Merrill Lynch still top broker in RP

US-based Merrill Lynch Securities Phils., Inc. held on to its distinction as the most active brokerage company at the Philippine Stock Exchange in the first five months of 2001, further belying reports it plans to close shop amid a lethargic local stock market.

The PSE reported that Merrill Lynch accounted for nearly eight percent of total trades during the five-month period, a substantial lead over its closest rival Jardine Fleming Exchange Capital Securities Inc. which cornered 6.5 percent.

In actual value, Merrill Lynch traded almost P12.5-billion worth of local stocks out of the cumulative P157.952 billion turnover for the entire period.

Aside from Merrill Lynch and Jardine Fleming, eight other foreign brokers have so far dominated trading at the bourse this year. Only UCPB Securities Inc. and BPI Securities Corp. were the local brokers which managed to land in the top 10 brokers list for the period, both benefiting from the huge block sale of San Miguel and Pure Foods shares.

But expanding the rankings further, foreign companies flexed their financial muscles even more as seven — including one that has recently suspended its operations — trailed the top 10 leaders.

On third place was the Dutch-based ABN-Amro Securities, which incidentally trimmed down its workforce as part of a corporate streamlining process. Relegated to the fourth spot was ING Barings Securities, which had topped the brokers’ ranking during the past two years.

Other foreign brokers in the top 10 list were: Regis Partners, UBS Warburg Securities, CLSA Philippines and HSBC Securities. The Singapore-based Securities 2000 still made it at 19th place despite closing down earlier this year.

The 10 top brokers rounded up 48 percent of the total trades at the PSE during the period. This year, a number of brokers — both foreign and local — have opted to suspend operations as the market continued to feel the impact of negative investor sentiment on the country’s political economic conditions.

From a total of 184 registered brokerage firms, there are now only around 150 brokers in operation, some with little trade to speak of as daily turnover averaged at around P300 million, one of the lowest in the world.