PSE boosting PDS stake to over 90%

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April 7, 2025 | 12:00am

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine Stock Exchange Inc. (PSE) seeks to boost its ownership in the Philippine Dealing System Holdings Corp. (PDS) to more than 90 percent with the acquisition of an additional 11 percent stake from two shareholders.

PSE president and CEO Ramon Monzon said that the company is pursuing negotiations to acquire the stakes of Tata Consultancy Services Asia Pacific Pte. Ltd. and Citicorp Capital Philippines Inc. in PDS.

Tata Consultancy holds an eight percent stake in PDS while Citicorp owns 3.1 percent.

Monzon said he expects to close deals with both Tata Consultancy and Citicorp this week.

Should the acquisitions push through, PSE’s ownership in PDS will increase to 91 percent.

Last week, the PSE closed its acquisition of stakes held by the Social Security System (SSS) and Insular Investment Corp. in PDS, bringing its ownership level to nearly 80 percent.

The company previously closed transactions under the share purchase agreements with Singapore Exchange Ltd. (SGX), Whistler Technologies Inc. (WTSI), San Miguel Corp. (SMC), Golden Astra Capital Inc., Financial Executives Institute of the Philippines Research and Development Foundation, Investment House Association of the Philippines (IHAP) and AIA Philippines Life and General Insurance Co. Inc.

It also closed the transactions under the share purchase agreement with the Bankers Association of the Philippines (BAP), for itself and on behalf of BAP Data Exchange Inc. and certain member-banks.

“With the company’s existing 20.98 percent equity interest in PDS and the closing of the transactions with SGX, WTSI, SMC, Golden Astra, FINEX Foundation, IHAP, AIA, BAP and some of its member banks, SSS and Insular Investment Corp., the company will beneficially own 79.94 percent of PDS,” the PSE said last week.

The acquisitions are part of the PSE’s plan to align the Philippine capital market with other markets globally which have a single exchange structure for fixed income and equities through the transactions.

The PDS is the holding company that owns the Philippine Dealing & Exchange Corp., the operator of the fixed income exchange. It also owns the Philippine Depository & Trust Corp., which serves as the depository for equities and fixed income securities.

The PSE said that maintaining the business operations of both companies while reducing operational costs through synergies can result in greater business scalability and profitability from a corporate standpoint.

For the market, it said that the single exchange setup helps achieve efficiencies, reduce risks and facilitate the development of new products.

“As we look ahead to 2025 with our new initiatives in the pipeline, I envision an even broader market, a more diverse financial community and a stronger network of industry partners,” Monzon said.