Meralco returns to PSEi

INQUIRER.net FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines — Power utility Manila Electric Co. is returning to the benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange index, replacing Manila Water Co., effective March 17.

The Philippine Stock Exchange announced on Monday the re-balancing of the PSEi, which has consisted of the country’s most liquid and well-capitalized listed firms.

“The regular review of our indices to capture the latest trends in trading activity is a significant part of global best practices on index management. The selection criteria adopted by the PSE are likewise benchmarked against these international standards, which allow our main index to be a reliable and transparent measure of the market’s performance,” PSE president and chief executive officer Hans Sicat said in a press statement.

To be included in the PSEi, a publicly listed company must rank among its top peers in terms of liquidity and full market capitalization.  In addition, companies in the main index are required to maintain a higher free float level of 12 percent compared to the minimum requirement of 10 percent for listed companies.

The changes are the result of the PSE’s regular review of its indices, which covered trading activity from January to December 2013. The last change in the composition of the PSE’s indices was on September 16, 2013.

Included in the PSEi “reserve” list are these five stocks: Cosco Capital Inc., Philippine National Bank, Puregold Price Club., Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. and Security Bank Corp.

PSE is the only stock exchange in the Philippines with 258 listed companies and 135 active trading participants.