The Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) is keeping its target of six initial public offerings (IPOs) this year and P175 billion worth of capital to be raised despite the challenging environment.
PSE president and chief executive Ramon Monzon told reporters he remained optimistic about the stock market’s recovery after its recent slide amid the heightened tension in the Middle East.
“It’s a global influence. I think the market will get over that. We always had these challenges, but somehow the market rebounds,” Monzon said.
Two companies—OceanaGold Philippines Inc. and Citicore Renewable Energy Corp—have secured regulatory approvals for maiden offering this year.
Monzon said that aside from these two firms, the PSE was also talking to other companies that were planning to go public this year.
Several firms also plan to raise funds from the capital market through stock right offering, private placements, preferred shares offering and real estate investment trust (REIT) offerings.
The PSE said Friday it approved Union Bank of the Philippines’ P10-billion stock rights offering. Jollibee Foods Corp. also announced plans to raise up to P8 billion from the issuance of preferred shares.
The bellwether Philippine Stock Exchange index dropped 6.38 percent in the past four weeks to 6,443 due to geopolitical risks and concerns over higher-for-longer interest rate environment.
Data showed that the market was down 0.11 percent since the start of this year’s trading.