Palace economic adviser calls P1.7-trillion stock market loss fake news

Presidential Economic Adviser Frederick Go has dismissed as "fake news" a report claiming the Philippine stock market lost P1.7 trillion in value, a figure he stated originated from a "confirmed fake social media post."

SEC Chairperson Francis Lim had initially highlighted the negative impact of corruption issues on Philippine investments, citing a P1.7 trillion market value loss over three weeks and mentioning corruption in flood control projects as a key concern.

However, Go clarified that the P1.7 trillion figure represented a 12% decline and was based on false information, and he confirmed with the PSE president that this was indeed fake news.

The PSE president confirmed that the only legitimate drop in the PSE was 1.6% from August 11 to 29.

Go also cited that Inquirer's Biz Buzz had already debunked the P1.7-trillion meltdown as early as September.

As far as Go knew, no businesses had pulled out their investments due to the corruption issue, though he acknowledged that unpredictability might cause temporary consideration of investment projects.