Taiwan’s TPEx tapped to help Philippine SMEs, bond market grow
MANILA, Philippines — The operator of the local bourse has inked a partnership agreement with another Taiwan-based exchange, this time to jointly develop products, including bonds, indices and exchange-traded funds (ETFs).
They also aim to improve the country’s small, medium and emerging market.
Philippine Stock Exchange Inc. (PSE) said in a statement on Tuesday afternoon it had signed a memorandum of understanding with Taipei Exchange (TPEx), specifically for “sharing of best practices and learning opportunities.”
“PSE is particularly keen on gaining insights on the bond and SME markets because these are areas where TPEx is very strong at, and these are markets we also want to give more focus to,” PSE president and CEO Ramon Monzon said in a statement.
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SME-focused
Compared with Taiwan Stock Exchange (TWSE) that includes larger and more established companies, the TPE is the main market for small and medium enterprises (SMEs).
Locally, PSE has both the main and SME boards.
Last year, PSE also teamed up with TWSE for capacity-building initiatives and market promotion.
This time, the local bourse is specifically targeting the development of environment, social and governance practices as well as ETFs and equity derivatives on top of bonds and the SME market.
ETFs are investment firms that hold a basket of securities—stocks, bonds, commodities or currencies—for sale to investors to help diversify their portfolio.
The most prominent example of this in the Philippines is First Metro Philippine Equity Exchange Traded Fund Inc., which is also listed on the PSE.
“I believe that any initiative we will pursue … will ultimately benefit our respective markets and stakeholders,” Monzon said.
