Duterte’s Stock Rally Withers as Foreign Funds Pull Cash Out (2)

(Bloomberg) -- The honeymoon is over for Philippine stocks.

Equities in the Southeast Asian nation, which soared to a 15-month high after Rodrigo Duterte won the presidency in a landslide election in May, sank last month to cap the region’s steepest drop. The Philippine Stock Exchange Index has erased all of its rally since Duterte took office in June, while valuations are still near the most expensive level since 2013. The gauge sank 1.6 percent at 10:25 a.m. in Manila to a two-month low, its seventh day of losses and the most among major Asian peers.

Foreign fund managers pulled money out of the Philippines last week at the fastest pace since September, helping to accelerate the stock slide. While they’ve still added to investments in the nation’s $276 billion equity market under Duterte, the shift in sentiment presents a challenge for the blunt and unpredictable leader as he tries to deliver on his economic growth pledges.

“It’s not a cheap market and as a fund manager I can’t find a good stock to buy,” said Singapore-based Raymond Kong, who oversees $2.5 billion at One Asia Investment Partners. “I have made good money in the Philippines, took some profit and moved to other Asean markets that give me more value and growth.”

The Philippine gauge rallied 33 percent from a January low through the July 21 peak as Duterte vowed to cut corporate taxes, relax business restrictions and ramp up infrastructure spending, while talking tough against crime, corruption and vice. Even after August’s 2.2 percent slide, the equity measure is still up 12 percent this year. The Philippine peso, meanwhile, had the best performance among Asian currencies in August.

Foreign investors, who pumped $1.3 billion into the stock market this year through Aug. 11, have taken some money off the table. After a 12-week stretch of purchases, overseas investors have withdrawn $248 million since the middle of August, closing the month with $34 million in outflows, the first in four months. The equity index is valued at 18.7 times 12-month projected earnings, near the most expensive level since May 2013.

“A lot of the good news now is in the price,” said Steve Brice, Singapore-based chief investment strategist for wealth management at Standard Chartered Plc. “That’s why we’re seeing the stock market taking steps back. We’ve come a long way. We’re doing really well. What’s the next catalyst for giving even better from our perspective?”

Some of the declines in Manila can be attributed to a broader pullback. Emerging-market equities came under pressure in the second half of August as investors weighed the chances of higher U.S. interest rates ahead of comments from Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen. The MSCI Emerging Markets Index dropped 2.1 percent from Aug. 18 when it reached the highest in more than year.

Some investors speculate about the impact of Duterte himself on the markets. Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez has said the president is pursuing policies that will create jobs, boost growth and lead to higher credit ratings. Yet Duterte has also begun crackdowns on major industries in the Philippines.

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The president has gone after miners in the world’s biggest nickel ore supplier. The government’s audit of standards in the mining sector has led to shutdowns of several mines as he seeks to ensure that all of them comply with environmental and welfare standards. He then zeroed in on gambling, ordering a stop to online gaming that sent the shares of PhilWeb Corp. and Leisure & Resorts World Corp. slumping. He has since said he may reconsider provided they pay the right taxes and follow the prescribed zoning rules.

Meanwhile, about 2,000 people had been killed in Duterte’s campaign against illegal drugs, which has raised concerns from the United Nations and added to anxiety for some investors.

“It’s unclear how the new president is going to behave going forward,” said Mark Mobius, executive chairman of Templeton Emerging Markets Group who is least bullish on the Philippines. “If there is a feeling that the rule of law is going out the window in the Philippines, then this would not be good news. But the jury is still out.”

Growth Aid

Not everyone is worried.

Economic activity in the Philippines remains robust, and Duterte should be able to deliver results that would bolster investor confidence, said Soo Hai Lim, investment director at Baring Asset Management (Asia) Ltd. in Hong Kong.

“There’s sufficient tailwinds for the economy,” he said. “For the next 12 months, Duterte should be able to deliver what the investors would like to see.”

Gross domestic product increased 7 percent in the second quarter, the fastest pace in three years, topping estimates and beating the first quarter’s expansion. Duterte’s administration sees a steady acceleration in growth to 7 percent to 8 percent in the medium term.

“I’m structurally positive on the Philippines and have a long-term strategic overweight,” said Alan Richardson, a Hong Kong-based fund manager at Samsung Asset Management Ltd. “Flow data is hot money reacting to high-frequency news flow such as U.S. interest-rate policy. Government policy action will drive long-term fund flows because growth fundamentals with low inflation and low debt are the ultimate drivers.”

Corporate earnings and economic growth were not spectacular enough to support the rich valuations, said John Padilla, who helps manage about $9 billion at Metropolitan Bank & Trust Co., the Philippines’s third-largest money manager. He said Metropolitan Bank moved the equity positions in its portfolio to neutral.

“For a time a lot of us thought the elevated valuation was the new normal and will be sustained,” Padilla said, but the data is giving investors reason to step back. Nevertheless, he added, he’s willing to give Duterte a year “to get things running.”

(Updates stock gauge performance in second paragraph.)

--With assistance from Lilian Karunungan Chan Tien Hin Tom Redmond Jonathan Burgos and Choong En Han To contact the reporter on this story: Ian Sayson in Manila at isayson@bloomberg.net. To contact the editors responsible for this story: Jeff Sutherland at jsutherlan13@bloomberg.net, Andreea Papuc

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