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Friday, September 08, 2006
PSE mulls Cebu branch to lure more investors
To encourage Cebu-anos to buy stocks in the stock market, the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) is seriously considering putting up a branch in Cebu.
Melchor Guerrero, PSE vice president and head of capital markets development division, said setting up a PSE branch in Cebu is the company’s way of establishing its presence in the province and providing a venue for Cebuanos to keep track of activities in the stock market and participate in them.
“We might be putting up 20 to 30 booths. It’s like a mini-stock market. We will also be putting up one in Davao,” he said in an interview at the Marco Polo Plaza Hotel yesterday.
Invest
PSE conducted a “Cebu Stock Market” Roadshow yesterday at the Marco Polo Plaza Hotel. The event was sponsored by First Metro Asset Management Inc., Smart Click and Ayala Land.
Guerrero said PSE’s branch in Cebu will hopefully encourage Cebuanos to invest in listed companies.
“The Cebu market is a largely untapped market. With a large pool of entrepreneurs in Cebu, there should be more untapped funds in the area,” he said.
The PSE combines the Manila Stock Exchange and the Makati Stock Exchange. It was granted license by the Securities and Exchange Commission to operate as a securities exchange in 1994.
Guerrero said buying stocks allows investors to earn more, unlike when they invest in debt instruments like treasury bills, which earn an interest of only 20 percent.
Apart from this, interest from the purchase of treasury bills are also covered by an eight-percent tax while “investments in stocks are tax-free,” he said.
Guerrero cited blue-chip companies like the Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT), whose shareholders earned millions in only two years.
High value
PLDT shareholders, who bought about P1 million worth of shares in May 2004, now have shares worth P7 million as of May 2006, he said.
PLDT has the highest per share value of P2,000 in the PSE. It is followed by Ayala Corp., Bank of Philippine Islands, Globe Telecom Inc. and San Miguel Corp.
Guerrero also encouraged Cebuano companies to enlist with the PSE to gain additional funding from prospective investors.
Equity funding or raising funds through selling of shares, may force owners to give up a certain percentage of ownership of his company. If it were to get a loan from a financial entity, on the other hand, a company or an organization will have to put up a collateral and pay interests. (JBN)
For Bisaya stories from Cebu. Click here. (September 8, 2006 issue)
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