Investors looking for winners among the country’s biggest listed companies had a short list by the end of the third quarter.
Only six of the PSEi’s 30 constituents as of Sept. 30 finished above their Jan. 2 closing prices.
Leading the blue-chip race was Enrique Razon Jr.-led International Container Terminal Services, Inc. (ICTSI), which surged 60.40 percent to P891 from P555.50.
Its run included a historic milestone in July, when ICTSI became the first domestic listed company to close with a market capitalization exceeding P2 trillion.
The port operator ended July 14 with a market value of P2.01 trillion. This rose to P2.02 trillion the next day as its shares closed at a then-record P999 after touching P1,020 intraday.
Aboitiz Equity Ventures ranked second, climbing 34.75 percent to P38 from P28.20.
Ayala Corp. gained 5.57 percent to P500 from P473.60, while LT Group rose 3.39 percent to P15.26 from P14.76.
Puregold advanced 2.08 percent to P39.20 from P38.40. Monde Nissin completed the winners’ circle, inching up 0.85 percent to P5.90 from P5.85.
With four in every five blue chips ending in the red, ICTSI sailed far ahead of the pack.
But this is only the third-quarter scorecard. With one lap left in 2026, investors will see whether the six can stay afloat-or whether a late rally reshuffles the blue-chip race. – Emmanuel John B. Abris
A pop-up booth at the mall
The Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) is bringing its latest Retail Treasury Bond offering (RTB) 32, to TriNoma on Oct. 2 as it marks the program’s silver anniversary and looks to get more Filipinos comfortable with investing.
Last year, the Treasury took a step in that direction when RTBs became available through GCash’s GBonds. This year, it is taking the experience offline and straight to the mall.
That’s the whole tenet of RTBs, after all: bringing bonds closer to the people.
The idea is to make government securities feel a little less intimidating and investing a little more accessible, with visitors able to play games, win freebies, get one-on-one advice from BTr experts and, for those ready to take the plunge, invest on the spot.
All of this is part of the BTr’s push to bring RTBs to a wider pool of small investors, who can put in as little as P5,000, as the government seeks to raise as much as P150 billion in new money from the latest offering.
There’s even a little anniversary math to RTB 32: the 25-year-old program is celebrating with a 2.5-year bond, paying 6.875 percent a year until investors get their money back in April 2029.
Twenty-five years in, the Treasury seems to be taking the message quite literally: if you want more people to buy bonds, sometimes you just have to bring the bonds to where the people are. – Nyah Genelle C. De Leon
Moment boss goes the distance
One of the women behind the operator of some of the Philippines’ most recognizable restaurant brands has just made a significant stride in running. And no, we don’t mean running the pass, as we mean it quite literally this time.
Eliza Antonino, cofounder and CEO of The Moment Group, recently pulled off a personal feat after completing the 42-kilometer Berlin Marathon, which became the latest addition to the World Marathon Majors under her belt.
And Antonino didn’t go to Berlin to cross the finish line.
According to The Moment Group, she emerged as the third-fastest Filipina in her age group and the 11th-fastest Filipina overall among those who tackled the Berlin course.
She brought a little bit of home along for the run, too. Antonino tackled the Berlin course in a jersey emblazoned with ‘Iba talaga ‘pag Pinoy!’ and the logo of Manam, one of Moment’s homegrown restaurant brands.
Antonino cofounded The Moment Group with Abba Napa and Jon Syjuco in 2012 and has since helped build the operating machinery behind the restaurant group’s expansion.
More than a decade later, Antonino is still racing toward new goals.