RP capital mart gets aid

RP capital mart gets aid

MANILA (AFP): The Asian Development Bank (ADB) yesterday signed a memorandum of understanding to lend up to US$150 million to the Philippines for a capital market development program.

Acting Finance Secretary Romeo Bernardo said the document to extend a $100-million to $150-million loan would pave the way for working out conditions and the eventual release of the amount.

The agreement comes after three years of consultations and studies, financed by the ADB and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) on a common government-private sector program for reforming capital markets.

Earlier reports about the proposed reforms said they would include making government regulators more efficient and making the capital market more diversified and internationally- competitive.

It also called for a full-disclosure policy for all publicly- listed companies.

Other officials have said the reforms will include the creation of a Philippine Central Depository Inc. to act as a clearing-house for both equities and debt securities, possibly as early as October, 1995.