MANILA — President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo graced today, June 18, the listing of some 3.13 billion common shares of stock of Alliance Global Group, Inc. (AGGI) worth P17.8 billion at the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) in Makati City, as stock prices vaulted to new record highs.
At the close of trading today, the 29-company composite index rose 9.26 points or 0.25 percent at 3,680.55 — a new record topping the May 22 trading finish.
The AGGI follow-on stock offering, touted as the single largest in the history of PSE, resumed today after it was suspended on June 4.
AGGI President and Chief Operating Officer Kingson Sian said his company evolved from a one-product line manufacturing company to a conglomerate due to the “continued efforts (of government) to develop the stock market.”
He pointed out that favorable developments in the country, bannered by the buoyant economy and the strong peso, have caught the “readers screen of investors.”
Sian said AGGIs follow-on offering “underscores the bullish investor sentiment anchored on improving economic fundamentals.”
The bulls are loose at the PSE as stock prices continue to soar rapidly. Last Friday, stock prices hit a new all-time high, soaring 42.67 points or 1.17 percent to 3,671.29 while the value turnover swelled to P9 billion.
Analysts said they expect the bull run to continue and possibly even breach the 3,800-4,000 level in the short term due to positive economic and corporate numbers.
The economy, measured by the gross domestic product (GDP), posted a 6.9 percent growth during the first quarter of 2007. The strongest GDP performance in the last 17 years, the new record was attributed to the rise in exports, increased household consumption, higher government spending, and growing investor confidence.
AGGI is the holding company of real estate tycoon Andrew Tan of Megaworld Corporation. It owns 49 percent of the local franchise of MacDonalds food chain and has recently acquired local brandy maker Emperador Distillers, Inc. for P3 billion.
AGGI started as a manufacturer of glass containers. (OPS) (davaotoday.com)
