MANILA, Oct 20 (Reuters) - The Philippines will from Nov. 6 start allowing short-selling, a practice that seeks to profit off bets on a stock falling, two weeks behind the initial target, the bourse operator said on Friday,

The launch of the short selling programme was extended to give market participants more time to prepare, the Philippine Stock Exchange said.

"The ability to take short positions will provide investors a tool to hedge their investments, which hopefully will help attract foreign investors back to our market," PSE president and CEO Ramon Monzon said in a statement.

It will also generate increased trading activity, he added. (Reporting by Neil Jerome Morales; Editing by Martin Petty)