MORE Filipinos are investing in the stock market, the head of the Philippine Stock Exchange said on Thursday.
PSE president Ramon Monzon said local investors now make up 25.9 percent of total retail investors versus 18.2 percent a year ago.
He added that despite the exit of many foreign investors from Philippine equities due to the pandemic, the market has been able to sustain volumes thanks to local investors.
“Net foreign selling for 2020 is about P120 billion, and yet we are able to sustain the volumes in our markets. Obviously, it is the domestic investors that played a very significant role in taking up stocks,” Monzon said in an interview with ANC Market Edge on Thursday.
Monzon said 2021 is a “positive” year for the stock market as more firms will turn to equities to raise capital as banks keep lending requirements tight.
“Lending standards of banks have become more restrictive. There are a lot of companies who will have difficulty in raising debt financing, so they will probably have to go to the equity markets to raise their financing requirements,” he said.
He noted that the revised listing rules, which will be “approved soon,” will make it easier for companies to list in the stock market. (ABS-CBN News)
