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The Philippine Stock Exchange, Inc. (PSE) named Aboitiz Power Corp. (APC) and Deutsche Regis Partners Inc. (DRPI) as winners of the 2017 PSE Bell Awards for Excellence in Corporate Governance for listed companies (LCs) and trading participants (TPs), respectively.
The PSE Bell Awards is a recognition given to LCs and TPs that exemplify excellence in corporate governance.
Aside from the winners, PSE also cited LC and TP Bell Awards finalists. For listed companies, the finalists were Aboitiz Equity Ventures, Inc., China Banking Corporation, Globe Telecom, Inc. and Philex Mining Corporation. The finalists for trading participants were Credit Suisse Securities (Philippines), Inc., CLSA Philippines, Inc., Macquarie Capital Securities (Philippines), Inc. and PNB Securities, Inc.
The winners and finalists were selected by an independent panel of judges headed by Securities and Exchange Commission Chairperson Teresita J. Herbosa. Also part of the panel were Capital Markets and Integrity Corporation OIC Atty. Daisy Arce, University of the Philippines President Atty. Danilo L. Concepcion, Chairman Samuel G. Dagpin, Jr. of the Governance Commission for Government-Owned and Controlled Corporations and His Excellency Canada’s Ambassador to the Philippines John Holmes.
For the first time in the history of the PSE Bell Awards, special category awards were also given out. Deutsche Regis Partners, Inc. and BPI Securities, Inc. bagged the Best Compliance and Best Retail Investor Program for trading participants respectively. For listed companies, the category winners include Aboitiz Equity Ventures, Inc. for Best Compliance and Ethics Program, First Philippine Holdings Corporation for Best Sustainability Program and SM Prime Holdings, Inc. for Best Investor Relations Program. A special award was also given to Pilipinas Shell Petroleum Corporation for the Best Local Small Investor Program for an Initial Public Offering.
“In the PSE, we remain committed and we will continue to espouse good corporate governance. Many issues that best markets both here and abroad would have been avoided if companies practice the tenets of corporate governance. But clearly, while there are lapses on some occasions, there are also examples of excellence in many others,” PSE Chairman Jose T. Pardo said in his opening remarks during the awarding ceremony.
In his President’s message, PSE President and CEO Ramon S. Monzon said the stock market index has set new record highs 12 times already this year. “This could not have happened if both foreign and local investors do not have confidence in our market. Confidence is built on trust and investor trust is earned by companies with good corporate governance standards and practices,” he added.
During the PSE Bell Awards event, a special citation was given to China Banking Corporation for having been a PSE Bell Awardee for five consecutive years.
The Media Partners of the 2017 PSE Bell Awards for Excellence in Corporate Governance are ABS-CBN News Channel, Bloomberg TV Philippines, BusinessMirror, BusinessWorld and Philippine Daily Inquirer. RIZA LOZADA