Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) chairman Francis Lim cited ‘fake news’ when he remarked about the supposed trillion-peso wipeout in stock market value due to the corruption controversy, Malacañang said yesterday, as it claimed that business confidence in the country remains ‘solid.’
In a speech before financial executives last Wednesday, Lim said the flood control project mess has ‘shaken public confidence’ and has wiped out an ‘extraordinary’ P1.7 trillion in market value of publicly listed firms in just three weeks despite rising corporate earnings.’
Lim has apologized for the confusion.
‘The information, which had been circulating within business circles and cited by some media outlets, was based on what I believed at the time to be a credible industry report. I have since learned that the report was fictitious,’ Lim said in a statement yesterday.
‘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,’ Lim said.
There were also reports stating that the total value of companies listed in the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) dropped by 12 percent from P14.3 trillion to P12.6 trillion from Aug. 11 to 29.
Speaking to Palace reporters yesterday, Special Assistant to the President for Investment and Economic Affairs Secretary Frederick Go said multiple sources have confirmed that the claim about the stock market value wipeout was false.
‘Unfortunately, the Securities and Exchange Commission chairman was quoting a confirmed fake news socmed (social media) post designed to catch attention and falsely sensationalize,’ Go said.
‘The attributed source confirmed that the fake news did not come from them,’ he added, referring to S and P Global Market Intelligence, which was quoted by the debunked social media post.
According to Go, the drop in the total value of PSE-listed firms from Aug. 11 to 29 was not 12 percent, but 1.58 percent.
‘(With regard to the) All Shares Index in our Philippine stock market of 282 companies, the drop was only 1.5 percent. And in terms of the market cap, which is the clickbait number of that fake socmed post, the drop is only 1.4 percent,’ he said.
‘So, these are easily verifiable. You can confirm this later with the PSE, the Philippine Stock Exchange, or any stockbroker. They know these. All these details are public knowledge.’
Go said the Philippines has not lost any investment pledge despite the flood control issue. He revealed that the approval of the first beneficiary of the CREATE MORE Act – an investment from a Korean semiconductor company of over $1 billion – would be transmitted to the Office of the President this week.
‘I don’t think anybody has pulled out. I think sometimes when there is unpredictability in the environment, people might temporarily think about their investment projects. But we’re quite confident that when this is all resolved, they will all come back. So, they have not pulled out… They will continue with their projects,’ Go said.
According to Go, the business community is ‘very appreciative’ of President Marcos’ effort to address corruption.
‘I think the business confidence is still solid. I think you can see that from multiple sources of information. But, of course, there is this short-term challenge that we have to overcome, primarily because of the negativity in our news or in our social media news feeds,’ the investment czar said.
‘So, I think it will really help our country if we start moving on from this, focusing on the reforms and the corrective measures that will be done to address these issues that we have uncovered. And by doing that, I think the rebound will be stronger.’
Asked to react to the US State Department’s report stating that corruption remains a major barrier to investment in the Philippines, Go said the ‘swiftness and decisiveness’ of the President show the government’s resolve to address the problem.
‘I believe the negativity is overblown. This investigation will be good for the country long-term because it will address and correct the wrong practices. The effect of this is that the budget – and we already see it now – will be more efficiently spent and allocated on more productive programs which will benefit the country and our people,’ he said.
Foreign business chambers have long lamented corruption and red tape in the country, Go added.
At the same press briefing, Go said the proposal of Sen. Erwin Tulfo to implement a month-long income tax holiday to provide relief to the public in the face of the corruption issue requires a thorough study.
‘This is quite a big matter and I think it’s best to give the DOF (Department of Finance) and the DBM (Department of Budget and Management) time to carefully study this proposal,’ he said.