MANILA, Philippines (Xinhua) – Philippine shares closed 0.64 percent higher today. The benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange index rose 45.94 points to 7,275.66. The all-share index also went up by 21.11 points, or 0.50 percent, to 4,276.05. Trading volume reached 2.25 billion shares worth P8 billion ($178.34 million). There were 78 gainers, 88 losers while 53 stocks closed flat.
MANILA, Philippines – The peso slipped against the dollar on Tuesday, closing at 44.965 from the previous day’s 44.89. Total volume transacted at the Philippine Dealing System amounted to $291 million, lower than the $313.3 million posted on Monday. The peso opened Tuesday at 44.93.
MANILA, Philippines – Samsung gives Filipinos more reasons to love the holidays with Samsung’s Galaxy of Christmas Wishes. From Nov. 15 to Dec. 31, customers can get a chance to take home their favorite Samsung device at a lower cost by visiting participating Samsung Experience Shops and authorized dealers nationwide. “We are very excited to make the holidays extra special for the Pinoys with Samsung’s Galaxy of Christmas Wishes” said Rhinn Piczon, product marketing head for mobile of Samsung Electronics Philippines Corp. “We listened to what our customers want and we’re thrilled to be able to give it to them this Christmas.” Included in the promo are the Samsung Galaxy V, Galaxy Tab 3 Lite, Galaxy Core 2, Galaxy Tab 4.7, Galaxy Grand 2, Galaxy S4, Galaxy S5 and Galaxy Note 3. The Samsung Galaxy V is a dual SIM phone that features a four-inch screen and runs on Android Kitkat 4.4.2. The Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 Lite, on the other hand, features a super light, slim design with a seven-inch WSVGA screen, as well as a a 1.2 Ghz processor and Android Jellybean OS. Also available at the Samsung’s Galaxy of Christmas Wishes is the Samsung Galaxy Core 2 which features a powerful Quad-Core processor on Android Kitkat and a 4.5-inch large screen, Samsung Galaxy Grand 2, with a large 5.2-inch screen an 8MP camera, Samsung S4 which boasts of a 5-inch Full HD Super AMOLED Display and 13MP rear camera, the latest Samsung S5 which has a 5.1-inch Read More …
MANILA, Philippines – The non-performing loans of banks went down in the third quarter from a year ago, indicating the industry’s continued efforts to keep prudent lending standards. Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas data showed banks’ gross non-performing loans (NPL) fell four percent to P140.209 billion as of September from P145.928 billion in the same period last year. This is against a 19-percent growth in banks’ total loan portfolio to P5.413 trillion during the period, bringing the NPL ratio of banks to 2.59 percent. Soured loans are obligations that remain unpaid for at least 30 days after the due date. The NPL ratio pertain to the amount of bad loans over the total loan portfolio. The September NPL ratio was an improvement from the 3.21 percent recorded in the same period last year and the 2.68 percent in end-June this year. The BSP monitors the loan quality of banks to maintain high credit underwriting standards, which is needed to keep the domestic financial system stable. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 Aside from improving their bad loan ratios, banks have increased their NPL coverage to 116.49 percent as of September from 110.52 percent in the same period in 2013. Setting aside for NPLs is a prudential measure meant to mitigate any potential credit losses. Latest BSP data showed lending by universal and commercial banks increased by 20.5 percent to P4.21 trillion in September. The bulk or 90.4 percent of the total loan portfolio went to production activities, reflective Read More …
MANILA, Philippines – The Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) index rose yesterday, buoyed largely by the positive outlook given to the economy by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). The Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) gained 0.26 percent or 18.71 points to close at 7,217.34 while the all shares index climbed 0.21 percent or 8.90 points to 4,245.96. “OECD’s optimism over the country triggered an attempt to move above 7,200,” said Jason Escartin, investment analyst at F. Yap Securities. OECD’s 2015 edition of its Economic Outlook for Southeast Asia, China and India gave the Philippines the most favorable growth rate in Southeast Asia in the next five years. Also triggering the local equities improvement was the Wall Street’s overnight rally, analysts said. The S&P 500, the Nasdaq and the Dow all finished in the green, with the latter posting the biggest increase of 0.23 percent. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 Local counters, meanwhile, were mixed at three apiece. Financials lead those in the green with a 0.96-percent gain while industrial and holding firms each lost 0.18 percent. Market breadth still failed to end on a positive note as decliners continued its dominance over advancers, 90 to 86, with 37 stocks unchanged. Value turnover further thinned to close the week at P6.65 billion.
Photo shows (from left): Conrado B. Sunga Jr., Ignify operations manager; Jingle Makabenta, Ignify senior manager; Joseph Ramil Lombos, DMCI Homes senior vice president for finance and operations; and Jesus Ma. A. Ferrer, DMCI Homes senior audit and business process manager. MANILA, Philippines – DMCI Homes, one of the country’s leading real estate firms, is investing in an IT modernization project aimed at further streamlining its business and improving client servicing. The company recently entered into a partnership agreement with leading software company Microsoft for the acquisition of the latest version of Microsoft Dynamics AX — a next-generation enterprise resource planning (ERP) solution that allows businesses to operate more effectively and make strategic decisions that keep them more efficient and profitable. “This is a big investment on the part of DMCI Homes,” says Alfredo Austria, president of DMCI Homes. “Both our staff and our customers will benefit greatly from this project since they will be able to get needed information on time. Our staff will also be able to make informed decisions and give our customers better service.” Microsoft’s central region general manager Diana Tibbs expressed similar enthusiasm for the project. “With our investments here in the Philippines for over 18 years now, I think it’s important for Microsoft to now really focus on its important clients. DMCI Homes is one of those important clients who make that extra effort to really help customers get into their first homes with ease. We are proud to have them entrust the heart Read More …
I love meeting people. I literally meet hundreds and at times, thousands of people every week. Unfortunately, I find it extremely difficult to remember names and faces. Sometimes, when people tell me, “Hello Francis, don’t you remember me?” I would pull a Zig Ziglar line, twist it a little, and say, “I have a photographic memory but it is constantly low on battery.” Before, I was a very shy person. I hated meeting new people. In parties, I would often stay quiet in one corner, content with the silence. And in the same parties, I would see loud people. I hated their brashness. I wish they would go away. All these would probably label me as an “introvert.” Before, our society celebrated and valued quiet behavior and deep introspection. The protocol was to not speak unless spoken to and only if necessary. To put it simply, don’t talk and listen. And so I was safe. Today’s culture is totally different. A strong personality is celebrated. An animated person with a loud voice commands attention. The modern day celebrity is one who speaks loud, speaks fast and simply speaks too much. These are the people we label as “extroverts.” Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 I used to think that extroverts had the upper hand because they were often heard and introverts could not accomplish much because they were shy and quiet. I was wrong. Albert Einstein, Mahatma Gandhi, Warren Buffet and many other celebrated public figures were Read More …
MANILA, Philippines – Ayala-led Manila Water Company Inc. has registered a six percent growth in net income in the first nine months of the year on increased billed volume particularly from its Vietnam and Laguna concession areas. The company posted a net income of P4.55 billion in the first three quarters of the year, up from net earnings of P4.29 billion recorded in the same period last year. The company’s revenue rose 27 percent to P12.21 billion from P11.54 billion in the previous year. It’s earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) rose three percent to P8.76 billion from P8.53 billion in the previous year. Billed volumes rose across all its units with the total billed volume rising 14 percent to 503.8 million cubic meters (mcm) from 440.3 mcm last year. This includes the service areas run by its local subsidiaries Boracay Island Water, Clark Water and Laguna Water and its Vietnam units Thu Duc Water and Kenh Dong Water. The billed volume for Laguna Water and Kenh Dong Water grew particularly fast in the first nine months of the year at rates of 183 percent and 523 percent respectively. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 The number of water service connections in its main concession area, the Metro Manila East Zone rose two percent to 943, 624 connections from 921, 898 connections last year. The number of service connections of Laguna Water rose by a steep 47 percent, while those of Boracay Water by eight Read More …
MANILA, Philippines – The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has approved P8.4 billion worth of fundraising activities of Megawide Construction Corp. and Cityland Development Corp. late last week. Megawide, one of the country’s top building contractors, intends to raise as much as P7 billion from a preferred share sale while property firm Cityland hopes to generate P1.4 billion from the issuance of short-term commercial papers. Megawide is offering 40 million non-voting perpetual preferred shares at P100 apiece, with an oversubscription option for up to an additional 30 million shares. BDO Capital, BPI Capital, First Metro Investment Corp. and SB Capital were tapped as joint underwriters for the offer. In its regulatory filing, Megawide said proceeds from the offering would be used to fund the company’s capital expenditures. Meanwhile, Cityland will be issuing P1.4 billion worth of short term commercial papers. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 “The proceeds from the offering will be used to partially finance the construction at Grand Central Residences Tower 1 and PinesPeak Tower 1,” Cityland said. Cityland’s Grand Central Residences Tower 1 is a 40-story office, commercial and residential condominium located in Mandaluyong City. PinesPeak Tower 1, on the other hand, is a 27-story residential condominium also located in Mandaluyong. The projects have been 68 percent and 48.67 percent complete as of end-June, respectively.
MANILA, Philippines – Filipino-owned satellite service provider First United Broadcasting Corp. (FUBC) has tied up with Belgium-based Newtec to deliver broadband service in areas not reached by major players Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT) and Globe Telecom Inc. FUBC chief executive officer Philip Chien said in an interview with reporters that the company would initially pump in $5 million into the partnership to launch iGSat Satellite Broadband starting next month. He said the new iGSat broadband service would deliver high-speed satellite broadband across the Philippines, particularly in areas not reached by either PLDT or Globe. “This project will not be in competition with the present providers but will be a great support in areas where there is slow or no available bandwidth at all,” he said. For the corporate market, iGSat broadband would deliver reliable, high-speed, always-on Internet access without depending on availability of terrestrial networks. iGSat offers a range of solutions for the broadband user, comprising of satellite connections for the home, business, private network and maritime communications as well as for Internet service providers (ISPs). Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 “This latest technology will support the grassroots program of the government and private firms to cover the entire Philippine society for communication, information and education. The technology will be available anywhere, everywhere. It is limitless and beyond boundaries,” Chien added. Newtec chief executive officer Serge Van Herck said the iGSat broadband service is based on the company’s broadband hub utilizing thousands of Newtec’s Read More …