Business

DTI chief confident PH to rise anew as Asia’s tiger economy

DTI chief confident PH to rise anew as Asia’s tiger economy

February 1, 2024, 7:17 pm

MANILA – Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Secretary Alfredo Pascual is confident that the Philippines will re-emerge as a tiger economy in Asia supported by government programs to boost economic activities. Pascual made the assurance Thursday at the business luncheon of Italian Chamber of… Read More

NDC eyes innovation hub in provinces, overseas

NDC eyes innovation hub in provinces, overseas

February 1, 2024, 6:45 pm

MANILA – The National Development Company (NDC) aims to expand its Philippine Innovation Hub this year by putting up offices across and outside the country. NDC General Manager Anton Mauricio said at the 26th General Meeting of the Rotary Club of Manila at the Manila Polo Club Thursday that this… Read More

PSEi drops on Powell’s speech, peso strong

PSEi drops on Powell’s speech, peso strong

February 1, 2024, 6:32 pm

MANILA – Philippine shares closed weak on Thursday after the statement of United States Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell that policy easing in March is unlikely. The benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) fell 23.43 points to 6,623.01, with the broader All Shares, likewise,… Read More

Rebound in investments seen to back PH GDP in 2024

Rebound in investments seen to back PH GDP in 2024

February 1, 2024, 4:37 pm

MANILA – Fitch Solutions unit BMI has seen a rebound in investments that will continue in 2024, supporting the Philippine gross domestic product (GDP) growth for the year. In a commentary released to the media Thursday, BMI said the 11.2-percent growth in investment in the fourth quarter (Q4) of… Read More

Landbank's net income hits record-high in 2023

Landbank's net income hits record-high in 2023

February 1, 2024, 3:40 pm

MANILA – State-owned Land Bank of the Philippines (Landbank) said its net income hit an all-time high of PHP40.3 billion last year on the back of strong revenues from loans and investments, and prudent cost management. In a statement on Thursday, Landbank said its net income in 2023 also… Read More

NEDA outlines initiatives for PDP implementation

NEDA outlines initiatives for PDP implementation

February 1, 2024, 3:05 pm

MANILA – The National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) cited on Thursday several initiatives that should be pursued in the second year of the Philippine Development Plan's (PDP) rollout. In a statement, the NEDA said these include enhancing tax administration and enacting… Read More

February opens with LPG price hike

February opens with LPG price hike

February 1, 2024, 2:05 pm

MANILA – Prices of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) slightly increased by less than a peso at the start of February. Petron LPG increased prices by PHP0.95 per kilogram while Solane-branded LPGs were priced higher by PHP0.91 per kilogram. Regasco also hiked its prices but at a lower rate of PHP0.70… Read More

BOK chief cites need to keep restrictive monetary policy for long time

BOK chief cites need to keep restrictive monetary policy for long time

February 1, 2024, 1:53 pm

SEOUL – Bank of Korea (BOK) Gov. Rhee Chang-yong on Thursday said monetary policy needs to stay restrictive for a long time, reaffirming the central bank's commitment to bringing inflation down. He said BOK's "tightening stance needs to be maintained for a sufficiently long time, checking the… Read More

PH factories start 2024 on a 'positive note'

PH factories start 2024 on a 'positive note'

February 1, 2024, 12:52 pm

MANILA – The local manufacturing sector kicked off the year on a positive note, the S&P Global Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) reported Thursday. The Philippines’ manufacturing PMI has remained above the neutral score of 50 at 50.9 in January this year, easing from a 51.5… Read More

BSP cuts TDF volume

BSP cuts TDF volume

January 31, 2024, 7:40 pm

MANILA – The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) slashed the term deposit facility (TDF) volume on Wednesday as it continued to observe low demand for the facility. BSP Deputy Governor Francisco Dakila Jr. said in a statement that the central bank cut the TDF volume from PHP340 billion to PHP310… Read More

Shares, peso up on Q4 2023 GDP performance

Shares, peso up on Q4 2023 GDP performance

January 31, 2024, 7:35 pm

MANILA – Investors took positively the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) growth in the fourth quarter of 2023 as both shares and peso strengthened on Wednesday. The Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) improved by 24.43 points, closing at 6,646.44, with All Shares also increasing by… Read More

Business name registration in C. Luzon rises in 2023

Business name registration in C. Luzon rises in 2023

January 31, 2024, 6:14 pm

CITY OF MALOLOS, Bulacan – The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) in Region 3 (Central Luzon) reported a significant increase in business name registrations last year. The total number of Business Names (BN) registered with DTI-3 reached 128,498 in 2023. This is 8.17 percent higher than the… Read More

Microsoft's revenue jumps 18% in Q4 of 2023 with drive in AI

Microsoft's revenue jumps 18% in Q4 of 2023 with drive in AI

January 31, 2024, 6:05 pm

ISTANBUL – US-based global tech major Microsoft saw its revenue jump 18 percent in the final quarter of 2023, according to its financial results statement released Tuesday. The tech giant posted a USD62 billion revenue in the last three months of 2023. Net income was more than USD21.8 billion,… Read More

EU envoy lauds PH’s ease of doing biz efforts

EU envoy lauds PH’s ease of doing biz efforts

January 31, 2024, 4:50 pm

MANILA – European Union (EU) Ambassador to the Philippines Luc Veron said businesses will be more encouraged to invest in the Philippines with the improvement of permitting and licensing processes here. Speaking at the Doing Business in the Philippines 2024 press launch in Makati City Wednesday,… Read More

BSP sees January 2024 inflation between 2.8% to 3.6%

BSP sees January 2024 inflation between 2.8% to 3.6%

January 31, 2024, 4:24 pm

MANILA – The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) projects headline inflation to settle within the government's 2 to 4 percent target in January. In a statement on Wednesday, the BSP said inflation rate this month is projected to settle within the range of 2.8 to 3.6 percent. "Higher prices of some… Read More

US keen to work with PH on mineral processing, renewables

US keen to work with PH on mineral processing, renewables

January 31, 2024, 3:16 pm

MANILA – The United States (US) government has offered its support to the Philippines in developing the country’s mineral processing and renewable energy (RE) sectors. US Under Secretary for Economic Growth, Energy, and the Environment Jose Fernandez said in an interview here Tuesday that the… Read More

PH debt-to-GDP improves in 2023

PH debt-to-GDP improves in 2023

January 31, 2024, 3:01 pm

MANILA – The share of the country's total liabilities to the gross domestic product (GDP) improved last year. "With the 2023 full-year Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth of 5.6 percent, the debt-to-GDP ratio improved to 60.2 percent from 60.9 percent at the end of 2022," the Bureau of the… Read More

PH economy grows by 5.6% in 2023

PH economy grows by 5.6% in 2023

January 31, 2024, 1:55 pm

MANILA – The Philippine economy grew by 5.6 percent in the fourth quarter of last year, bringing the full-year 2023 growth to 5.6 percent. While the growth did not settle within the government's 6 to 7 percent target and was lower than the 7.6 percent expansion in 2022, National Economic and… Read More

PSA revises upward 3Q PH economic growth to 6%

PSA revises upward 3Q PH economic growth to 6%

January 30, 2024, 9:37 pm

MANILA – The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) on Tuesday revised upward the third quarter Philippine economic growth to 6.0 percent from 5.9 percent. In a statement, the PSA said major contributors to the upward revision in the gross domestic product (GDP) growth were manufacturing which… Read More

BTr fully awards re-issued T-bond

BTr fully awards re-issued T-bond

January 30, 2024, 9:32 pm

MANILA – The Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) fully awarded on Tuesday the re-issued three-year Treasury bonds (T-bonds). The debt paper fetched an average rate of 6.007 percent, broadly in line with the prevailing secondary market rate for the said tenor at 6.011 percent. BTr offered the paper for… Read More