Business

Trading week ends with peso sideways, local shares lower

Trading week ends with peso sideways, local shares lower

December 7, 2018, 7:19 pm

MANILA -- The Philippine peso managed to end the week sideways while the local bourse shed amid fears that the truce in the US-China trade war will be cut short following the arrest of a Huawei executive in Canada. The local currency ended the week at 52.71 from 52.76 Thursday, which the Bank of… Read More

House pushes for empowering MSMEs

House pushes for empowering MSMEs

December 7, 2018, 6:37 pm

MANILA -- The House of Representatives approved this week a measure seeking to strengthen, empower, and enhance the financing programs for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs). Through voice voting, the chamber passed on second reading House Bill 8714, which seeks to amend Republic Act… Read More

More Filipinos saving up their money

More Filipinos saving up their money

December 7, 2018, 5:36 pm

MANILA -- The number of Filipinos who have set aside some money for a rainy day has risen in the fourth quarter of 2018 compared to the previous quarter, a Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) survey showed. Results of the Q4 2018 Consumer Expectations Survey (CES) showed that percentage of household… Read More

2019 inflation seen at 3.6% despite oil tax hike

2019 inflation seen at 3.6% despite oil tax hike

December 7, 2018, 3:17 pm

MANILA -- The country’s inflation rate is expected to decline further below 6 percent this month and even lower to 3.6 percent next year, even if the second tranche of the oil excise tax increase pushes through, an economist of a major Philippine bank said. Emilio Neri Jr., vice president and… Read More

Public, private sectors commit to improve PH logistics sector

Public, private sectors commit to improve PH logistics sector

December 7, 2018, 9:29 am

MANILA -- Both the public and private sectors have made commitments to improve the logistics sector in the country, aiming to make the logistics services more efficient and to contribute more to job creation and to the economy. During the first Logistics Services Philippines Conference in Pasay… Read More

BSP, biz leaders hopeful despite dampened sentiments in Q4

BSP, biz leaders hopeful despite dampened sentiments in Q4

December 6, 2018, 9:13 pm

MANILA -- Monetary officials and business leaders remain hopeful that both business and consumer sentiments would start perking up in the closing days of the year as inflationary pressures ease. This, as the elevated inflation rate earlier in the year dampened sentiments of both the business… Read More

PTT exec still upbeat despite looming oil excise tax hike

PTT exec still upbeat despite looming oil excise tax hike

December 6, 2018, 8:50 pm

MANILA -- An official of PTT Philippines Corp. remains optimistic about the future prospects of their business even with the likely implementation of the second tranche of the oil excise tax hike in 2019. PTT Philippines Managing Director Thitiroj Rergsumran said Thursday they will comply with… Read More

Overseas trade concerns weigh down PSEi; peso keeps gains

Overseas trade concerns weigh down PSEi; peso keeps gains

December 6, 2018, 8:16 pm

MANILA -- The Philippine peso ended sideways against the US dollar during Thursday's session but the Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) failed to recover on renewed trade war concerns overseas. The local currency ended the day’s trade at 52.76 from 52.74 a day ago, which Bank of the… Read More

Corporate tax reform to create 1.4-M jobs in 10 years

Corporate tax reform to create 1.4-M jobs in 10 years

December 6, 2018, 7:00 pm

MANILA -- The Duterte administration’s tax reform package that aims to lower the corporate income tax (CIT) and overhaul the country's "convoluted" fiscal incentives system is projected to generate some 1.4 million jobs, mostly in small and medium enterprises (SMEs), over the next decade and… Read More

Taiwanese computer giant to reopen Subic plant

Taiwanese computer giant to reopen Subic plant

December 6, 2018, 6:22 pm

SUBIC BAY FREEPORT -- Wistron Infocomm Corp., formerly one of the biggest export manufacturers in the Subic Bay Freeport Zone, will soon resume production operations here. Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) chairman and administrator Wilma Eisma on Wednesday said the Taiwanese computer giant… Read More

NPC to telcos: Ensure data privacy protection

NPC to telcos: Ensure data privacy protection

December 6, 2018, 5:54 pm

MANILA -- The National Privacy Commission (NPC) on Thursday called on telecommunications firms to compete on ensuring effective data privacy and protection as part of their delivery of services to consumers. “This is what’s good about competition it’s the customers who decide who to trust.… Read More

Passenger car sales seen to recover in 2019

Passenger car sales seen to recover in 2019

December 6, 2018, 4:58 pm

MANILA -- Passenger car sales in the Philippines will recover slightly next year, by around 3.2 percent or 120,000 units by end-2019, according to projections of Fitch Solutions Macro Research. This will be a turn-around after passenger car sales this year declined by 20 percent to 90,522 units as… Read More

Nickel industry projects lower production in 2019

Nickel industry projects lower production in 2019

December 6, 2018, 4:49 pm

MANILA -- The Philippine nickel industry has projected lower production in 2019 due to the new regulation of the government limiting the areas for mining operations. Philippine Nickel Industry Association (PNIA) President Dante Bravo, in a forum Wednesday, attributed the projected decline in… Read More

Local markets pull back in midweek trading

Local markets pull back in midweek trading

December 6, 2018, 4:02 pm

MANILA -- Risk-off sentiment was up in Philippine markets on Wednesday, resulting in a weakening in the main equities gauge and the peso following the big sell-off in US equities, as investors remain uncertain on the outcome of US-China trade talks. The Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) ended… Read More

DTI sees prices of goods easing in Q1 2019

DTI sees prices of goods easing in Q1 2019

December 6, 2018, 1:17 pm

MANILA -- Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez expects prices of goods to continue to decline in the first quarter of 2019 due to the decreasing oil prices and strengthening of the Philippine peso. Lopez said although prices have decreased following the easing of inflation rate at 6 percent last month,… Read More

DTI to issue new SRPs on basic goods as sardines get costlier

DTI to issue new SRPs on basic goods as sardines get costlier

December 5, 2018, 8:42 pm

MANILA -- The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) is set to release this week new suggested retail prices (SRPs) of basic and prime commodities after prices of some brands of canned sardines went up, while prices of bread declined. According to DTI, nine sardine brands increased their prices by… Read More

PH still monitoring global dev't for bond issuance

PH still monitoring global dev't for bond issuance

December 5, 2018, 7:56 pm

MANILA -- The Philippine government is still on a wait-and-see stance vis-a-vis its planned US dollar bond sale, which it targets to issue this quarter. In an interview at the sidelines of the Senate hearing on the proposed 2019 national budget Wednesday, Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III… Read More

Underemployment drops to lowest rate in over a decade

Underemployment drops to lowest rate in over a decade

December 5, 2018, 7:36 pm

MANILA -- The country’s underemployment rate fell to its lowest in over a decade indicating the improvement of the quality of work nationwide, the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) said in a statement on Wednesday. Based on the October round of the Labor Force Survey (LFS) of… Read More

PH manufacturing output, value recover in October

PH manufacturing output, value recover in October

December 5, 2018, 4:55 pm

MANILA -- The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported Wednesday that the country’s manufacturing output and value in October this year recovered from a year ago. PSA data show that volume of production index (VoPi) for October 2018 grew 3.9 percent, a turnaround from October 2017’s… Read More

Diokno disputes gov't underspending claims

Diokno disputes gov't underspending claims

December 5, 2018, 4:46 pm

MANILA -- Budget and Management Secretary Benjamin Diokno stressed that allegations of government underspending this year is uncalled for, citing that they even exceeded a bit in the first nine months this year due to front-loading during the dry season. In a briefing Wednesday, Diokno said… Read More