THE local bourse continues to face difficulty in selling—at its desired price—its former office and trading floor at the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) Center within the Ortigas business district, PSE president Hans Sicat told reporters on Friday. 

He said the company has been in talks with at least three buyers for the 4,753.72-square meter office comprising the first, second, fourth floors  and 21 parking slots at the PSE Center, also known as Tektite Towers. However, a final deal is far from certain.

The sale has already failed in two separate public auctions held in August and late September as the bourse maintained its asking floor price at P45,000 per square meter.

“Now it’s open for negotiated bid. We will see what happens… or if it makes sense to defer [the sale],” Sicat said. The PSE executive clarified that there are ongoing talks with interested buyers but that the bourse has yet to receive a “firm proposal.”

He also declined to comment on whether the offer price would be lowered.

The PSE had moved out of the Tektite property in August last year and consolidated its operations in the Ayala Tower in Makati City. The move reduced its so-called occupancy costs by 15.61 percent to P18.1 million during the first semester of 2011, its financial report showed.