But the 62-year-old should have known that it was too good to last: Once again he has been dragged out of retirement -- this time to head the Philippine Stock Exchange. Leung’s first taste of a life of leisure lasted one year: He’d called it quits at the Philippine Deposit Insurance Corp. after six years as president but was pressed into heading the Development Bank of the Philippines until this past September.
The stock exchange post is far from ceremonial. Last year the PSE was rocked by insider-trading scandals, political infighting and allegations of meddling by former Philippines president Joseph Estrada. Trading volume plunged. The whole episode was “a well-known case of what not to do,” confides Leung. “Institutions must be strengthened. Professionals must stand up so that no president can interfere.”
Two years ago Parliament passed a law that provides for privatizing the PSE, converting it from basically a private brokers’ club to a conventional corporation; brokers could own only 20 percent. But first, Leung says, the PSE will need to become more transparent and upgrade staff and systems. “No one will come if you’re a monopoly with bad practices,” he points out.
Such changes are sure to pit Leung against some members of the exchange’s board. In his position, says a brokerage analyst, “you need strong nerves.” Adds Leung: “Everyone accepts reforms in principle. The question is how to get there.”
Meanwhile, his badminton game is bound to suffer. “The work of government has never been kind to personal time,” Leung sighs.
