Finally, a unified stock trading floor

For the first time since the unification of two legacy stock exchanges 25 years ago, the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) opened a unified trading floor at its new headquarters in Bonifacio Global City on Monday, auspiciously timed on the first trading day of the new lunar Year of the Dog.

Dubbed as the PSE Tower, the new building is located at 5th St. corner 28th Ave. in BGC. The building has an external ticker board on its façade that displays real-time stock prices and market data.

“This is really history in the making. We’re finally all here,” PSE chair Jose T. Pardo said during the bell-ringing ceremony held to mark the PSE’s relocation to its new home in BGC.

Even as the old Makati and Manila stock exchanges merged to create the PSE 25 years ago, two trading floors continued to operate until this unification in BGC.

“I know that the journey to having this home in BGC took years to materialize. But as I looked around the offices, I knew it would turn out something worth waiting for,” Pardo said.

The new trading floor is about two-thirds the size of the old trading floor in Makati where the PSE used to hold fort prior to the relocation, based on the estimate of some traders. But Pardo said it would have bigger offices for the PSE, improving its ability to grow and launch new products.

Pardo also announced that the PSE’s new home in BGC would have a new museum that would showcase the rich history of the stock exchange. The PSE is one of the oldest stock exchanges in Asia, having been in continuous operation since the establishment of the Manila Stock Exchange in 1927.

“What better way to witness this unification than pursue our operations to become a world-class exchange right here at the world-class Bonifacio Global City, one of the most modern and progressive places in the country,” Pardo said.

Pardo and the PSE’s board of directors and management led the opening of the new trading floor on Monday while a dragon dance was also held to commemorate the lunar year turnover. Taguig City Mayor Lani Cayetano graced the ceremonies as the host local government unit.

“The move is symbolic of the thrust toward a unified capital market. After the unification of the two trading floors, the next step would be for PSE to complete its acquisition of the PDS group, which would also unify the country’s capital markets,” said PNB Securities president Manuel Lisbona.

With the financial markets now moving online, a little more than 80 stockbrokers committed to rent booths at the new trading floor.