Foreign investors see ‘hidden gems’ in Phl

MANILA, Philippines – Bank of America-Merrill Lynch says investors are bullish on the Philippines because many stocks have little or no exposure to the weak economies of Europe and the US.

The bank helped organize an ongoing three-day roadshow in Hong Kong for 30 Philippine companies to meet potential investors.

“A lot of the underlying companies don’t have as much of a correlation or connection with what’s happening in Europe and the US,” Clemente Antonio Puno IV, global corporate and investment banking director at Bank of America-Merrill Lynch (Singapore), said in an interview on ABS-CBN News Channel.

“That’s true for a lot of ASEAN markets as well, but I think in the Philippines there are a lot of hidden gems.”

Puno said investors find the country attractive because of economic fundamentals, strong banks, companies with low debt, and the prospect of a boom in infrastructure and mining.

He also said investors are confident the government will boost spending, after underspending, and the delayed start of its public-private partnership projects, helped damped growth last year.

“Investors understand there was a lot of cautiousness to begin with but the government has shown at least toward the end of last year and early this year that the spending will pick up and that’s aimed at truly moving forward the PPP program.”

“We saw one project getting awarded and that’s encouraging for a lot investors. Same as in other countries in the world, investors will be focused on how the program is implemented and how easy it is to come on shore and do business under onshore regulations.”

Bank of America said investors are looking at the fast-growing Southeast Asian region as a whole, picking less between countries such as the Philippines and Indonesia, and more among companies across the region.

“A lot of investors are looking at ASEAN as a block when they look at investing and they really pick the companies where they see a lot of growth and a lot of returns going forward.” –(The Philippine Star)