PSE platform allows businessmen to trade stocks using mobile phones, tablets

MANILA, Philippines – The Philippine Stock Exchange has rolled out an online trading platform meant to expand the country’s thin domestic investor base using technology that stock brokers can collectively use to trade equities “in a totally mobile environment.”

The new platform tagged as PSETradex acts like a facilitator for a technology provider, giving broker-dealers the capability to offer an online platform to their clients at a much lower price than if they were to develop their own online trading IT solution.

“We are pleased to inform our trading participants that they can now sign up for the PSETradex, which they can offer to their clients,” PSE president Hans Sicat said in a press statement on Monday. “We are excited about this new service, which we believe will further expand brokers’ reach to investors and boost activity in the stock market in a significant way.”

Sicat also announced that PSE was in discussion with the Maybank ATR Kim Eng Securities to be one of the first brokerage firms to avail of PSETradex.

PSETradex offers a web-based trading management system that allows users to trade shares of stock, monitor the order status and manage the stock portfolio as well as gather relevant market information through their computers.  In addition, it can provide mobile wireless application for equity trading, which operates on web-based mobile phones.  In short, investors who have registered with participating stockbrokers are enabled to trade in a “totally mobile environment.”

“Having this system in place for the investors will allow them to enter and monitor their orders online.  The system is designed to also let investors trade using their mobile phones and tablets,” Sicat said.

To date, less than 1 percent of the country’s close to 100 million population participate in the local stock market.  For those who do invest in stocks, most trades are still done via phone calls or physical interaction with stockbrokers or agents.

But the PSE noted that online trading has grown by 42 percent annually in the past five years.

PSETradex seeks to attract  a “new breed” or a new set of clients outside of those already trading under the platforms offered by brokerage houses with such capability. The new platform was also timely launched just when the Philippine sovereign recently bagged its first investment grade rating from global credit watcher Fitch Ratings.

To date, 10 to 15 trading participants or a small minority of 133 active brokerage houses have developed their proprietary online trading platform, such as COL Financial, First Metro Securities, 2TradeAsia.Com, AB Capital Securities and BPI Securities.

For its part, the PSE has engaged the services of Malaysian securities trading solution N2N Connect Berhad for this online trading platform.  N2N has been involved in the information, communications and technology industry for more than 25 years.  It has expertise in developing innovative solutions for capital market clients.  N2N has currently expanded its business to Singapore, Saudi Arabia, Vietnam, Hong Kong, China and Indonesia.