Philippine Stock Exchange “Dragon Lady” Vivian Yuchengco crossed paths with Securities and Exchange Commission chair Francis Ed. Lim during GCash’s blockbuster market debut, creating an interesting scene for anyone familiar with their ongoing court battle.
Standing between them was Ayala Corp. chair Jaime Augusto Zobel de Ayala, who appears to have landed the role of chance referee or front-row spectator in the high-profile dispute.
To outsiders, the exchange appeared tense at moments, but in a later chat, Yuchengco was quick to make clear that their disagreement was strictly business.
“I told Jaime Francis is not mad at me. Even though I’m suing him, he’s still hugging me,” she said.
“We’re friends, even though I’m suing,” she added.
Yuchengco and fellow PSE director Eddie Gobing are challenging the SEC’s proposed term limits, which could force her and other long-serving broker directors off the board.
“My lawsuit is for everybody, not for me alone,” she said, arguing their lawsuit is about protecting the rights of shareholders.
Yuchengco, an influential stockbroker and a founding director of the Philippine Stock Exchange, also explained that she opposes the SEC’s proposal to raise the minimum capital requirement for stockbrokers from P100 million to P120 million, warning this would kill smaller Filipino-owned firms.
“They won’t survive and we need them,” Yuchengco said.
—Edited by Miguel R. Camus
