Financial Literacy Campaign of SEC to be Expanded, Several Institutions Tapped

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) recently reached out to 18 institutions as it hopes to bolster its financial literacy campaign geared at promoting safe investment opportunities for Filipinos. Among those that were tapped for the network include the Philippine Stock Exchange Inc., Department of Education, Commission on Higher Education, and National Youth Commission, according to SEC Chairman and CEO Emil Aquino.

On top of this, investor advocates are also being looked into as the SEC is coordinating with the Philippine Sports Commission to get the assistance of notable athletes in fulfilling this role. Tokyo Olympics medalists Eumir Marcial, Carlo Paalam, and Nesthy Petecio are believed to have signed up. Aquino added that the regulator’s latest campaign during the last quarter of 2021, which was launched on social media, was able to reach almost one million individuals as well as 240,000 views and clicks and 43,000 engagements.

In a financial inclusion report that was conducted pre-pandemic, it was found that around 54 million adults have the potential to become capital market participants. However, 66% noted that they did not have the income to spare for investments, and another 35% were either misinformed or unfamiliar with the opportunities.

Aside from expanding its financial literacy campaign, the SEC has also set the goal of having 888 listed companies by 2024 — in time for its 88th anniversary. To achieve this, it plans to access crowdfunding portals targeted at companies for listing whether these are micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs), large firms, or companies with franchises. At the moment, there are only 274 publicly listed companies but four are already waiting to be listed while three more have pending applications.

Source: BusinessMirror, Manila Times