House Speaker Ferdinand Martin G. Romualdez (File photo)
MANILA – House Speaker Ferdinand Martin G. Romualdez on Monday said he is confident that the new Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) events hall will soon serve as the venue for many groundbreaking business offerings.
In his keynote speech during the inauguration of the hall and Ayala Corporation’s follow-on offering listing ceremony at the PSE Tower in Bonifacio Global City, Taguig City, Romualdez also predicted that the PSE would soon play a bigger role in the country’s development through earnings from stocks that would be used for projects to spur business activities, create more jobs, and implement needed social programs.
He underscored the confidence of the House in the capital market and the indispensable role it plays in the country’s economic recovery and development.
“Our strong belief in the important role of capital markets in supporting the national development agenda is also the driving force behind our proposed establishment of the Maharlika Investment Fund (MIF),” Romualdez said.
He said the corporation that will be created to manage the MIF will invariably look to the PSE in its search for blue chip investment opportunities, from which handsome dividends may be generated– dividends which shall be channeled to fund the government’s strategic social programs towards the achievement of the nation’s larger development goals.
To recall, the House approved via an overwhelming majority vote the MIF bill last December.
The Senate is expected to pass its own version of the measure before the Congress’ sine die adjournment this week after President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. certified the bill as urgent.
“There is a compelling need for a sustainable national investment fund as a new growth catalyst to accelerate the implementation of strategic and high-impact large infrastructure projects that will stimulate economic activity and development,” Marcos said in his message to the Senate certifying the MIF as urgent on May 22.
Romualdez congratulated the people behind the PSE for another milestone in its history.
He said the inauguration of the PSE events hall is a testament to the agility and resilience of the Exchange to adapt quickly to “our ever-changing state of affairs,” including the challenges posed by the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic.
“I am glad to see that the people behind the PSE are not resting on your laurels and are still exercising your entrepreneurial mindset with this latest endeavor. I am certain that the PSE events hall will soon be the venue for many groundbreaking business offerings,” Romualdez said.
“We hope that the PSE and the business sector as a whole is one with the House of Representatives as we push for these and other strategic legislative initiatives, knowing that the advancement of the marginalized sectors of Philippine society not only leads to greater returns but more importantly, ensures a bright future for all Filipinos.”
PSE president and chief executive officer Ramon Monzon thanked Romualdez for his support to promote the country’s capital market, as he cited the need for new products and active regulations to improve liquidity.
“Speaker Romualdez, who is a very market-savvy individual, has generously offered to sponsor whatever legislation needed to help bring our market back on its growth trajectory,” Monzon said, adding that the PSE is working with the Office of the Speaker for this purpose. (PNA)
