SunGard Bullish on SE Asia – Signs Philippine Stock Broker on Global Network

SunGard, a global provider of IT solutions to financial services firms, has continued its domination of ASEAN markets with Philippines-based First Metro Securities Brokerage Corporation signing up with the SunGard Global Network. The sixteenth most active player in the Philippines equities market will benefit from full front-to-back e-trading capabilities in one of the world’s fastest growing markets.

SunGard has been expanding its global footprint as it interconnects its services across the ASEAN region. A company spokesperson informed Forex Magnates that, “SunGard has been developing very strongly in South-East Asia over the last 10 years, connecting to a lot of local stock exchanges (Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand and Philippines) and offering a wealth of front-to-back financial solutions and services. SunGard Capital Markets is the technology partner of the ASEAN Exchanges and provides the underlying technology for the ASEAN Trading Link, which enables members of the Singapore, Kuala-Lumpur and Bangkok stock exchanges to easily access each other’s markets.”

First Metro Securities Brokerage Corporation, the broking unit of one of the country’s leading investment banks, Metro Bank, will be able to offer trade execution to over 2,100 asset managers and 530 brokers on the Philippines Stock Exchange (PSE) through SunGard's network.

“The ASEAN region continues to attract interest from investors globally, who are keen to take advantage of persistent growth, increased economic liberalization and the rise of its ‘consumer market society.’ SunGard believes the expansion of financial firms to help serve regional and foreign market participants will likely continue steadily,” said Philippe Carré, global head of connectivity for SunGard’s capital markets business, in a statement to the media.

The Philippine Stock Exchange is termed as Asia’s 12th-biggest stock market (market capitalisation). The country has been benefiting from strong economic activity with GDP growth faring well in 2012 at 6.8% according to the IMF.

Gonzalo G. Ordoñez, President of First Metro Securities Brokerage Corporation, commented about the broker’s connectivity to SunGard in a statement: “According to World Federation of Exchanges data, the Philippine Stock Exchange was one of the strongest performers in the Asia-Pacific region in 2012, with a 39% growth rate for the year. PSE is now attracting investors globally and First Metro Securities is committed to helping the exchange expand. To continue growing PSE and to help solidify our position in the region, First Metro Securities is utilizing the SunGard Global Network to offer our clients reliable technology and fast connectivity, and to Leverage SunGard’s strong ASEAN regional expertise.”

The PSE recently launched its own electronic trading portal, thus indicating that the country is receptive to new technological advancements in financial markets. SunGard’s spokesperson concluded, “We are seeing increasing interest from firms in the Philippines to acquire advanced trading technologies in order to better satisfy their internal demand, both retail and institutional, and to offer brokerage services to foreign investors. Although at a nascent stage compared to other larger markets in the region, the anticipated development of the PSE is leading SunGard to invest early and heavily into new areas in the region to better service its clients."