Download 11 - Philexport

February 11, 2014
FDI ‘robust,’ up 54.6% in November (Can also be read in Manila Bulletin,
Philippine Star, Philippine Daily Inquirer, Business Mirror, Manila Times, Malaya,
Daily Tribune)
NET FOREIGN direct investments (FDI) remained robust in November, the
Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) yesterday reported, growing by an annual
54.59% to $286 million.
Peso finishes flat after strong start
THE PESO yesterday closed nearly flat against the greenback after a morning
surge as bargain hunters bought dollars in the afternoon.
Banks borrow less from BSP in January
LOANS taken out of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ (BSP) peso rediscount
facility declined last month from year-ago levels, according to latest available
central bank data.
Outlook upbeat for insurance sector
THE PHILIPPINE insurance industry is poised to expand further on the back of
continued economic growth and supportive policies, Fitch Ratings yesterday
said.
Strong start for automakers (Can also be read in Philippine Star, Philippine Daily
Inquirer, Business Mirror, Manila Times, Manila Standard Today)
JANUARY vehicle sales were the strongest in the last 10 years, automakers
yesterday said, benefitting from late-2013 product launches and extended
promotions.
Property sector boosts consumer loans (Can also be read in Philippine Star,
Business Mirror, Manila Times, Malaya)
THE CONSUMER LENDING BUSINESS of universal, commercial and thrift
banks continued to expand as of September last year, supported primarily by
growth of their real estate portfolio, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP)
reported yesterday.
Rules on importers’ accreditation out
THE FINANCE department has issued rules on the provisional lifting of the
suspension of importers’ accreditation following new requirements and guidelines
covering these entities.
Iloilo biz group eyes investors, sets forum
ILOILO CITY -- Ilonggo business leaders hope to attract foreign direct
investments during a forum in Makati City next month.
Asian carriers staring at overcapacity
SINGAPORE -- Low-cost carriers are flying high in Southeast Asia on the back of
sharp growth in air travel, but as hundreds of new jets swarm into the region
concerns are rising about its ability to absorb the record numbers of planes on
order.
Congress okays MARINA bills
BOTH houses of Congress unanimously passed bills yesterday to establish the
Maritime Industry Authority (MARINA) as the single agency to enforce
international standards on the country’s seafarers.
Court to resume hearings on power rate hike
THE SUPREME Court today resumes hearing a case against a hefty Manila
Electric Co. (Meralco) rate increase, with regulators scheduled to defend a rule
allowing automatic adjustments.
No market, no competitive advantage
To Take A Stand by Oscar P. Lagman, Jr.
EIGHT YEARS ago, the Philippine government, through the departments of
Health and of Tourism and with the assistance of the Public-Private Sector
Partnerships, launched its medical tourism program. The initiative was intended
to attract foreigners to come to the country to take advantage of its high-quality
but supposedly low-cost medical care.
12.1 million Filipinos now jobless (Can also be read in Philippine Star,
Philippine Daily Inquirer, Manila Times, Manila Standard Today, Malaya)
Manila, Philippines – The number of unemployed Filipinos increased to 12.1
million individuals at the end of 2013, a development considered understandable
by Malacañang.
BAP seeks dismissal of suit against bond exchange in SC
The Supreme Court (SC) has been asked by the Bankers Association of the
Philippines (BAP) to dismiss a petition that challenged the alleged monopoly in
the country’s bond exchange.
Fitch sees more insurance mergers (Can also be read in Manila Times)
One of the three international credit rating agencies expects more Philippine
insurance companies, particularly non-life, to exit the industry or merge with their
rivals in the coming years amid an unfavorable operating environment.
Phl stocks mirror gains in US, reg’l markets (Can also be read in Philippine Daily
Inquirer, Manila Standard Today)
MANILA, Philippines - The benchmark index extended its climb for the fourth
straight day, mirroring the gains in US and Asian markets.
Moody’s lauds capital buildup of Phl banks
MANILA, Philippines - Philippine banks are now well-positioned to lend more this
year as they continue to strengthen their capital base, according to international
credit rating firm Moody’s.
No Category 1 rating this February?
SPYBITS By Babe G. Romualdez
Spy Bits received unconfirmed reports that the Philippines will not be getting the
Category 1 rating upgrade from the FAA this February as anticipated. According
to inside sources, the recent audit conducted by a team from the US Federal
Aviation Administration (FAA) found the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines
(CAAP) still noncompliant with regard to the “critical elements” under the
checklist of safety requirements that FAA had been monitoring.
2013manufacturingoutputseenupby18%
MANILA, Philippines—Moody’s Analytics said the country’s manufacturing sector
was seen to have grown at a faster pace in 2013 and that it was expected to
continue fueling economic growth this year.
PHriceshippedtoOman (Can also be read in Business Mirror, Manila Times, Manila
Standard Today)
MANILA, Philippines—SL Agritech Corp. (SLAC) expects to ship out within this
month its maiden cargo of 19.3 metric tons of its Doña Maria fancy rice to Oman.
Oilfirmslowerprices
MANILA, Philippines—Local oil companies cut fuel prices on Tuesday to reflect
the softening of global market prices.
Valuechainsforruraldevelopment
How much of our recent economic growth benefits the Philippine countryside?
Too little, it seems. Agriculture, the most dominant economic activity in rural
areas, contributed a mere 0.1 percentage point to the 6.5 percent gross domestic
product growth in the final quarter of 2013, while services and industry
contributed 3.5 and 2.8 percentage points respectively. This pattern of growth
does nothing to make our economy’s overall brisk rate of growth permeate more
widely across the country’s economic sectors and geographic areas.
Asia shares mostly higher after Wall Street advance
HONG KONG—Asia’s markets rose Monday, taking their lead from a strong rally
on Wall Street as investors brushed aside below-forecast US jobs data, and
analysts suggested the recent downturn may have ended.
Economic fallacy on coal, petroleum hinders RE development, CCC’s Alvarez
says
Commissioner Heherson T. Alvarez of the Climate Change Commission (CCC)
said the economic fallacy on coal and petroleum-based energy as the cheapest
in the market is the formidable economic and psychological barrier that block the
development of renewable energy (RE).
PHL current-account surplus some of the strongest in region–Barclays
The Philippines owns some of the strongest current account balances that can
be found in emerging markets in Asia, which helps the $250-billion economy
weather such headwinds as the tentative growth in the US and continued
weakness among countries in the euro zone and China, analysts at the
investment bank Barclays said.
Sufficiently liquid banks shun BSP rediscounting window
Local banks effectively shunned the local-currency rediscounting window of the
Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) in January, a development indicating lenders
having ample liquidity in their hands to finance the loan requirements of their
clients.
Regulator says sugar-cane value chain at risk with absence of supportive law
THE sugar industry, including the whole sugar-cane value chain, will shrink
without any financial assistance from government, according to the Sugar
Regulatory Administration (SRA).
Agri dept targets chicken exports to UAE by year’s end
THE Department of Agriculture (DA) is hoping that before the year ends, the
country can finally export chicken and other poultry products to the United Arab
Emirates (UAE).
Fish farming to produce more than half of world supply by 2030–report
FISH farming will provide up to two-thirds of global food fish consumption by
2030 as catches from wild capture fisheries level off and demand from an
emerging global middle class, especially in China, substantially increases.
Buy the breakout
Outside the Box by John Mangun
ANYONE who has heard of technical analysis would usually think of it as
applicable to stock prices. Technical analysis involves plotting price movements
and looking for patterns in those movements for financial instruments, like
equities and commodities. The basic principle of technical analysis is that prices
stop falling at a certain level and prices stop rising at another.
SRA seeking immediate passage of Sugarcane Act
The Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA) has called on the Senate for the
immediate passage of the proposed Sugarcane Act to provide enabling
environment for diversified sugar production, and make the local sugar industry
more competitive with the advent of free-trade agreements in the Association of
Southeast Asian Nations (Asean).
JFC seeks update of PH commercial laws
The Joint Foreign Chambers (JFC) is urging Congress to update the half-acentury-old Philippine commercial law, re-codification of the nation’s penal and
civil laws, and creating code commissions for the purpose.
Leave rice importing to a rational market
It’s very sad that a commodity that is at the center of the daily life of nearly all
Filipinos is forever being bedeviled by the worst concomitants of import
transactions. I am referring to rice.
Develop workers ‘to stay globally competitive’
LOCAL companies need to continually develop the skills of its workers to remain
competitive in an open Asean economy, said a top official of a human resource
solutions company.
BIMP-Eaga execs convene in Davao for 3-day strategic planning
SOME 200 technical officials and private sector representatives from the Brunei
Darusssalam-Indonesia-Malaysia-Philippines-East Asean Growth Area (BIMPEafa) will convene at the Marco Polo Hotel Davao starting Tuesday until
Thursday for the annual BIMP-Eaga Strategic Planning Meeting.
High electricity rates make Meralco biggest taxpayer
The country’s largest power distributor is the number one corporate taxpayer for
2012, dislodging telecommunications giant, Smart Communications Inc.
Key issues
I agree with President Noynoy Aquino. The international community should now
voice in the strongest possible terms its support for the Philippines in resisting
China’s increasingly aggressive moves in the South China Sea.
Who is to blame for Meralco’s rate increase?
Written by DUCKY PAREDES
“Kapag may plantang biglang bumagsak ay talagang hindi natin inaasahan ‘yan.
Parang kotse ‘yan, tumatakbo, hindi natin alam kung kalian titirik,’ said Petilla.’
The big ones always get away
Written by AMADO P. MACASAET
‘Unless the pre-shipment inspection service is hired again we might as well give
up on the anti-smuggling campaign.’
K to 12 to boost RP competitiveness — execs
(PHILEXPORT News and Features)
The Philippines’ K to 12 basic education program is one of the crucial factors in
boosting the country’s competitiveness and in generating quality jobs in the
manufacturing sector, particularly the labor-intensive ones, a ranking official of
the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) said.
Gov’t told to increase manufacturing output
The Philippines has the lowest share of manufacturing to total output of economy
and such stigma must be addressed before the integration of Association of
Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) starts next year.
Common economic interests key to Asia-Pacific stability — S&P
Asia-Pacific’s economic importance anchors the region’s geopolitical stability,
said Standard & Poor’s (S&P’s) Ratings Services in a report published yesterday.
Bamboo pushed against climate change
The Land Bank of the Philippines is banking on bamboo as a means to help
mitigate the impact of climate change and to contribute to the government’s
overall efforts to increase productivity, generate employment, and increase
household income in rural areas.