Business
DTI chief says drop in competitiveness ranking ‘hard to believe’
May 24, 2018, 2:27 pm
MANILA -- Trade and industry Secretary Ramon Lopez said Thursday that the country’s plunge in competitiveness ranking as indicated by a survey done by Swiss business school IMD is “hard to believe” as the Philippines has been recording robust economic growth. The IMD World Competitiveness… Read More
NegOcc taps 3 LGUs, 23 enterprises for int’l food expo
May 24, 2018, 2:25 pm
BACOLOD CITY -- Three local government units (LGUs) and 23 micro and small enterprises from Negros Occidental were selected by the provincial government to take part in the International Food Exposition (IFEX) Philippines on May 25 to 27 at the World Trade Center in Pasay City. The LGUs include… Read More
DTI allots almost P100-M funding for Western Visayas SSF project
May 24, 2018, 1:01 pm
ILOILO CITY – The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) announced that it has close to PHP100 million for the implementation of the shared service facility (SSF) project this year. Under the project, machines and equipment are provided to micro, small and medium entrepreneurs for the purpose of… Read More
PH may gain 300K new jobs with augmented intelligence: Lopez
May 24, 2018, 8:10 am
MANILA -- Despite projections that artificial intelligence (AI) will take over half of the jobs in the business process outsourcing (BPO) sector, the Philippines’ top trade official expressed confidence that enabling the local workforce to utilize augmented intelligence will add employment. In a… Read More
DICT chief wants telco infra in 'Build, Build, Build'
May 24, 2018, 8:09 am
MANILA -- Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) Acting Secretary Eliseo Rio said that telecommunication infrastructure should also be included in the "Build, Build, Build" program of the administration. In a press briefing Wednesday, Rio said the Philippine government must… Read More
Peso drops to record low, stocks continue to slide
May 24, 2018, 7:58 am
MANILA -- The Philippine peso fell to lowest level in nearly 12 years, while the local stocks continued its downward spiral for the sixth straight session on Wednesday. The local unit ended the day's trade hitting a record low of 52.47 27.5 centavos weaker than Tuesday's 52.195. This is the lowest… Read More
DOE conducts random inspections on gas stations
May 23, 2018, 8:32 pm
MANILA -- Department of Energy (DOE) personnel on Wednesday conducted random inspections on 13 gas stations along Shaw Blvd., Mandaluyong and Pasig in an apparent bid to ensure compliance with government policies. The DOE representatives were deployed in order to check both the quality and… Read More
Cigarettes, paraphernalia tops goods seized by gov't in Q1
May 23, 2018, 6:35 pm
MANILA -- Counterfeit cigarettes and related paraphernalia made up the bulk of goods seized by law enforcement agencies in the first quarter of the year, according to the Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPOPHL). In a statement Wednesday, IPOPHL -- the lead agency of the National… Read More
BSP cuts 28-day TDF offering
May 23, 2018, 6:21 pm
MANILA -- The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) cut the value for its 28-day term deposit facility (TDF) for next week’s auction to PHP20 billion from Wednesday’s offering of PHP30 billion while maintaining the volume for shorter tenor facilities. Total volume for the next bidding of 7-day,… Read More
DTI seeks to boost coffee industry in W. Visayas
May 23, 2018, 5:51 pm
ILOILO CITY -- The Department of Trade and Industry 6 (Western Visayas) gathered some 50 coffee industry stakeholders from Iloilo, Antique, Capiz and Negros Occidental for a two-day regional roadmap localization and strategic planning workshop that culminated Tuesday afternoon. The two-day… Read More
Gov't debt rises to 56% of GDP at end-March
May 23, 2018, 3:10 pm
MANILA -- The national government’s debt to gross domestic product (GDP) ratio went up to 56.2 percent as of end-March this year from the 55.2 percent debt-to-GDP ratio in the same period in 2017. In the economic bulletin released by the Department of Finance (DOF) Wednesday, it said the country… Read More
Peso rebounds but local stocks slide
May 22, 2018, 7:42 pm
MANILA -- The Philippine peso rebounded against the greenback, while local stocks continued to slide during Tuesday's trading. The local unit closed at 52.195 against the greenback, 27 centavos stronger than the previous session's finish of 52.465. Meanwhile, the main Philippine Stock Exchange… Read More
DTI supports most provisions of TRAIN 2
May 22, 2018, 7:39 pm
MANILA -- The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) expressed support for most provisions of the proposed Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion Package 2 (TRAIN 2), but indicated that it is also closely coordinating with the Department of Finance (DOF) to air the concerns of various… Read More
BTr partially awards T-bonds at higher yield
May 22, 2018, 7:36 pm
MANILA -- The Bureau of Treasury (BTr) only partially awarded the 10-year Treasury bonds (T-bonds) after the government debt security fetched higher yield on Tuesday’s auction. The auction committee only accepted PHP4.1 billion of the total PHP13.3 billion bids. The re-issued T-bonds was offered… Read More
PPA to accelerate port dev't projects amid strong revenues
May 22, 2018, 6:50 pm
MANILA -- The Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) will be accelerating the implementation infrastructure projects in ports nationwide amid robust growth in revenues for the first quarter of the year. The revenues of the PPA reached PHP 3.78 billion for the first quarter which is higher by 9 percent… Read More
TRAIN 2 'pro-business, pro-investments, pro-incentives'
May 22, 2018, 5:39 pm
MANILA -- The Department of Finance on Tuesday branded the proposed second package of the Duterte administration’s Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion program or TRAIN 2 as "pro-business, pro-investments, and pro-incentives." During a congressional hearing on TRAIN 2, Finance Secretary… Read More
AboitizPower seeks completion of 3 major projects in 2018
May 22, 2018, 4:30 pm
MANILA -- The management of AboitizPower expressed confidence that it will complete three major projects before yearend. Aboitiz Equity Ventures, Inc. (AEV) chief executive officer Erramon Aboitiz identified the projects as the Pagbilao 3 in Quezon, the Manolo Fortrich hydropower in Bukidnon, and… Read More
TRAIN 'unfairly blamed' for inflation surge: Dominguez
May 22, 2018, 4:23 pm
MANILA -- Department of Finance (DOF) Secretary Carlos Dominguez III on Tuesday said it is unfair to attribute the current surge in inflation to the implementation of the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) law. During a hearing of the House ways and means committee on the second tax… Read More
CEZA names Port Irene, Cagayan airport as key projects
May 22, 2018, 4:14 pm
MANILA -- The Cagayan Economic Zone Authority (CEZA) will seek to improve and modernize Cagayan province' airport and seaport in hopes of enhancing the business environment and bringing economic growth in the country's north. During the CEZA Investment Summit 2018 Tuesday, CEZA Administrator and… Read More
ASEAN must stand united vs. protectionism: Singapore minister
May 22, 2018, 4:12 pm
SINGAPORE -- The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) must take a collective stand in favor of a free, open, rules-based trading system while combating protectionism, Singapore's Minister for Trade and Industry Chan Chun Sing said Monday. Chan made the remarks while addressing the… Read More
