SEC says planned fee hike still a go

THE SECURITIES and Exchange Commission (SEC) said the proposed hike in its fees would push through after clearing the regulatory impact assessment of the Anti-Red Tape Authority (ARTA).

“We’ve already secured the ARTA’s no objection, basically saying that it’s within our authority. We will ensure that there will be a reasonable transition before any hike is implemented,” SEC Commissioner McJill Bryant T. Fernandez told reporters in Makati City last week.

“It’s now all about timing because we have secured the necessary clearances, even the ARTA, after submitting our regulatory impact assessment. From our end, in terms of clearances from higher-ups, we’ve done it already,” he added.

However, Mr. Fernandez said there is no specific date yet for the proposed fee hike’s implementation.

“It (fee hike) is still part of the plan. There’s no need to raise any alarm bells because the No. 1 priority is to afford companies and industries a reasonable transition,” he said.

Mr. Fernandez said the SEC has also informed local businesses groups of ARTA’s go signal for the fee hike.

“Definitely, our doors are open, and we will be reaching out to them once we are in the implementation stage,” he said.

Asked if there are any changes in the fees to reflect rising inflation, Mr. Fernandez said this would need to go through the necessary clearances.

“The decisions would have to be in tune with reality, factoring everything. But if you’d have any change in terms of rates, you have to go through the same route in terms of getting the clearances,” he said.

In August last year, the SEC proposed to raise fees and charges, which have not changed since 2017. Proceeds from the fee hike will be used to develop the corporate regulator’s digital services.

Under the SEC’s proposal, the fees would increase to one-fourth of 1% of an entity’s authorized capital stock but not less than P2,500 of the subscription price of the subscribed capital stock, whichever is higher.

Another proposed change is to charge corporate issuers one-fourth of 1% of total indebtedness when creating bonded indebtedness.

The SEC also proposed to set the fee on the total transactions cleared and settled in the previous year by the Securities Clearing Corp. of the Philippines and the Philippine Depository Trust Corp. at 0.1 basis point (bp) and 0.05 bp, respectively.

However, business groups led by the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI) objected to the fee hike, calling it “anti-business” and “unnecessary.”

The groups said the hike could discourage the entry of new investments and affect the growth of small and medium enterprises.

PSE-PDS MERGER
Meanwhile, Mr. Fernandez said the planned merger between the Philippine Stock Exchange and Philippine Dealing System Holdings Corp. (PDS) is already out of the SEC’s hands since the commission has already given its approval.

“As far as I know, all that we have to issue from our end, we have issued. If there are business negotiations on the other side, it is up to them. We’ve issued what we need to issue,” he said.

PSE President and Chief Executive Officer Ramon S. Monzon said on Aug. 15 the planned acquisition is expected to be completed in the next few months as part of its growth plans.

The market operator seeks to buy as much as 100% of the PDS as part of efforts to merge the country’s capital market infrastructure.

The Bankers Association of the Philippines said in early August it was expecting an offer from the PSE to buy the group’s 21% stake in PDS, the operator of the Philippine Dealing and Exchange Corp., which caters to the fixed-income market.

The PSE has a 20.98% stake in PDS while BAP members and institutions have a 21% stake.

In 2017, the PSE almost completed its takeover of PDS. However, the SEC blocked the transaction as it would breach the individual ownership limit under the Securities Regulation Code. — Revin Mikhael D. Ochave