FMIC to hold ETF dual listing in Manila and Hong Kong

Assessing Hong Kong as a ripe, mature market for exchange traded funds (ETFs), First Metro Investment Corp. (FMIC) intends to list P3 billion worth of ETFs this year, the company said Thursday.

 

This will happen in the second half of 2013,  president Roberto Juanchito Dispo told reporters after an FMIC Philippine Economic Briefing in Makati City. At this point, it's just a matter of finishing the documents, particularly for the Philippine market, he added. 

 

“This is the country's first ever ETF that would allow a lot of institutional investors to invest in the Philippine equity market without directly buying individual stuff but buying the index through the ETF," Dispo noted.

 

A dual listing—on the Philippine Stock Exchange and the Hong Kong Stock Exchange—two to three months after a July listing of ETFs on the PSE, according to the FMIC official, noting demand likely from Hong Kong would be strong considering its is a mature market. 

 

"We are also studying the possibility in doing a dual listing of ETF in HK because HK has mature global institutional investors that are familiar with ETF structure,” said Dispo. 

 

"Our initial authorized capitalization is P3 billion,” he said. “Early part of this year, we only applied for P1 billion, midstream we decided to increase it in anticipation of a very strong demand from institutional and global investors," Dispo added. — VS, GMA News