Shares of the following companies had unusual moves in Philippine trading. Stock symbols are in parentheses and prices are as of the noon close in Manila.
The Philippine Stock Exchange Index increased 1.6 percent to 4,421.56, a record close.
Philippine National Bank (PNB) jumped 6.2 percent to 63.70 pesos, the steepest gain since April 12, after the Philippine Daily Inquirer cited people it didn’t identify as saying Industrial & Commercial Bank of China Ltd. may invest in Allied Banking Corp., a Manila-based lender that will merge with Philippine National this year.
Allied Bank said in a statement that the report has “no substantive basis.” Philippine National President Eugene Acevedo declined to say how the bank will benefit from a possible investment by ICBC into Allied Bank. Wang Zhenning, a Beijing-based press officer for ICBC, declined to comment on market speculation.
SM Investments Corp. (SM) , the holding company of Philippine billionaire Henry Sy, climbed 3.1 percent to 551 pesos, the sharpest gain since April 29. The company approved a $142.2 million investment in Atlas Consolidated Mining & Development (AT) Corp, a stock exchange filing showed. Atlas rose 1.7 percent to 21.60 pesos, the highest close based on prices going back to March 1992.
Vista Land & Lifescapes Inc. (VLL) rose 1 percent to 3.19 pesos, the highest level since June 22, after the homebuilder said it will invest at least 5 billion pesos on office buildings and commercial spaces in a project in Laguna province.
To contact the reporter on this story: Ian C. Sayson in Manila at isayson@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Darren Boey at dboey@bloomberg.net
