MB official hails PFEC role in promoting forex trading

Monetary Board member Melito Salazar Jr. urged more companies yesterday to follow the lead of the Performance Foreign Exchange Corp. (PFEC) in promoting economic activities that reflect confidence and belief in the resiliency of Filipinos.

Salazar led government officials, businessmen, investors and PFEC officials in the colorful and lively inaugural ceremony of the company which is engaged in the business of spot foreign currency trading, among others. The festivities were highlighted by the traditional "Lion Dance."

Among those present were Board of Investments (BOI) Governor J. Antonio Leviste, and Congressmen Roquito Ablan and Willie Villarama. PFEC chairman Michael H.K Liew delivered the welcome remarks, while Fr. Leo Deloiras blessed PFEC’s new offices at the Enterprise Center in Makati City.

"The setting up of this company is a clear manifestation of the trust and confidence not only on the Philippine economy, but more importantly, on the Filipino people," Salazar said in his speech. "If foreigners show faith and trust in us, then I think it is important that we Filipinos should have trust and confidence in ourselves."

Salazar congratulated PFEC for giving investors "the opportunity and the right information" to be able to engage in foreign currency trading without exerting pressure on the Philippine monetary system.

"As a member of the Monetary Board, I am happy with this kind of operation. It’s because if we want to go look into how the Euro and the dollars are going, then what we might choose to do is to go to the bank and buy dollars. This, of course, puts pressure in the system," Zalazar explained.

In contrast, since the clients of PFEC engage in margins trading, the company promotes the realization of profit in this age of globalization minus the unwanted effects on the country’s monetary system that are associated with traditional currency dealings, he said.

"Since you’re only looking at margins, you’re only looking at the difference between the peso-dollar exchange rate today and the peso-dollar exchange rate three months down the line," Salazar noted. "That’s a small amount unlike if you have decided to purchase foreign currencies, keep them and then sell them three months down the line."

The PFEC does not trade in Philippine pesos but only in major foreign currencies like dollars and euros. Registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in 1998, the PFEC gives Filipinos and foreigners based in the Philippines an opportunity to access round the clock foreign currency movements, expert market analysis and the internet platform with which to trade in "real-time."

PFEC’s inaugural ceremony was also highlighted by the traditional throwing of coins, cutting of ribbons and a presentation by market analyst Fitzgerald Aclan on how profits can be realized by foreign currency traders even during times of uncertainty like now when war is raging between the United States and Iraq.

Liew thanked his guests for making PFEC’s inaugural ceremony "an affair that would be hard to top."

"We here at PFEC believe in the Filipino. No matter the difficulties which the Philippines, and the rest of the world, are facing, there is doubt in my mind that the economy will get out of this rut," Liew said.