Philippine Stock Exchange leads stock trading in the country

The Philippine Stock Exchange or the PSE is considered as the primary stock exchange in the country.

This is one of the two stock exchanges that operate the country and the other one is the Philippine Dealing Exchange. The PSE is also known as the first and the longest operating stock exchange in Southeast Asia. The PSE first started its operation in 1927.

The PSE that traders and brokers know now is actually two stock exchange companies- the first one is the Manila Stock Exchange and the other is the Makati Stock Exchange. Prior to the establishment of the Philippine Stock Exchange, these two stock exchanges were trading the same stocks coming from the same companies but their bourses were separate. This set-up lasted for thirty years. On December 23, 1992, these two exchanges then merged to form the now-called Philippine Stock Exchange.

Another milestone happened to the newly formed PSE in 1998. This was the year when the Philippine Securities and Exchange Commission granted the stock exchange with the label of ‘Self Regulatory Organization’. This only means that the bourse can implement its own set of policies and was also given the power to police its organization and penalize those erring brokers, traders and companies. In 2001, the PSE was then transformed from a non-profit, no-stock and member governed organization into a revenue earning corporation. This was also the time when the PSE also listed its shares and traded under the PSE symbol.

The PSE is currently located in two locations in Metropolitan Manila- the first location is in the Makati Central Business District and another one at the Pasig City. The PSE is known in the region as having one of the shortest trading hours since the exchange only trades starting 9:30 am until 12:30 pm PST. The trading hours will then be changed and a two-hour long afternoon session will be added to the trading day and this will take effect by June 30, 2009. Right now, the stock exchange is composed of a 15-man board and the board is chaired by the former Chief Justice Jose Vitug. The former Supreme Court Justice is an independent director who was on his job for the fourth time after he was re-elected in 2008. Francis Lim was also reelected as president for his 5th term.

The operation of the stock exchange is overseen by its Board of Directors. There is a special consideration when electing and maintaining the board. It is prescribed that at least 51 percent of the members of the board must remain as non-brokers as this limitation was prescribed by the Securities and Regulation Code. The remaining members of the board can be broker-directors who may represent brokerage firms. The PSE management is composed of the President or CEO and other professional managers. These individuals are the ones that make sure that the policies and the resolutions of the board are all carried out. This same management is also in charge of the day-to-day activities of the PSE and they make sure that the public investments and their transactions are well-protected. There are around 241 listed companies in the PSE and around 200 plus brokerage houses are listed as well. But only around 130 plus brokerage houses are operational.

The list of names of the major companies that are listed on the PSE includes;

• ABS-CBN
• Corro-Coat
• Equitable PCI Bank
• International Container Terminal Services Inc
• Manila Bulletin
• Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company
• San Miguel Corporation
• Union Bank of the Philippines

There is also a listing of the top investors in PSE and the list of the top investors include;

• Banco de Oro Universal Bank
• Bank of the Philippine Islands
• China Bank
• Equitable PCI Bank
• International Exchange Bank
• Metropolitan Bank and Trust Company
• Philippine Bank of Communications
• Philippine Savings Bank
• Security Bank
• Union Bank of the Philippines

For investors who may want to learn more about the Philippine Stock Exchange then they can log on to www.pse.com.ph or they can contact the PSE-Public Information Center or the PIAC. The PSE website is also the online place for interested investors and stockholders who may want daily quotations of stock prices.