Benjamin E. Diokno
welcomed the Philippines’
standing in the 2023 lnvestor Relations and Debt
Transparency Report released by the lnstitute of
lnternational Finance (llF)
in June 2023.
According to the
report, the Philippines
ranked 3rd out of 41 countries in terms of investor
relations (IR) practices.
It attained an IR country
score of 47.8 out of 50,
which is higher by 6.4 index points compared to
the previous year’s report
where it stood at the 12th
spot.
“The Department
of Finance owes this feat
to the concerted investor relations efforts of the
economic team. We have
been strategic in the conduct of bilateral meetings,
non-deal roadshows, and
investor attraction engagements such as the
Philippine Economic Briefings abroad, which have
given us the platform to
inspire confidence in the
Philippines’ strong economic performance and
favorable macroeconomic
fundamentals,” said Secretary Diokno.
Strong IR programs support countries’
efforts to attain stable and
affordable access to international debt markets and
are effective in mobilizing
international private capital towards achieving global climate and sustainable
development goals.
The Report highlights various lR practices
across emerging markets
and developing countries, and ranks selected
countries with respect to
adherence to standard lR
practices and debt transparency metrics.
The assessment is based on three
(3) scores: the IR Country
Score, Debt Transparency Score, and ESG Data
and Policy Dissemination
Score.
Debt transparency, on the other hand, is a
subset of the headline IR
country score and assesses sovereign borrowers’
data and policy dissemination practices, with a
maximum score of 13.
The Philippines
scored 11.8, earning 2nd
place from its 20th spot
in the previous year. The
country ranked higher
than lndonesia (5th), Malaysia (14th), Thailand
(17th), China (32nd), and
Vietnam (34th).
Meanwhile, the
Environmental, Social,
and Governance (ESG)
Data and Policy Dissemination ranking considers
the availability of ESG
data, the provision of
ESG-related statistics on
risk assessments, and
how investor feedback is
incorporated in policy decisions regarding ESG-related information sharing.
The Philippines
also took a giant leap in
this category from its 16th
spot, placing it in 3rd place
with a score of 3.9 out of 4.
The Report also
cites technical recommendations to improve
investor relations and debt
transparency practices
scores: 1) Ensure availability of policy and data
documents in English;
2) Strengthen data and
information transparency efforts; 3) Make ESG
data and policy information available on investor relations office (IRO)
websites; and 4) Enhance
direct engagement with investors.
The IIF is the
global association of the
financial industry with
about 400 members from
more than 60 countries. It
provides its members with
global economic and financial research, advocacy, and access to leading
industry events. DOF.GOV
