MACROECONOMICS WEEKLY UPDATE

      The country’s October vehicle production stood at 10,105 units (+20.1% YoY), bringing year-to-date production to 73,823 units. Regionally, the Philippines ranked fifth while Thailand remains to be the highest ranked with 1.6 Mn units for 10M22.

   House Bill 6398 proposes the creation of the Maharlika Investments Fund (MIF), with seed money of P250 billion coming from the top performing government financial institutions – GSIS, SSS, LandBank and DBP. 

INDUSTRY UPDATE  

INFRUSTRUCTURE 

A 1.2 kilometer road will connect San Miguel Corp’s 18-kilometer Skyway Stage 3 to the ongoing eight-km NLEX connector project. The alignment from C3 Road on 5th Avenue to Espana Boulevard (5.15 kms) for Section 1, and 2.75 kilometers for Section 2.

The operator of South Luzon Expressway (SLEX) saw its net income jump by 41 percent to P2.49 billion from January to September. This was a little higher than pre-COVID level of P4.68 billion due to the easing of movement restrictions.

OIL AND MINING 

 Manila Mining Corp. is bullish on the potential yields at its Ntina open pit gold mine following positive drilling results. With global copper demand-supply gap widening exponentially, the Philippines has a potential to be a major world copper producer.

GAMING 

  Manila Jockey posted a net income of P1.2 billion from January to September, a turnaround from the P144 million net loss incurred in the same period last year.

POWER AND UTILITIES

The Court of Appeals has issued a temporary restraining order suspending the implementation of the power supply agreement (PSA) between San Miguel Corp. subsidiary South Premier Power Corp. (SPPC) and Manila Electric Company (Meralco).

BANKING AND FINANCE 

 Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. is spinning off its trust and investments group into an independent company. RCBC said the plan has already secured the greenlight from its board of directors. The investment holding firm of the Yuchengco family, House of Investments Inc., will co-invest in RCBC Trust Corp.

HSBC recently announced the expansion of its wealth investment offerings through HSBC Wealth, incorporated as HSBC Investment and Insurance Brokerage, Philippines Inc. (HIIB). The company is now offering Unit Investment Trust Funds (UITFs) which cover a range of asset classes and risk profiles.

INVESTMENTS 

Seven listed companies punished by the Philippine Stock Exchange for violation of listing and disclosure rules. Section 17.12 requires all listed firms to submit every quarter a list of their top 100 stockholders.

REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT 

Century Properties Group Inc. (CPG) is set to open its first hospitality venture in Singapore. The 152-room mid-scale hotel is owned by CPG and its subsidiary Century Acqua Lifestyle Corp., which handles the group’s fractional ownership business.

Abacore Capital Holdings (ABA) has found a little-known company to develop its Monte Maria resort in Batangas. ABA said its new partner, Highsource Prime Building, has agreed to invest up to $400 million (P23.8 billion).

REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT TRUST

The company will raise Php 2.10bn from this IPO which can be upsized to Php2.14bn with the full exercise of the over-allotment option. SIPCOR and CAMPCOR intend to reinvest in 14 identified solar projects with a combined capacity of 1,550 MWDC.

Philippines’ first real estate investment trust (REIT) plans to increase assets under management from P10 billion to P15 billion annually. The company plans to continue expanding its portfolio of assets at an average of 100,000 square meters of gross leasable area annually from 2023 to 2025.

STARTUP 

Globe’s 917 Ventures and Ayala Corporation have teamed up with Taiwanese firm Gogoro to launch electric scooters in the Philippines. Smartscooters will serve as an eco-friendly alternative to fossil fuel-powered vehicles currently used by the logistics and last-mile delivery industry.

  Wong’s Oriental Group Asset Management has bought a controlling interest in The Orange Company. The Orange is the owner and developer of fintech + lifestyle community app, The Orange Platform. Proceeds of the share sale would fully fund TOP’s ongoing rollout in Manila and selected provinces.

Maya Savings users can extend their 6% yearly interest on deposits provided that they avail of in-app services. A minimum spend of P250 is required to reclaim the interest, which may be done via bills payment.

PHILIPPINE STOCK MARKET 

After six straight days of gains, the PSEi dropped by 0.68% to close at 6,734.99 while the broader all shares index fell by 12.95 pts. (-0.37%) to close at 3,513.98. 

Trading ended mixed for the sectoral indices, with advances by Mining & Oil (+3.22%), Holdings (+1.43%) and Industrials (+0.21%) but a decline in Property (-3.75%), Services (-2.23%) and financials (-0.84%).

Value turnover was at P9.5 billion (compared to P6 billion the day before) while net foreign selling was at P392 million. ACEN (+4.78%), SM (+4.37%), and CNVRG (+3.49%) were the top index gains, while PGOLD (-7.04%) and WLCON (-6.07%) were the biggest decliners.