Philippine bourse to widen investors’ access to market

THE Philippine Stock Exchange wants to reduce the required minimum units to trade a company’s share in a bid to widen access of smaller investors and boost market liquidity.

The PSE, in a memorandum dated Oct 9, is proposing to revise the board lot sizes to “democratise stock trading” and accommodate a minimum investment of 100 pesos (S$2.40). 

The proposal comes as the PSE ramps up efforts to boost liquidity in the exchange by introducing short selling and stock trading via mobile apps. 

The PSE is aiming for a nationwide launch of stock trading via popular fintech app GCash this month, PSE chief executive Ramon Monzon said last week. Monzon said GCash, which registered 76 million users last year, wanted to reduce the minimum board lot, which may encourage more people to trade.

The PSE said the number of online stock market accounts rose nearly 9 per cent to about 1.3 million last year, or around three-fourths of the total, in what the bourse described as “muted growth” compared with previous years. However, average value per online transaction increased 33 per cent to about 46,200 pesos, PSE said.

Interested parties may submit comments on the proposed amendment by Oct 23, the PSE memo said. BLOOMBERG