ASEAN exchanges pick tech firm for link-up

SINGAPORE - Southeast Asia's stock exchanges say they have picked a technology provider to set up a regional trading network between the bourses, with the aim of enabling cross-border dealing by the first quarter of 2012.

Singapore Exchange, Bursa Malaysia, The Philippine Stock Exchange and Stock Exchange of Thailand say they have appointed US technology firm Sungard to provide a cross-border trading platform and order routing service.

The move is part of a wider plan by the 10-country Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) to transform itself into a unified trading bloc with free flow of capital by 2015. It was initially hoped that the link-up would have been in place by 2010 but was delayed by the development of the new platform.

"This forms an integral part of the various initiatives in achieving the overall objective of the ASEAN Exchanges Collaboration to promote the growth of the ASEAN capital market," said Dato' Tajuddin Atan, CEO of Bursa Malaysia.

Indonesia's stock exchange along with Vietnam's bourses in Ho Chi Minh and Hanoi hope to join the network in 2013.

Of the other ASEAN members, Laos opened a stock market in January, Cambodia plans to open one at the end of this year and Myanmar is in talks about developing one. Brunei is the remaining member.

Stocks buoyed by Wall St gains, strong GDP data

MANILA, Philippines - Local share prices extended their winning streak on Friday, mirroring gains in Wall Street overnight.

Traders said better-than-expected first-quarter economic figures on the local front, and China's plans to keep its European holdings encouraged investors to pick up some more stocks.

The benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange index surged 3% or 96.10 points to 3,252.63. Today's advance brought the market's week-on-week gains to 2.3%.

The broader all-share index also rose 2.5% or 49.78 points to 2,049.38.

All sectoral indices trekked higher, with the holdings sector up the most. It outperformed the main gauge, with a 5.1% jump.

Overall, market breadth was positive as advancers swamped decliners, 94 to 26. There were 46 issues unchanged.

A total of 1 billion shares worth P3.5 billion were traded.

A tenth of that amount came from SM Prime Holdings Inc., making it the most actively traded stock by value. SM Prime closed flat at P10.50 per share.

Meantime, banking stocks were also actively traded on strong foreign buying.

Bank of the Philippine Islands rose 1.1% to P44.50 while Metropolitan Bank and Trust Co. soared 3.6% to P57.

Top lender Banco de Oro Unibank Inc. jumped 2.3% to P43.50 after it announced it was expecting a 30% increase in its 2010 net income to P8.1 billion.

ABS-CBN Broadcasting Corp. also ended in positive territory for the third straight day, adding 2.7% to P38.50. That was the stock's highest closing price since August 7, 2001.

Sentiment on ABS-CBN has been positive due to expectations that its ad revenues may exceed P15 billion this year.

For next week, traders said the market's movement will still be dictated by the performance of the US and European markets, adding that on the local front, investors will wait for the latest inflation data as they monitor election canvassing proceedings.