The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) plans to raise the minimum public ownership (MPO) of publicly listed companies by the end of 2018, but has yet to release guidelines on how these firms should comply due to the volatility in the market.

“For the existing companies, we plan to raise it to 15%. But we’re still studying the matter because unfortunately the market is not that stable to admit this increase. Because maybe some people, because of some volatility in the market are not yet investing,” SEC Chairperson Teresita J. Herbosa told reporters on the sidelines of a forum in Quezon City last week.

The Philippine Stock Exchange index — considered a local barometer for investor confidence — has been steadily declining in previous weeks, after notching consecutive all-time highs at the end of 2017 until breaching past the 9,000 mark last January 26.

Analysts have attributed this decline to a technical correction, further pulled down by the rising bond yields in the United States that have encouraged foreign investors to flee the equities markets and turn to bonds.

“So if you release suddenly an increase of 5% on a public float of 10% then there may be no buyers at this point, or only a few shares will be sold. It will be very difficult for some companies to comply with that increase,” Ms. Herbosa said. — Arra B. Francia

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