A visit to the Philippine Stock Exchange
Our “Investment Management” class in UP Diliman went to the Tektite Tower last week just before the Holy Week holiday to have a tour of the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE).
It surely was exciting to actually visit one of the country’s stock trading floors but, at the same time, disappointing because we did not see a lot of “action.”
Remember pictures or movie scenes of stock traders where they shout and haggle their orders passionately on the floor? Well, there was nothing like that during our tour. In fact, at one point, we saw a few people taking a nap on their desks and also a group of traders chit-chatting — all during trading hours!
Our gracious guide, Ms. Katie Buenaobra, explained that most trades are now conducted online, which means traders don’t anymore have to shout orders on the floor. Traders merely input an order on their terminals and then just wait for it to be processed.
We also asked why there seemed to be a lot of unoccupied brokers’ tables on the floor. Apparently, those used to be either for trading companies that already closed down or for companies who have their own terminals in the office, which means they don’t have to be in the PSE trading floor anymore.
* These ads open in a new window. *
Our guide also walked us through the history of the Philippine Stock Exchange. Did you know that the PSE was actually a result of the merger of the Manila Stock Exchange and the Makati Stock Exchange back in the ’90s?
The Tektite office houses what used to be the Manila Stock Exchange and Tower One in Ayala houses the Makati Stock Exchange. The Makati trading floor is much bigger and has twice more licensed brokers than the Tektite floor.
Which trading venue do presidents like Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo visit to ring the bell to signal the start of trading? The answer: the Makati exchange, because it has stricter security than the one in Tektite.
We also got learn more about stock trading rules and conventions in the Philippines. Are you aware that publicly-listed companies are required to disclose to the PSE any material event or issue within 10 minutes of occurrence? If the CEO of your listed firm dies, for instance, you call the PSE first before the spouse! Otherwise, the company will be fined or might even be delisted.
All in all, the PSE tour was good because we got to see things we only discuss in class. But the best part for me was to actually see the price of one of my stocks increase by 7% right there on the board at the center of the trading floor! That alone was definitely rewarding.
Do you want to visit the PSE too? Let’s schedule a trip some time!
--------------------
Get hundreds of popular magazines, webinars and podcasts about SEO, Internet, Finance and Telecoms -- all available FREE OF CHARGE!
April 2nd, 2008 at 1:27 pm
The trading floor of the Philippine Stock Exchange is very different the trading floor at Wall Street in New York City, USA. In Wall Street, traders shout and throws paper everywhere. Imagine the hours the cleaner have to put in at the end of the day to clean the whole floor. Philippine Stock Exchange looks like the trading floor in Hong Kong.
March 30th, 2008 at 4:53 pm
Yeah, you wont see any “action” because trading is completely scriptless. My boss before told me that they had people on the trading flor and boardsmen that actually and literally erase the blackboard in which the trades are lined up whenever there is a transaction. There is also a person who will match the bid and ask on the blackboard.
in the NYSE, if you watch bloomberg, its all very hectic as their trading is not completely electronic, they’ve decided to keep parts of it with the human touch of “shouting” and paper flying. But they all carry PDAs, tablet PCs, etc.
March 28th, 2008 at 7:17 pm
Wow…astig…
March 28th, 2008 at 2:49 pm
Hindi nga masyado e kasi walang mga sumisigaw saka walang masyadong action. Ok na rin kasi at least nakapunta na ako sa actual stock trading floor sa Pinas :)
March 28th, 2008 at 2:30 pm
cool dyan ah.. parang nasa movie.. :)
March 28th, 2008 at 1:33 pm
Yup, it’s free. You just need to contact the Market Education team of the PSE then set a tour schedule with them.
March 28th, 2008 at 12:43 pm
That’s cool! Is that a free tour? Can anyone do that or is it a special arrangement basis only?