Corruption scandal hits investor trust

Japanese financial giant MUFG Bank Ltd. said investors have turned pessimistic following heightened political risks, but the relative strength of the Philippine peso is buoying sentiment.

- By DERCO ROSAL

“Political risks are escalating as street protests call for President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s resignation over a corruption scandal linked to publicly funded flood mitigation projects,” Lloyd Chan, MUFG Senior Currency Analyst, wrote in a Dec. 1 commentary.

Chan noted that investor sentiment has “deteriorated, but the 59 level for the United States (US) dollar-peso remains a key resistance for now.”

The relative strength of the local currency, following its recent plunge to its weakest levels, could have made goods imports cheaper in late November.