New SEC chief Lim vows reforms to boost PH capital market
Newly appointed Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) chairman and CEO Francis Lim on Tuesday revealed his plans to elevate the status of the Philippines' capital market, which he said was "lagging behind" its regional counterparts.
Lim replaced Emilio Aquino, who retired as the head of the corporate regulator after a seven-year tenure.
In his address during the ceremonial turnover of the SEC leadership, Lim said, 'Let's also be honest: the Philippine capital market has been lagging behind.'
He was referring to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development's (OECD) 2024 Philippine Capital Market report, which, among others, observed that 'the Philippines stock market has remained relatively small' with 269 listed companies on the Main Board and a total of $234 billion market capitalization, equivalent to 53% of the country's gross domestic product (GDP).
'Compared to peer countries, the Philippines has the lowest number of listed companies and ranks second to last in terms of market capitalization as a share of GDP,' according to the OECD.
Lim said he wants a 'more accessible' capital market.
'We will leave no stone unturned to catch up. This means working not only within the SEC but also with partners such as the PSE (Philippine Stock Exchange), PDEx (Philippine Dealing and Exchange Corporation), non-governmental organizations, and the three branches of government to push for meaningful reforms,' the SEC chief said.
'Our first order of business is urgent and clear: resolve all pending applications quickly and responsibly. The law sets clear timeframes. We will work to further simplify and streamline everything we ask from the public. I know that some steps have been undertaken along this line, and we are committed to pursuing them with more vigor,' he added.
Lim said that 'every requirement must be justified.'
'No more piecemeal requests. Let's make it easier to comply and harder to delay,'' he added.
In an interview with reporters following the ceremony, Lim said that the 'simplification of processes and systems will play a key role' in boosting the country's capital market.
Apart from easing regulatory processes, the corporate regulator chief said, 'What I intend to do is to plant the seeds of investor education way down at the school level.'
'I want to make financial literacy part of high school subjects that early… In other words, every college student, regardless of the course that they would major in, should have a financial literacy program—knowledge of how the capital markets, stock market, bond market, how to go about investments, and so on,' he said.
Moreover, he said he would form groups composed of leaders from the PSE and PDEx.
''Small groups to tell us what needs to be done, how to amend the rules, how to streamline, and so on and so forth. Simple but easy to enforce or implement,'' he said. —VBL, GMA Integrated News
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