‘Term limit dispute coming at wrong time’

MANILA, Philippines — Philippine Stock Exchange Inc. (PSE) president and CEO Ramon Monzon said the dispute over the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)’s proposed term limit on broker-directors of an exchange is coming at the wrong time.

“As the exchange, we have several stakeholders. We have the investors, we have the community, we have the employees, and of course, two of our biggest stakeholders are our regulators and the brokers who generate the trades for the exchange,” Monzon said in an interview on “Money Talks” on One News.

“So I don’t want to get in the middle of this talk on who’s correct, who’s wrong, will it improve corporate governance or not? I’d like to say, my only take on this whole thing is it’s coming at the wrong time. I mean, there are so many problems we’re having in the economy, in our market. I hope this issue did not come at this particular time,” he said.

The SEC said it is ready to face any legal action that could be taken by those opposing its plan to impose a term limit on broker-directors.

Ma. Vivian Yuchengco, among the current broker-directors of the PSE who will be affected by the commission’s proposal, has hinted at seeking potential legal action.

“I mean, we have a lot of problems in our market, in our economy, and if you read the papers, you’re talking about legal cases between the broker group and the SEC. It’s just not good for the market, I guess in terms of building confidence, especially as far as foreign investors are concerned,” Monzon said.

He said the PSE did not give any feedback to the SEC’s proposed circular, noting that the brokers, on their end, have the Philippine Association of Securities Brokers and Dealers Inc. (PASBDI).

“Like I said, we don’t want to muddy up the situation. I think PASBDI, they can handle the issue for the brokers, and the SEC can also articulate what they want to do without the PSE getting dragged into this issue,” Monzon said.

“There are two sides. One side has their arguments. The other side has their arguments. And you know, it’s up to us to evaluate which one is more, I guess, correct for us. But for the exchange, I don’t want to take an official position on that,” he said.

Under the SEC’s proposed guidelines, a broker-director may be elected for a term of one year, subject to a maximum cumulative period of 10 years, whether consecutive or intermittent, in the same exchange.

Meanwhile, Monzon said the corruption scandal in the country that weighed down the stock market last year has now been overshadowed by the Iran crisis.

“Now, we have to get over this new challenge. It’s new headwind, which is the Iran crisis,” he said.

“I think when the oil starts going down below $100 (per barrel) to $80, I think it will deliver a strong message to the market that the conflict has somewhat subsided and there will be stability in oil prices. So again, if the conflict ends, or at least subsides with a ceasefire or, I guess, some settlement, I see all the global economy recovering again,” the PSE chief said.

Despite its current performance, Monzon said the stock market is still a good place to invest for retail investors given healthier and bigger dividend yields.

“When I talk about retail investors needing to invest in the market – I’m talking about investing, not trading – so when you invest, you’re really investing for the medium or long term, you don’t look at short-term fluctuation in prices. So you have the opportunity not only to continue earning on your investment via dividends, but you have the potential for capital growth,” he said.