End of an Era: PSE permanently closes trading floor in Taguig City
On June 24, Friday, the closing bell at the Philippine Stock Exchange’s (PSE) physical trading floor in Taguig City rang for the last time, marking the end of the traditional way of trading at the local stock market as technology prevails.
The local bourse initially announced the closure of the trading floor early this month as brokers shifted to a floorless trading setup remotely brought about by the pandemic.
PSE President and CEO Ramon Monzon said in his message that after the exchange moved to the PSE Tower in 2018, only 85 of 132 active trading participants availed of booths and dealer room spaces. He said lockdowns due to the COVID-19 pandemic prompted brokers to opt for offsite trading.
“With the COVID-19 pandemic, these 80 plus TPs (trading participants) experienced offsite trading firsthand when we had to go floorless due to the lockdowns. This clearly demonstrated to the TPs that seamless trading can be done so long as they are connected to the PSE’s trading platform,” PSE President and CEO Ramon Monzon explained.
Monzon said that when the exchange moved headquarters back in 2018, only 85 of 132 active trading participants availed of booths and dealer room spaces. In 2020, the PSE closed down its trading floor and implemented a remote trading setup as well as shortened trading hours due to the COVID-19 pandemic. When restrictions eased and physical trading resumed, only 29 of the 85 TPs renewed their leases at the trading floor.
“The PSE may be among the few exchanges to have retained a trading floor up to this day. But in the end, technology finally prevailed,” he added.
The trading floor will be converted into office space, but the traditional bell ringing for new listings and other ceremonial events will still be conducted in the headquarters.
The PSE moved its headquarters to the 695-square meter trading floor in Taguig City in February 2018. Before this, it had two trading floors located in the Tektite building in Ortigas Center and Ayala Tower One in Makati City.
