THE COUNTRY’S financial district will soon have a touch of New York City’s Times Square when the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) and partners from the private sector put up the first-ever electronic board that will feature stock-market news and information.

On Wednesday the PSE signed a memorandum of agreement with Insular Life Assurance Co.  Ltd., Globe Telecom and Globaltronics Inc. to install the electronic board either in April or May.

The P45-million project measures 30 meters in length and 1.5 meters in height. To be mounted in front of iconic Insular Life Bldg. at the corner of Ayala Avenue and Paseo de Roxas, the board will run the PSE ticker tape, disclosures and other relevant stock-market information.

Aside from the ticker tape, the electronic board can display trading highlights and run up-to-the-minute breaking news, traffic advisories, weather reports and storm alerts, as well as public-service announcements. It will operate year-round from 6 in the morning until midnight, but it may extend operating hours during special events.

“With the help of the PSE-Insular Life Electronic Display Board, investors passing through Ayala Avenue can continue monitoring the stock market even when they are outdoors,” said PSE president Francis Lim, adding, “This means that investors can now take their cue from the outdoor electronic board to call their brokers for the execution of stock-market orders. That’s the kind of convenience that this novel display provides to investors.”

Globaltronics will handle the installation. Globe, on the other hand, will be the board’s initial sponsor, paying for the electricity bill in exchange for advertisement. Once the board is opened for placement of other ads, the parties will share in the revenues.

This early, Insular Life chairman and chief executive Vicente Ayllon said they will explore the possibility of putting up a similar electronic board in Cebu City, on a building the company also owns and is about to be completed.

THE Philippines’ largest fast-food operator Jollibee Foods Corp. (JFC) said it has opened a Jollibee restaurant in China, six years after it ended the operation of a franchised restaurant in Xiamen.

Stock-market board to rise in Makati

THE COUNTRY’S financial district will soon have a touch of New York City’s Times Square when the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) and partners from the private sector put up the first-ever electronic board that will feature stock-market news and information.

PRIMEWORLD Digital Systems Inc. yesterday revealed it would turn itself to a full-fledged telecommunications company that specializes in IP (Internet protocol) communications from a mere ISP (Internet-service provider).

LANDCO Pacific Corp. (Landco) is allotting P3.5 billion as capital expenditure this year to finance ongoing and new projects.

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