RP stock market is best performer in Asia since January

Despite slowing from its peak performance in early March, the Philippine stock market remained the best performing bourse in Asia with the main index growing 9.2 percent in dollar terms.

Based on stock prices as of May 11 this year, the Philipine Stock Exchange (PSE) composite index maintained its lead among its Asian counterparts since January based on dollar terms.

On second place was South Korea, which grew 3.1 percent followed by Indonesia (5.8 percent), Singapore (4.6 percent) and Thailand (2.2 percent).

In peso terms, however, the Philippine stock market ranked second to Indonesia, which gained 5.8 percent compared with the PSE’s 5.4 percent.

Four exchanges, on the other hand, posted declines namely, Malaysia (1.5 percent), Taiwan (3.6 percent), Hong Kong (2.1 percent) and India (2.7 percent).

In a briefing of the Philippine stock market for members of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce and Australia-New Zealand Chamber of Commerce last week, Jojo Gonzales, president and head of research of Philippine Equity Partners, said this positive development was due to the improvement of local share prices on the back of strong corporate earnings growth, coupled with the strength of the peso.

"It is good to note that the Philippine stock market has sustained its performance being the best bourse in Asia despite decline in recent weeks but this should not leave a room for complacency," Gonzales said.

PSE president Francis Lim said the local stock market has been on a consolidation phase since early March due to the delay in the passage of the expanded value added tax law, the tightening of domestic liquidity owing to a string of initial public offerings, rights issues and share placements and the threat of increase in interest rates in both the local and foreign markets.

Lim said the recent approval of the VAT bill by the bicameral committee should be a major boost for the economy "as it vanquishes a looming fiscal crisis."

The briefing forms part of PSE’s campaign to tap a wider base of investors and further increase public confidence in the equities market.