PSE crafts new disclosure system

MANILA, Philippines - The Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) is crafting a new disclosure system that will allow faster dissemination of corporate announcements.

In a statement, the operator of the country’s sole stock exchange said it is partnering anew with the Korea Exchange (KRX) to improve the local bourse’s disclosure engine.

Under the agreement, KRX will design and develop the new online disclosure system, which will be called PSE Electronic Disclosure Generation Technology (PSE EDGE).

The new disclosure system will use electronic templates “so that disclosure information can be easily integrated real-time, upon release to the public, in various systems such as the PSE website and trading terminals, and the systems of data vendors and analysts,” PSE said.

It will replace the current Online Disclosure System where disclosures are submitted online in PDF format.

“Unfortunately, with the current system, investors and analysts will still have to manually encode information from the PDF format into their Excel file or other automated systems if they want to do further analytics on company disclosures,” said PSE president and CEO Hans B. Sicat.

“We hope we can roll out the new disclosure system by the end of the year so our investors and other stakeholders can start enjoying the benefits this more convenient system,” Sicat said.

PSE EDGE will also be available in a mobile platform where company disclosures can be accessed in a dedicated website or by downloading a mobile application compatible with different operating systems.

PSE said it is also working with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to allow the simultaneous submission by listed companies of disclosures to the PSE and SEC.

The new disclosure system is not the first partnership between PSE and KRX. In 2012, PSE tapped KRX to develop the market surveillance system.

“KRX has proven to be very dependable partner for our systems and we are excited to engage them again for this important technology investment of the PSE,” Sicat said.

It is important to partner with a global leader for exchange technology solutions as the PSE moves to become a world-class bourse, Sicat said.

PSE is improving its market reach and increasing efficiency in its operations. For instance, it will launch an Internet-based trading platform to increase the number of online investors.