Market manages to end week in positive territory

 Economy
Oct 042013
 

MANILA, Philippines – Local stocks ended the week in positive territory despite the drag caused by top-traded Universal Robina Corp. (URC), as investors take positions ahead of the earnings season.

The Philippine Stock Exchange index inched up 0.04 percent or 2.83 points to 6,390.48, while the broader all shares index added 0.31 percent or 12.04 points to 3,854.36.

“The PSEi showed it can easily regain the 6,300 handle, even making an attempt at 6,400, “ said Justino Calaycay Jr., an analyst at Accord Capital Equities Corp.

Investors took note of recent price drops as buying opportunities heading into the earnings cycle, Calaycay said.

However, gains were cut by the correction in share price of URC, which has been the top-traded stock in the past few days. The snacks giant retreated 4.88 percent to P117 apiece after parent firm JG Summit Holdings Inc. sold P12 billion worth of URC shares at P115 each.

Despite the flat closing, the local bourse bucked the decline in Wall Street that was hurt by the continuing US government shutdown. The Dow Jones industrial average shed 0.9 percent or 136.66 points to 14,996.48 while the broader Standard & Poor’s 500 index fell 0.9 percent or 15.21 points to 1,678.66.

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Most counters were in the green, led by financial firms that gained 0.81 percent or 12.65 points to 1,581.74. Losers were led by industrial companies that eased 0.28 percent or 26.15 points to 9,311.15.

JG Summit allots record $1.03 B for capex

 Economy
Jun 272013
 
JG Summit allots record $1.03 B for capex

MANILA, Philippines – Tycoon John Gokongwei’s investment vehicle JG Summit Holdings Inc. is jacking up its capital spending to a record $1.03 billion this year to support the expansion program of its operating units. Bulk of the capital expenditures would be taken up by property unit Robinsons Land Corp. (RLC) to take advantage of the property boom. “Capital spending for 2013 is budgeted to reach over $1 billion with RLC accounting for the biggest share of 31 percent or $320 million,” JG Summit president and chief operating officer Lance Y. Gokongwei said during the company’s annual stockholders meeting. Gokongwei said it would be the largest capital spending of JG Summit thus far. Last year, the conglomerate spent $926 million for the expansion program of its subsidiaries. Gokongwei said RLC would build four new shopping malls, two office buildings and three Go Hotels. It would also support the completion of at least eight condominium buildings. Airline firm Cebu Air Inc., which owns and operates budget carrier Cebu Pacific, would take up $275 million for the acquisition of five new Airbus aircraft as it lines up new routes. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 Snacks and beverage giant Universal Robina Corp. would spend $120 million while JG Summit Petrochemicals Corp. is backed by $300 million in capital. “We are gaining traction for our food products in other countries such as Malaysia, Singapore, China, Hong Kong and Indonesia,” Gokongwei said. JG Summit would start commissioning its naphtha cracker plant late Read More …

Robinsons Retail Group firms up P40-B IPO plan

 Economy
Jun 202013
 
Robinsons Retail Group firms up P40-B IPO plan

MANILA, Philippines –  The Gokongwei family’s Robinsons Retail Group has firmed up its plan to raise as much as P40 billion through an initial public offering (IPO). The company behind Robinsons supermarkets and department stores plans to conduct potentially one of the largest public share sale by a Philippine firm, said International Financing Review (IFR), a publication of Thomson Reuters. IFR reported that Robinsons Retail Group targets to sell 461.9 million shares at a maximum price of P86.64 each to generate up to P40 billion in fresh capital. Robinsons Retail’s listing application was not immediately available at the Securities and Exchange Commission The retail group of property giant Robinsons Land Corp. claims to be the country’s second largest retailer, next only to SM Retail Inc. of the Philippines’ richest man Henry Sy. Robinsons Retail Group owns and operates 35 department stores and 73 supermarkets nationwide. The IPO is scheduled in the third quarter, IFR said, adding that Deutsche Bank, JP Morgan and UBS were tapped to facilitate the offering. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 The aggressive fundraising program, which comes at a time when the local stock market is being battered by massive foreign fund selling could be one of the largest share sale by a Filipino company. In April, LT Group Inc. of taipan Lucio Tan raised a record P37.72 billion in a follow-on offering while SM Investments Corp. secured P28.75 billion during its IPO in 2005. Since hitting its 31st record high for the Read More …

Index down anew on negative external news

 Economy
May 242013
 
Index down anew on negative external news

MANILA, Philippines – External weaknesses dampened investor sentiment yesterday, pushing the main index back to the 7,200 level. The Philippine Stock Exchange index declined 0.62 percent or 45.47 points to settle at 7,268.91, marking the second straight day the bellwether index ended in the red. “Investors found little reason to take aggressive positions in the market following Thursday’s surprise 70-point slump leaving the floor to the bears,” said Justino Calaycay Jr., analyst at Accord Capital Securities. “The rush of negative news in the last two days, and a tepid movements in US stocks overnight, have kept investors opting for safety,” Calaycay said. Wall Street and Asian stocks were again in the negative territory, still reeling from the weak Chinese manufacturing data and potential cut in US Federal Reserve’s stimulus program. The Dow Jones industrial average shed 0.08 percent or 12.67 points to 15,294.50 while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index dropped 0.29 percent or 4.84 points to 1,650.51. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 All counters in the local bourse were in the red, paced by industrial firms that shed 0.7 percent or 76.80 points to 10,855.16. Investor participation eased, with value of shares traded sank to P7.13 billion from P12.14 billion on Thursday. Decliners again outpaced advancers, 95 to 57, while 56 stocks did not change. Top-traded stocks were also in the red, led by property giant Ayala Land Inc. (-0.57 percent), Universal Robina Corp. (-2.0 percent) and Bank of the Philippine Islands (-2.03 percent).