I first visited Manila in the late 1990s. It was a scary place, gangs of kids tapping at the taxi window when they saw a foreigner in the backseat. Went again in 2015 or so and was really impressed. Still poor people but a sense that things were getting better. Market is very illiquid. I agree PSE looks interesting. I own Ginebra Sam Miguel and Asian Terminals. Have done well - still very cheap stocks posting good numbers.
I lived and worked there for several years up until maybe 2010 and wrote this piece some years ago for SA: https://seekingalpha.com/article/959411-a-damaged-culture-no-more-an-investing-in-the-philippines-reality-check (looks like its not paywalled anymore)... Frankly, after experiencing the mentality of the people / how they do business / run companies / treat each other / view foreigners etc, there is a reason why the country will never achieve it's full potential (and its a shame...)... With that said though, those two stocks are among the PH companies I would consider to be interesting w/ decent management etc and its undeniable there has been some progress in the country over the past few decades BUT if AI etc replaces alot of the call center / BPO / back office jobs, they will slide backwards...
I first visited Manila in the late 1990s. It was a scary place, gangs of kids tapping at the taxi window when they saw a foreigner in the backseat. Went again in 2015 or so and was really impressed. Still poor people but a sense that things were getting better. Market is very illiquid. I agree PSE looks interesting. I own Ginebra Sam Miguel and Asian Terminals. Have done well - still very cheap stocks posting good numbers.
I lived and worked there for several years up until maybe 2010 and wrote this piece some years ago for SA: https://seekingalpha.com/article/959411-a-damaged-culture-no-more-an-investing-in-the-philippines-reality-check (looks like its not paywalled anymore)... Frankly, after experiencing the mentality of the people / how they do business / run companies / treat each other / view foreigners etc, there is a reason why the country will never achieve it's full potential (and its a shame...)... With that said though, those two stocks are among the PH companies I would consider to be interesting w/ decent management etc and its undeniable there has been some progress in the country over the past few decades BUT if AI etc replaces alot of the call center / BPO / back office jobs, they will slide backwards...
I linked to your piece for my post today ( https://emergingmarketskeptic.substack.com/p/emerging-markets-week-june-17-2024 ) - I had lived and worked in Makati for several years up until maybe 2010 and wrote this piece some years ago for SA (I guess no longer paywalled): https://seekingalpha.com/article/959411-a-damaged-culture-no-more-an-investing-in-the-philippines-reality-check - As I replied to Leahi Capital, the mentality there really holds the country back...