Philippines seen having best prospects

THE longest stretch of inflows into Philippine equities since at least 1999 shows growing confidence among foreign investors that the economy has the best prospects in Asia, according to the nation's top-performing stock picker.

Overseas money managers were net buyers on the Philippine Stock Exchange for a 25th straight day yesterday, adding US$561 million to holdings during the period and capping the longest streak of inflows since Bloomberg began compiling the data in March 1999.

Noel Reyes, the chief investment officer at Security Bank Corp, says fresh purchases may drive further gains as long as the nation maintains economic growth near 7 per cent.