BIZ BUZZ: Rethinking disclosure rules

To encourage more listings, Monzon said the PSE has likewise tasked its issuer regulation division (IRD) to review the disclosure rules. The goal is to make these rules “less intimidating”.

“The feedback we get is that a lot of companies are scared to list because natatakot sila (they fear) the penalties and all that,” Monzon said.

Monzon said the PSE would like to distinguish disclosures that have a material impact on stock prices, and therefore affect investors, from those disclosure violations that are subject to penalties but are not too significant in reality.

“For example, director omits to report his sale (of shares). Eh maliit lang iyon e (That’s just a small matter),” Monzon said.

“I was telling IRD, if a director wants to buy a thousand shares, 500 shares—it’s not gonna affect the stock price,” he said.

Especially for small and medium enterprises, Monzon said if the violation wasn’t too blatant, then the PSE can be more lenient.

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“Instead of penalizing you on your first offense, or second offense, make it easier,” he said.

In other words, the PSE will take a deep dive into which of the current disclosure requirements have a material impact on stock prices.—Doris Dumlao-Abadilla INQ