MANILA - Trades at the Philippine Stock Exchange will be extended by an hour beginning Monday, part of a two-phase program by the bourse as it prepares to link up with other Southeast Asian markets. 

Trading will now run up to 1:00 p.m. [0500 GMT] in the local bourse, which has one of the shortest trading sessions in Asia. Previously, the stock market was open only for 2-1/2 hours, from 9:30 a.m. up to 12 noon [0130 to 0400 GMT], excluding a 10-minute run off period. 

Trading hours will be stretched further by January, with trading to run up to 3:30 p.m. [0730 GMT], including a break from noon to 1:30 p.m.

Philippine stocks have fallen about 5% this year, mirroring falls in other regional equities markets, as concerns over the European debt crisis and a faltering US economy prompt investors to trim risky investments in emerging markets. 

Cross-border trading among Southeast Asian markets is set to be launched in March 2012. The Thai bourse, Singapore Exchange, Bursa Malaysia and the PSE are currently working to set up a regional trading network.

The 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations plans to transform itself into a unified trading bloc with free flow of capital by 2015. 

The region also includes Indonesia, Cambodia, Brunei Darussalam, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam.