The Philippine Stock Exchange is further tightening its public float requirement by proposing the automatic delisting when 99.9 percent of a listed firm is owned by one person or related parties.

The proposed provision is being included in the PSE’s criteria for involuntary delisting under its Delisting Rules. The PSE is accepting comments to the proposed amendment until April 16, 2010.

The bourse said this is “in line with the state policy of encouraging the widest participation of ownership in enterprises as provided under the Securities Regulation Code.”

The PSE earlier said it planned to penalize listed firms with trading suspension or even delisting for failure to have a public float of at least 10 percent.

The bourse has come out with its proposed amended minimum public ownership (MPO) rules which gives listed companies a long grace period of 18 months to raise its public ownership if it falls below the MPO.