Updated June 06, 2009 12:00 AM
CEBU, Philippines - The introduction of Fixed Income Broker Internet Order System (FI-BIOS) in the market is expected to boost the appetite of individual and corporate investors especially in the regional areas like Cebu to take advantage of the fixed capital market channel.
The Philippine Dealing System (PDS) Group introduced yesterday to the Cebuano market the FI-BIOS facility, which is a medium of access critical to bring the nationwide community fixed income securities investors into central marketplace.
Philippine Dealing & Exchange Corporation (PDEx) chairman Vicente B. Castillo said that opening the array of fixed income securities directly to the marketplace in real time prices could strengthen the development of fixed income investors interest especially in Cebu and other regions.
“There is so much liquidity in the market today. People are looking safe investments. Cebu is one of the most developed and very educated market when comes to securities’ investments,” Castillo said.
Since its opening last year, PDex trades an average of P12 billion a day. It reached its P34 billion mark at one point, as the highest so far, Castillo said.
Reaching out to the Filipino investors through securities or fixed income investments is a good alternative to rescue the public from being victimized by the “scams”, said Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) chairperson Fe. B. Barin.
PDex is working closely with the banking sector through the Bankers Association of the Philippines (BAP), and 27 licensed brokers of which 16 are from Cebu.
According to Castillo, PDex will be expanding the network of brokers in Cebu, considering that the market is “fertile” here.
From P5 thousand to P500 million or P1 billion, one can invest to the FI-BIOS, working closely with dealers or banks and licensed brokers. According to Castillo, the company, which is 30 percent owned by Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE), is also increasing their dealer-membership network that includes investment houses, not just banks.
Government securities now available directly to the market include the treasury bills, fixed rate treasury notes, retail treasury bonds, among others.
PDex also included in its array of its investment choices, corporate issues, as corporations now are starting to borrow money from the public.
“Our domestic market or local community is liquid. That’s why we have to develop [good] sales people to educate the market [on the fixed income capital market],” Castillo said emphasizing that this kind of investment channel will not only benefit the investors to earn secured interest rates of their money or trade it along the way, but it will also become the right basin for funding the needs of the country.
Before a development of an equity-savvy investor, he is first introduced to the much safer investment instrument such as fixed income. After which, he has the confidence and excitement to invest his money in the equity market, wherein it promises high yield at a shorter period of time, but also offer greater risk of losing.
While, a lot of Filipinos are gamblers, there is always a market for equity investments, Castillo said. However, the fixed income investments provide a diversified balance mix of investment instruments.
Yesterday’s introduction of FI-BIOS to Cebu was also graced by key stakeholders in the Government Securities (GS) market, such as SEC, Bureau of Treasury (BTr), regional and area heads of its member broker participants, as well as Cebuano investors.
“With the FI-BIOS, we hope to equalize investor protection across the country, the price discovery, settlement efficiencies and protection, and best execution. The prospect of increased liquidity, and the knowledge that we are, little by little, bringing equality to investors far and wide, fortifies our continued efforts at developing our fixed income market,” Castillo said. —Ehda M. Dagooc
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