Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, March 29) — The Philippine Stock Exchange, Inc. on Monday launched an index for midsized companies and another for firms consistently giving high dividends.
In a statement, PSE president and CEO Ramon Monzon said the PSE MidCap Index and PSE Dividend Yield Index are long overdue to the local bourse, which previously only had the main composite index, the all shares index and sectoral indices.
Market participants were consulted in developing the PSE MidCap Index and PSE Dividend Yield Index to ensure that the selection criteria and methodology are acceptable to those who want to track the new indices, he noted.
“With the launch of these two indices, we hope to see more funds created that will track these new benchmarks. We think this will also provide fund managers and investors the opportunity to diversify their portfolio,” Monzon added.
To qualify for inclusion in the MidCap Index, a company should be listed for at least 12 months and should have a free float of at least 15% of its outstanding shares at the end of the 12-month period. Market capitalization, liquidity and financial performance are also considered.
Twenty firms are currently comprising the MidCap Index. These are AREIT, Inc., Bloomberry Resorts Corporation, Cebu Air, Inc., Century Pacific Food, Inc., Cosco Capital, Inc., DoubleDragon Corporation, DMCI Holdings, Inc., D&L Industries, Inc., Filinvest Land, Inc., GMA Network, Inc., AllHome Corp., Manila Water Company, Inc., Nickel Asia Corporation, Petron Corporation, Philippine National Bank, Philex Mining Corporation, Robinsons Retail Holdings, Inc., Semirara Mining and Power Corporation, Pilipinas Shell Petroleum Corporation, and Vista Land & Lifescapes, Inc.
On the other hand, the firms included in the Dividend Yield Index were chosen based on their issuance of cash dividends for the past three consecutive years, free float, liquidity, and financial performance. They should also be listed for at least 12 months and at least six months for Real Estate Investment Trusts.
Companies currently comprising the Dividend Yield Index are Aboitiz Equity Ventures, Inc., Aboitiz Power Corporation , AREIT, Inc., Bank of the Philippine Islands , DMCI Holdings, Inc., D&L Industries, Inc., Globe Telecom, Inc., GMA Network, Inc., International Container Terminal Services, Inc., LT Group, Inc., Metropolitan Bank & Trust Company, Manila Electric Company, Metro Pacific Investments Corporation, Nickel Asia Corporation, Robinsons Land Corporation, Robinsons Retail Holdings, Inc., Semirara Mining and Power Corporation, Security Bank Corporation, PLDT Inc., and Universal Robina Corporation.
“The PSE Dividend Yield Index will create a proper benchmark for existing dividend-based mutual funds and UITFs (unit investment trust funds). Currently, the performance of these funds are compared with the PSEi because the stock market does not have a dividend index to match it to,” Monzon said.
On its first day, the MidCap Index opened at 1,195.10, to close at 1,195.49 (up 0.03%) The Dividend Yield Index opened at 1,708.56, but ended 0.03% lower at 1,708.00.
