THE Philippine Stock Exchange, Inc. (PSE) is set to introduce new sectoral indices this year as it aims to update the classification of listed companies, a company official said on Thursday.

“Hopefully [it will be introduced] by [the fourth quarter] and that’s already set in stone,” PSE Assistant Vice-President and Capital Markets Development Division Head Mark Frederick V. Visda told reporters on the sidelines. an event led by the Shareholders’ Association of the Philippines (SharePHIL).

“It’s really a matter of us putting together some things, but in terms of the revision, that’s it,” he added.

In a report, Mr. Visda said that the PSE will introduce these sectors: consumer; energy and utilities; mining and materials; and technology, media and telecommunications. The move seeks to update company classification in the index.

“We think it’s really about updating how we classify companies in terms of their sectors,” Mr. Visda said.

The revision was due in part to listed companies diversifying their businesses to other sectors, he added.

“We thought that we should capture these changes by revising or updating our sectors,” Mr. Visda said.

The indices, once updated, will total eight from the existing six, with the services sector along with the mining and oil sector either to be replaced or reclassified.

“Also, it is high time that we introduce a consumer sector since that is something that our economy is really dependent on, he said.

The financials, holding firms, and property sectors will be retained.

The local bourse operator benchmarked the MSCI index and other global classification standards as it aligns its sectors.

“If you talk to investors, they are a lot more updated than what we have now. So, we just want to align also with what people are trying to use,” he said.

In terms of impact, the new sectoral indices will see more relevance to investors tracking sector performances, he added. — Adrian H. Halili

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