A damning judgment on Aquino’s economy from the PSE

AS we reported Monday, expectations at the beginning of the year for as many as 10 initial public offerings (IPOs) via the Philippine Stock Exchange during 2015 have been cruelly dashed. The last IPO for this year is scheduled to take place next Monday, when the Italian-Filipino real estate joint venture Italpinas will be listed on the PSE’s smaller SME board, bringing 2015’s total to a disappointing four, instead of the expected 10 listings.

Among the three previous IPOs this year, the results have been less than spectacular. The first two from early in the year, Crown Asia Chemicals and SBS Philippines, have had moderate success in the market since they were listed but are currently trading at well below their yearly high. The most recent, Metro Retail Stores Group, which listed on Nov. 24, closed at below its IPO price last Friday as the market headed for the long holiday weekend.