Ayala Land to start building unified PSE trading floor late 2008

Developer Ayala Land Inc. and the Philippine Stock Exchange will begin next year the construction of the building housing a unified trading floor, which will be at the Bonifacio Global City in Taguig. At present, the PSE has two separate trading floors, one in Pasig and the other in Makati. At the sidelines of a mall launching on Monday evening, Jaime Ysmael, ALI chief finance officer told reporters that that the construction will begin late 2008 and is expected to be completed within two years of the starting date. “The PSE is giving back its rights to the donated property to them in exchange for getting several units in the new building. But they will still have to infuse some cash even with after they give up the property," Ysmael said. The tower, he said, will likely have 30 to 40 storeys and will occupy between 30,000 square meters to 40,000 square meters and will be located near the City Center. The Bonifacio Global City property was donated by the Fort Bonifacio Development Corp. to the PSE. ALI has some 20 percent equity in FBDC, which is the consortium tasked to develop the land in the former military base. Earlier, Francis Lim, PSE president and chief executive officer, said shareholders have approved the deal between the PSE and ALI for the joint development of a building at the Bonifacio Global City. Lim said the PSE could either sell or lease its properties in Tektite and Tower One on Ayala Ave. Prior to the formation of PSE, the Makati Stock Exchange (MkSE) and Manila Stock Exchange (MSE) remained separate entities for 30 years although they were trading the same listed issues. After the unification, the PSE still maintained the two trading floors. - Cheryl Arcibal, GMANews.TV