PSE to drop Petron, 3 others from main index

MANILA, Philippines- The Philippine Stock Exchange will be dropping Petron Corp. and three other companies from the 30-company PSE index as it once again revises the composition of the index based on a free float-based review of trading for the whole 2007. In a statement, the PSE said Petron, ABS-CBN Broadcasting Corp., Belle Corp., and DMCI Holdings Inc. will be dropped from the main index. Their spots will be taken up by Philippine National Bank, Rizal Commercial Banking Corp., Union Bank of the Philippines and Vista Land & Lifescapes Inc. Also as an offshoot of the new PSE review, the bourse’s six sector indices will add 18 companies and lose three others, PSE said. Six companies will make it to the Services Index; three to the Holding Firms Index; two each to the Industrial Index, the Property Index, and to the Mining & Oil Index; and one will be added to the Financial Index. At the same time, one company each will be removed from the Financials Index, Services Index, and Holding Firms Index. The PSE said it does not set a limit on the number of companies that make up the sector indices, but it limits to 30 the number of firms in the PSEi, which is the main index of local stock price movements. The changes are to take effect on May 26. "As we complete another review of the indices, we in the PSE reiterate our position that the free float methodology in computing the index benefits both investors and the listed companies alike," PSE president Francis E. Lim said in the statement. "That's because the exercise encourages companies to increase their free float," he explained. "In the process, they increase the level of activity in our market, and this increased activity in turn helps enhance the value of the stocks." The PSE decided in 2005 to conduct a regular free float-based review of the indices as part of a strategic program to entice more companies to expand their ownership and foster more stock market growth. The complete composition of the PSEi and sector indices can be accessed at the PSE website. - GMANews.TV