ING Baring is top stock broker in Q1

After being relegated to the sidelines last year, ING Baring Securities bounced back to the top of the most active brokers list in the first quarter of 2002 as improving market sentiment drew additional volume at the Philippine Stock Exchange.

The PSE’s Corporate Communications Department said the local unit of the Anglo-Dutch financial giant cornered a substantial 14.55 percent of total trades during the first quarter, equivalent to a turnover value of P16.3 billion.

The total value of stock trades came to P112.112 billion in the first three months, up nearly three percent from P108.624 billion in the same period last year.

Last year, ING Baring slid to number five in the brokers’ ranking after dominating the roster for two consecutive years. The top slot then went to Philippine Equity Partners Inc., the new local conduit of another financial giant, Merrill Lynch.

Three more foreign-owned brokerages trailed ING Baring: UBS Warburg Securities (8.14 percent of total trades); JP Morgan Securities (6.56 percent); and Deutsche Regis Partners, formerly Deutsche Morgan Securities (5.87 percent).

UCPB Securities, the top broker for the month of March, landed fifth overall in the first quarter with 4.6 percent of total trades, as it accounted for a sizable portion of the sale of San Miguel Corp.’s newly-issued "B" shares to Japan’s Kirin Brewery Co. Ltd.

Rounding up the top 10 brokers during the period were CLSA Philippines (4.15 percent); Philippine Equity Partners (4.02 percent); ATR-Kim Eng Securities (3.52 percent); RCBC Securities (2.9 percent); and DBS Vickers Securities.

Foreign brokers have dominated trading at the local bourse even as deals have declined more than half since last year. A large number of brokers – both foreign and local – have opted to suspend operations as thinning trade volume on account of negative investor sentiment and market conditions weighed down on their activities. – Conrado Diaz Jr.