PSE to update index composition on March 17

The Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) announced the new composition of the PSE index (PSEi) with the return of Manila Electric Company (Symbol: MER) in the PSE’s roster of blue chip firms, replacing Manila Water Company, Inc. (Symbol: MWC) in the main index effective March 17.

The PSEi consists of the country’s 30 most liquid and well-capitalized listed firms.

“The regular review of our indices to capture the latest trends in trading activity is a significant part of global best practices on index management. The selection criteria adopted by the PSE are likewise benchmarked against these international standards, which allow our main index to be a reliable and transparent measure of the market’s performance,” PSE President and Chief Executive Officer Mr. Hans B. Sicat said.

Inclusion in the PSEi requires a listed company to rank among the top companies in terms of liquidity and full market capitalization.  In addition, companies in the main index are required to maintain a higher free float level of 12 percent compared to the minimum requirement of 10 percent for listed companies.

The changes are the result of the PSE’s regular review of its indices which covered trading activity from January to December 2013. The last change in the composition of the PSE’s indices was on September 16, 2013.

PSE is the only stock exchange in the Philippines with 258 listed companies and 135 active trading participants.