SEC to work with Go on capital market reforms

MANILA, Philippines — The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has vowed to work closely with Special Assistant to the President for Investment and Economic Affairs Secretary Frederick Go to push reforms that would deepen the capital market.

SEC chairperson Emilio Aquino presented the priority plans, activities, and programs of the corporate regulator to Go and vowed to work with the Office of the Special Assistant to the President for Investment and Economic Affairs (OSAPIEA) to pursue much needed reforms.

Aquino said the SEC aims to see a developed capital market while ensuring the protection of the investing public.

Go, in turn, said the regulator’s digital transformation initiatives are aligned with the Marcos administration’s thrust for digital economy and e-governance.

Last year, Aquino said the SEC streamlined the application process for public offerings “by clarifying the number of years of financial information required, through the issuance of SEC Memorandum Circular No. 13, Series of 2023, and strictly implemented a 45-day processing period for public offering applications.”

The agency also implemented other initiatives to deepen the capital market and encourage more investor participation.

These include shortening the period for settling trades to two days from three days, as provided under Memorandum Circular No. 11, Series of 2023.

The move allows investors to receive the proceeds from securities trades within two days and reduces trading participants’ risk of exposure.

The Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE), for its part, kicked off short selling last year, based on guidelines approved by the SEC, giving investors more ways to manage risks and carry out trading strategies in the stock market.

Recently, the SEC approved the application of the PSE for exemptive relief in its acquisition of additional shares in the Philippine Dealing System Holdings Corp. (PDS Group).

This would effectively allow the PSE to acquire full ownership of the PDS Group, a move that the local bourse operators hope would create synergies and efficiencies for capital market participants.

In terms of capital raising activities, the SEC promoted crowd funding for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) through a nationwide roadshow.

Data from the SEC showed a total of 333 MSMEs raised P1.94 billion in capital for 1,143 projects as of the end of 2023.

For digital initiatives, the SEC launched five advanced online systems last year, including the Electronic SEC Universal Registration Environment (eSECURE), SEC CheckApp 2.0, Electronic SEC Education, Analysis, Research Computing Hub (eSEARCH), SEC API Marketplace, and the Electronic Registration Application for Market Participants (eRAMP).