Philippine Markets: 12 January 2011

12 January 2011

USD/PhP: 44.00 - 0.125 PSEi: 4037.23 + 4.86
USD/JPY: 83.14 PFINC: 902.92 - 7.85
EUR/USD: 1.2982 BDO: 55.60 + 0.20
GBP/USD: 1.5627 BPI: 54.50 - 1.40
PDSTF3M: 1.0786 MBT: 64.10 - 0.40
Prices as of 4:00pm Source: Bloomberg, Reuters



Philippines Export Growth Slumps to 12-Month Low
By Max Estayo

Jan. 12 (Bloomberg) -- Philippine export growth slowed to a 12-month low in November as sales of electronics and manufactured goods eased. Shipments abroad grew 11.2 percent from a year earlier to $4.14 billion after rising a revised 27.4 percent in October, the National Statistics Office said in Manila today. That compares with the median forecast for a 25.2 percent gain in a
Bloomberg News survey of seven economists.

“It’s a rather disappointing number,” said Radhika Rao, an economist at Forecast Pte in Singapore. “It signals fading seasonal demand, which is probably waning even for the electronics sector. Peso gains in the month could also have impacted manufacturers’ competitiveness.”

The outlook for Asian exports including chips made by the Philippine units of Texas Instruments Inc. and Intel Corp. is mixed after a world economic recovery spurred a rebound in demand last year. While U.S. retailers’ 2010 holiday sales jumped 5.5 percent for the best performance in five years, global semiconductor sales growth slowed in November.

“People are nervous that the global economy might sputter,” David Cohen, an economist at Action Economics in Singapore, said before the report. Still, “the global picture suggests demand is
continuing its upward trajectory.”

Electronics Sales

Exports account for about a third of the Philippines’ $161 billion economy. Electronics sales, which make up more than half of Philippine exports, climbed 8.5 percent in November from a
year earlier, compared with a 38.2 percent increase in October, today’s report showed.

“The soft number has been distorted by a high base in the last quarter of” the previous year when exports started to recover, Barclays Capital regional economist, Prakriti Sofat,
said by telephone after the release. “Going forward, we would see exports underpinned by a supportive external environment and a pickup in the electronic sector.”

Global semiconductor sales rose 14.4 percent in November from a year earlier, slowing from a 19.8 percent pace the previous month, according to the Semiconductor Industry Association.

The peso climbed to 42.47 per dollar on Nov. 4, the highest level in 2 1/2 years, according to Tullett Prebon Plc. It traded at 44.075 at 9:43 a.m. in Manila, little changed from yesterday.

PH stock prices firm up

Local stocks firmed up on Wednesday as investors picked up bargains after a two-day bloodbath.

The main-share Philippine Stock Exchange index added 4.86 points or 0.12 percent to 4,037.23.

The recovery was led by the industrial and mining/oil counters, which surged by 1.9 percent and 2.21 percent, respectively.

Only the interest rate-sensitive property counter traded in the red alongside increasing expectation of a monetary tightening in the latter part of this year as Asian central banks' concern shifts to rising inflation from appreciating local currencies.

Value turnover surged to P6 billion from a little over P4 billion in the last few days.

There were 91 advancers as against 55 decliners and 34 unchanged stocks.

The stocks that actively gained on heavy volume were Manila Electric Co., Cyber Bay Corp., Semirara Mining Corp., Alliance Global Group Inc., San Miguel Corp., Universal Robina Corp., Cebu Air Inc., First Philippine Holdings Corp., Metro Pacific Investments Corp., Ayala Corp., Nickel Asia Corp., Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co., Empire East Land Holdings Inc. and DMCI Holdings Inc.

On the other hand, investors sold down shares of Metropolitan Bank & Trust Co., Aboitiz Power Corp., Megaworld Corp., Manila Water Co. Inc. and Ayala Land Inc.