Fund raising activities at the Philippine Stock Exchange dropped 18.4 percent to P90.9 billion as of Aug. 12 from P105 billion a year ago.
PSE president Hans Sicat said private placements accounted for 63 percent or P53.94 billion of total funds raised through the stock market this year, while initial public offerings contributed P25.9 billion.
Some of the capital raising activities were put on hold in the first half amid market volatility.
The recent national elections also kept some investors and potential issuers on the sidelines.
Two IPOs were conducted this year, including the P778-million maiden offering of Villar-owned Golden Haven Memorial Park and P25.13-billion public offering of Cemex Holdings Philippines Inc.
PSE expects total fund raising activities to reach P200 billion this year.
The local bourse managed to report a 2-percent increase in first-half net income to P372.7 million from P366.8 million posted in the same period last year, despite lower fund raising activities.
First-half operating revenues declined 14 percent to P560.8 million, as listing-related income dropped.
Trading-related income also dipped 11 percent to P145.9 million, as average daily trading value went down to P7.51 billion from last year’s daily average of P10.04 billion.
PSE said to boost trading activities, it would focus on introducing new products and services, expand investor base and improve technology and capacity building programs.
One of the new products in the pipeline is the introduction of dollar-denominated securities or DDS, which aims to attract offshore investors and create an alternative instrument for investments of US dollar deposit accounts.
PSE also plans to come up with rules for structured warrants.
PSE said it would spend P750 million in capital expenditures for the period 2016 to 2018 to improve technology and finance the completion of new headquarters in Bonifacio Global City.
“The exchange will continue to pursue initiatives that will help our market to be more competitive in the region,” Sicat said.
PSE said it would also help make the Philippines a preferred investment destination by promoting good governance among listed companies and trading participants.