The Philippine Stock Exchange Inc. (PSE), the operator of the local equities and fixed-income markets, on Sunday said the market has not lost P5 trillion in less than one year, calling the claim as ‘dishonest, if not malicious.’
In a statement, the PSE said the comparing domestic market capitalization (MCAP) of the bourse as against total market capitalization, which included those also listed overseas, is like apples and oranges.
It said the claim ‘is clearly meant to provoke investors to lose confidence in the Philippine capital market and destabilize the economy.’
The PSE said it tracks two types of MCAP-the domestic and total market capitalization.
Domestic MCAP are those from Philippine companies that are primarily listed on the PSE.
Total MCAP, meanwhile, includes the domestic MCAP and also those listed overseas. These are Manulife Financial Corp., whose shares are also traded on the Toronto, Hong Kong, and New York stock exchanges; Sun Life Financial Inc., which is traded on the Toronto and New York stock exchanges; and Campos-led Del Monte Pacific Ltd., which is also traded at the Singapore stock exchanges.
‘Since only less than 1 percent of the outstanding shares of MFC and SLF and less than 5 percent of DELM are lodged for trading in PSE, [the] PSE uses domestic MCAP data as the MCAP reference number since it more accurately captures the performance of the Philippine stock market,’ the PSE said.
Domestic MCAP is down by P273.26 billion or 1.88 percent as of October 10, to P14.29 trillion from end of last year’s P14.56 trillion, the PSE said.
Foreign MCAP, which only includes the three firms, fell 11 percent for the period to P4.82 trillion from P5.44 trillion.
Total MCAP, meanwhile, fell by 4 percent or P886.84 billion to P19.12 trillion from the end of last year’s trading.
A post last October 10 on social media by a ‘pseudo-expert’ on the stock market advanced the claim that the PSE has lost up to P5 trillion in market capitalization since December 2024.
‘Unfortunately, this fake news was irresponsibly published on the same day and reposted the following day in an online tabloid that is known for prioritizing sensationalism that will generate clicks and engagements over providing news that have been fact-checked or verified, a minimum prerequisite required of legitimate journalists in this era where fake news is readily accepted as gospel truth,’ the PSE said.
Last week, Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Francis E. Lim apologized for making a mistake when he said the corruption issue on flood control projects have wiped out about P1.7 trillion in market value of publicly listed companies.
Lim said the information was ‘based on what I believed at the time to be a credible industry report. I have since learned that the report was fictitious. I deeply regret any confusion or concern that my statement may have caused.’
‘My sole intent was to underscore the vital importance of integrity in our markets and the devastating impact corruption can have on investor confidence.’