Philippine bourse sees fewer brokers on SEC’s capital hike plan

Ramon Monzon, chief executive officer of Philippine Stock Exchange Inc / PHOTOGRAPHER: LISA MARIE DAVID/ BLOOMBERG The Philippines’ stock market operator sees a reduction in stock brokerage firms should the Securities & Exchange Commission go ahead with a plan to increase capitalization requirements. Consolidation is “a good thing especially for risk management purposes,” Philippine Stock Exchange, Inc. (PSE) President and Chief Executive Officer Ramon Monzon told Bloomberg TV’s Haslinda Amin, when asked about the corporate regulator’s plan. The Philippines has 121 stock brokerage firms, the most in the region, despite weak trading volume and a comparatively small number of listed companies, Monzon said. “With this capital increase, I think there will be some more brokers that will stop their operations.” — Bloomberg