Golden MV Holdings Inc., one of the most high-flying stocks in the Philippines, has suffered a dramatic collapse in recent days, erasing more than $16 billion from the fortune of its founder, Manuel Villar, and igniting questions about the company’s meteoric rise and sudden plunge. Since trading resumed last Thursday following a six-month suspension, Golden MV’s stock has tumbled 76%, marking the steepest decline in the company’s public history.
The stock’s nosedive has also pushed Villar off the top spot as the Philippines’ richest individual, with his net worth now at $5.6 billion, surpassed by business tycoon Enrique Razon, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. Despite repeated filings to regulators on Friday and Monday, Golden MV has claimed it does not know the cause of the drop, and company representatives did not respond to requests for comment.
Analysts suggest the decline reflects a market reassessment after the suspension. “When a stock returns from trading halt — especially one linked to a high-profile tycoon like Manny Villar — investors typically reassess its price relative to the company’s fundamentals,” said Toby Allan Arce, an analyst at Globalinks Securities & Stocks Inc. “The market appears to have concluded that the company’s pre-suspension valuation was far too rich.”
The trading suspension in May came after Golden MV failed to file financial results due to a dispute with its auditor over land valuation. The controversy centered on land purchased from Villar for $93 million and later revalued at $23.3 billion, a move that fueled the company’s pre-suspension stock surge, pushing its price-to-earnings ratio above 1,000 and baffling Manila’s financial community. Villar and related parties control 89% of Golden MV’s shares.
In its 2024 annual report filed last week, Golden MV stated it had agreed to follow the auditor’s recommended valuation method, resulting in a figure closer to the original purchase price. The company, which develops cemeteries, memorial parks, and low-cost housing, is currently working on a large-scale project called Villar City, intended to transform a cluster of southern Manila cities into the capital’s “new center of gravity,” with the recently acquired land planned as part of this development.
