Security Bank in, Bloomberry out of PSEi

SECURITY Bank Corp. is in while integrated gaming resort Bloomberry Resorts Corp. is out of the local stock barometer Philippine Stock Exchange index effective Sept. 12.

Based on the PSE’s latest rebalancing of the 30-company main index, Security Bank is debuting on the basket of the most traded, most liquid and well-capitalized listed firms in the country.

The PSEi represents the cream of the crop out of 265 companies listed on the local bourse.

In a memorandum on Wednesday, PSE president Hans Sicat said the latest rebalancing of the PSEi was based on the regular review of the PSEi and sector indices covering trading activity for the period July 2015 to June 2016.

To qualify Sicat said the companies were required to meet the following criteria:
1. maintain a free float level of at least 12 percent;
2. must be among the top 25 percent by median daily value per month for at least nine out of 12 months;
3. Top 30 based on full market capitalization.

Earlier this year, Security Bank also debuted on the closely tracked MSCI Philippines index, levelling up from the “small cap” category in what many global fund managers regard as the golden benchmark for equities investing.

Aside from the PSEi, the local bourse also announced changes in the composition of sector indices.

In the financials index, AG Finance, Inc. will be added while the industrial index will reflect the inclusion of Da Vinci Capital Holdings Inc. and Ionics Inc.

The holding firms index will have a new member, Pacifica, Inc., while A Brown Company, Inc. and Suntrust Home Developers, Inc. will be added to the property index. Four issues will be included in the services index, namely: Metro Retail Stores Group, Inc., Now Corporation, SBS Philippines Corporation and Yehey! Corp.

“With this regular trading activity review, we hope to ensure that our indices continue to be comprised of stocks that are suitable benchmarks for the market,” Sicat said.