PSE Bell-Ringing Ceremony 3/6/2012

Ayala Avenue, Makati City
6 March 2012

At exactly 9:30 a.m., President Benigno S. Aquino III rang the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) bell to open the Philippine Stock Market and celebrate a record-breaking event of hitting a historical high at 5,030.58 points on March 5, 2012 and breaching the 5,000 point-level target.

According to PSE Chairman Jose Pardo, this is the 19th episode that the PSE index reached a high mark since President Aquino took office. He said that the current record is a "strong testament to the growing investor interest in the Philippines."

Record shows that private sector investments grew by 37 percent amounting to more than 750 billion pesos in 2011. Furthermore, a survey conducted by the Japan External Trade Organization illustrates that Japanese investors preferred to invest in the Philippines because of good work quality, skilled Filipino workers and a very reasonable cost of doing business.

The President was joined by Department of Finance Secretary Cesar Purisima, PSE Chairman Jose Pardo, PSE President and CEO Hans Sicat, Securities and Exchange Commissioner Juanita Cueto, Government Service Insurance System General Manager Robert Vergara and Social Security System President Emilio de Quiros Jr. during the ringing of the bell.

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