THE Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) was picked as the best bourse in Southeast Asia by an institutional investment magazine, citing its potential for growth on the back of the country’s economic fundamentals.

In a statement issued over the weekend, the PSE said it received the award for best exchange in the region from Alpha Southeast Asia, its fourth in the last five years.

“The upside for PSE remains high as it has the strongest potential for growth in 2018 given the solid economic fundamentals of the country as the global economic outlook improves and investors return to what is increasingly known as the safest haven in Asia with improving investments prospects for foreign and institutional investors,” the PSE quoted Alpha Southeast Asia as saying.

The award comes as the PSE notched a total of 14 fresh peaks in 2017, ending the previous year at 8,558.42 or 25.1% higher than 2016 levels.

“Our accomplishments in 2017 would not have been possible without the hard work of the PSE team and the support of our regulators and various stakeholders. We will continue to do our best to fulfill our vision of becoming a world-class exchange,” PSE President Ramon S. Monzon said in a statement.

The bourse showed no signs of slowing down in the first week of January as it saw another series of record highs. It breached the 8,800 mark intraday on Jan. 5 before pulling back to 8,770 at closing bell, posting its third record high in 2018. 

This year, the PSE will be focusing on the introduction of new products to make the bourse more attractive to investors. The first quarter will see the launch of short selling transactions and securities borrowing and lending at the PSE. 

“We eagerly await the SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission). Hopefully we’ll get the nod from the SEC,” PSE Chief Operating Officer Roel A. Refran said in a recent interview. 

The practice of short selling has already been allowed under the Securities Regulation Code as early as 2009, but the PSE has yet to implement the formal guidelines for such transactions. Here, investors can sell securities they do not yet own by borrowing the underlying securities.

The PSE in a forum in October 2017 said short-selling will most likely be handled by the Philippine Depository and Trust Corp. (PDST). Short-selling is seen as a way to attract more investors into the PSE, amid worries among some fund managers the 20% increase in stock transaction tax would hamper the growth of the local stock market.

On the other hand, PDST is a subsidiary of the Philippine Dealing System Holdings group (PDS), which the PSE is currently in the process of acquiring. The PSE and PDS merger is expected to happen within 2018, given that the PSE has secured clearance from the Philippine Competition Commission to proceed with the transaction. — Arra B. Francia

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