In Southeast Asia: PSE bags Marquee Award for Best Stock Exchange

CEBU, Philippines - The Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) was given the Marquee Award for being the Best Stock Exchange in Southeast Asia in the 7th Annual Alpha Southeast Asia Best Solution and Deal Awards for 2013. 

Organized by Alpha Southeast Asia, the first and only institutional investment magazine focused in Southeast Asia, the award cited the record-breaking year of the Philippine stock market despite the volatility of equities markets worldwide. Among the achievements mentioned were the PSEi's breach of the 7,000 mark, the remarkable growth of trading activity, the significant capital raising activity during the year. The organizers also recognized the various corporate governance initiatives spearheaded by the Exchange.

"This is a very good way to cap the year which has shaped up to be one of the best years of the Exchange from a new product offering standpoint.  This will inspire us to push for more products and services that will attract more investors to take part in our growth story. We would like to thank the organizers for this award," PSE President and CEO Hans B. Sicat said.

For 2013, the PSEi breached the 6,000 and 7,000-point mark and recorded its highest level in history of 7,392.20 points in May 2013.  The PSE was able to successfully launch the country's first exchange traded funds, the Shariah program for local stocks, and a Philippine-based index futures in Singapore. The PSE also introduced the PSETradex, its own online trading platform that brokers can use to offer online trading services to their clients. 

It is also preparing to launch its new and enhanced online corporate disclosure system dubbed the PSE EDGE. The second PSE Bell Awards was held in November to recognize companies and trading participants adhering to high standards of corporate governance.

"The performance of the equity market irrefutably underscores how the Philippines' equity market has been partially insulated from global volatility as it is dominated not only by local investors and a large domestic pension fund system but also foreign investors who now strongly believe in the investment fundamentals of the Philippines," according to a fund manager who is part of the panel of the in-house Marquee Awards at Alpha Southeast Asia.

The PSE's corporate governance programs were also highlighted by the organizers in conferring the award to the PSE.

"One of the many reasons why foreign investors have remained comfortable investing in the Philippines is due to its pro-disclosure stance from the ground up," the panel added.  "At the core of the PSE's investment revival is its corporate governance (CG) initiatives driven from the Exchange's Corporate Governance Office (CGO). First and foremost recognizing the unique role PSE plays in the country's capital markets and key risks involved, the PSE implemented an Enterprise Risk Management system, adopting a best practice approach to risk management, common among leading exchanges around the world. The PSE has also enhanced the dedicated microsites for its Corporate Governance Office and Investor Relations Office to best address the needs and concerns of its investors and stakeholders."

Alpha Southeast Asia is an institutional investment magazine dedicated to covering the Southeast Asian region. The Marquee Awards is now on its seventh year of recognizing the best and most innovative corporate investments deals and banking solutions in the region and is on its fifth year of giving the recognition for the Best Stock Exchange in Southeast Asia. Previous winners of the Best Stock Exchange in Southeast Asia category were the Stock Exchange of Thailand (2012) and the Indonesia Stock Exchange (2009 to 2011). (www.pse.com.ph) (FREEMAN)