Philippine Investors Pin Infrastructure Hopes on ‘Man of Action’
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Incoming Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte.
Photographer: Jeoffrey Maitem/NurPhoto/Sipa USA via AP PhotoThis article is for subscribers only.
Under Benigno Aquino, public-private partnerships were cynically referred to as power-point presentations due to a lack of progress in building roads, rail and power plants.
Investors are betting Rodrigo Duterte, who took over as president on Thursday, will be able to make speedier progress than his predecessor. Seven of the top 10 performers on the Philippine Stock Exchange Index since the May 9 election are utilities or conglomerates with major infrastructure components. Aboitiz Equity Ventures Inc., which invests in electricity, has surged 23 percent and Metro Pacific Investments Co., with water and power units, is up 20 percent.