I must congratulate Injap for being very brave with his initial public offering of Merry Mart.
This is a good sign for our economic recovery. It represents an opportunity for investors to participate in the strong growth we anticipate in the coming period. This presents with us a glimpse of the coming sunrise.
I had the chance to visit the first Merry Mart branch when it opened at the Double Dragon Plaza last year. I was impressed by this effort to cut a niche between our large supermarkets and the convenience stores that proliferate in our cities and municipalities.
No doubt, Merry Mart will make our lively retail sector even merrier. Its ambitious plan to expand across the country will help generate much-needed new jobs and introduce strong competition in our retail industry. It will help stimulate our economy as we bounce back from the COVID-19 crisis.
In addition, Merry Mart will contribute to further enhance our logistics system by bringing goods from the producers to the consumers at the least cost.
This initial public offering signals trust in our good economic prospects. It shares in the optimism that, notwithstanding the global downturn engulfing us today, the Philippine economy has the fundamentals to rise quickly from the devastation wrought by the pandemic.
It is also a sterling example of how the government and the private sector can work together to inspire public confidence in our ability to quickly recover from the crisis.
The development comes at a time when despite the pandemic, the Japan Credit Rating Agency found the Philippines deserving of an A-minus credit rating upgrade with a stable outlook.
Our entry into the “A” rating territory will help us bring in more foreign investments from Japan and other places and will attract more investors to our future bond issuances in the samurai market. This will likewise allow Philippine companies to access funding from Japanese banks at favorable costs and possibly be able to negotiate for good terms.
I hope these encouraging developments will help uplift the Filipino spirit at this difficult time and inspire us to work harder together to emerge stronger and more resilient after the pandemic.
Once again, I congratulate Injap for the initial public offering of Merry Mart, and also congratulations to PSE for making the market more accessible to small and medium companies as well as more investors. I wish everyone the best of luck in this invaluable enterprise.
-@@@-
Copyright © 2021 Department of Finance