to 1,822.83 from 1,442.37 in 2003.

Trailing behind the PSE in the January market performance was the Stock Exchange of Thailand, which grew by 5.1 percent. On third place was the Jakarta Stock Exchange, the best-performing neighboring exchange in 2004, with a 4.5-percent growth rate.

Five exchanges, on the other hand, posted declines – the Tokyo Stock Exchange, Taiwan Stock Exchange, Hong Kong Stock Exchange, Shenzen Stock Exchange and Shanghai Stock Exchange, both in China.

Starting the year with such high note indeed places our stock market back in the portfolio of both domestic and foreign investors, consistent with our corporate vision to become a peer among the premier exchanges in the region in the next couple of years," PSE president and chief executive officer Francis Lim said.

He said such bullish sentiment can be attributed to the string of good news over the past months: the higher-than-expected GDP growth; the concrete measures undertaken by government to address the fiscal deficit such as the enactment of the ‘sin taxes’ and lateral attrition laws; the strengthening of the peso; the Supreme Court decision opening up the mining industry to foreigners; and the series of positive news at the corporate front.

The government was likewise able to outperform its fiscal deficit goal for the second consecutive year at P186.1 billion, or P11.7 billion below the P197.8-billion program and likewise set the 2005 fiscal deficit target at about P180 billion or seven percent lower than the previous P193.3-billion programmed level.

Yesterday, the stockmarket sustained its bullish run with the main index settling at its best close in five years as investors continued to accumulate select stocks, inspired by improving economic fundamentals.

The Phisix gained 13.24 points or 0.66 percent to close at 2,030.08, its highest finish since Feb. 9, 2000 when it ended at 2047.27.

Analysts said the peso’s recovery has also perked up the market. The peso has been gaining strength against the dollar on the back of huge fund inflows amid an improving economic environment.

The improvement in government’s tax collection efforts has also contributed to the strength of the market. The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR), the government’s main tax-collecting agency, said it has exceeded its revenue target of P40.8 billion for January. BIR deputy commissioner Kim Henares estimated the agency’s preliminary collections in January at about P41 billion.

Last year, BIR collections reached P470.045 billion, falling short of the P476.3-billion annual target.