The Market Monitor Minding the Nation's Business
THE Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) on Wednesday elected Cecile L. Ang as its nonbroker director representing investors, and Jaime J. Bautista as an independent director following recent resignations from both posts.
Ms. Ang, daughter of San Miguel Corp. Chairman Ramon S. Ang, was nominated by the San Miguel Corp. Retirement Plan. She will fill the vacancy left by Ferdinand K. Constantino, who stepped down effective Nov. 27, the bourse said in a disclosure.
She will assume the role on the PSE board held by Constantino, who served on the Audit and Related Party Transactions Committee and the Corporate Governance Committee.
In the same board meeting, the PSE appointed Bautista as an independent director, replacing Andrew Jerome T. Gan, who resigned on Nov. 5. Bautista is a former secretary of the Department of Transportation and was president and chief operating officer at Philippine Airlines, Inc. before that.
The Exchange has been following its established procedures under the PSE’s corporate governance framework, which mandates board representation for investors and independent directors to safeguard stakeholder interests.
The infusion of new blood in the PSE is seen by observers as a welcome development, especially now that the local market remains in the doldrums, with PSE President Ramon Monzon himself pointing out that the malaise is attributable to the rampant corruption in government and the quick erosion of confidence from investors.
In an interview with ANC, Monzon said, “Our market is dominated by sentiment — and that sentiment is confidence. There’s no confidence in the market.”
Monzon admitted that the bourse is down 6 percent year-to-date, with market capitalization lower by about P232 billion, and that the index has been stuck between 6,100 and 6,500 points.
Monzon is not being accurate here, because the PSEi tanked to 5,801, the lowest since October 2022. Over the past 4 weeks, the Philippine Stock Exchange index lost 1.6%, and in the last 12 months, it decreased 16.99%.
Stock market players remain hopeful that the entry of Ms. Ang and Mr. Bautista in the board would somehow make a difference in the policies and management of the bourse.