Maniolas

MANILA, Philippines – Increasing pressure on inflation may finally prompt the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas to raise key policy rates next month, Singapore-based DBS said. “As early as the next policy meeting, we may see a 25bps (basis point) rate hike in the key overnight borrowing rate. Clearly, the central bank is a little concerned with regards to rising inflationary pressures in the economy,” DBS said in a research note. The Monetary Board, during its policy meeting on Thursday kept key policy rates steady but hiked the Special Deposit Account rate by 25 basis points to 2.25 percent. Monetary authorities stressed the inflation path remains within the three to five percent target range although they hiked the forecast average for the year to 4.4 percent from 4.3 percent. Upside risks to inflation include the potential impact of El Niño on food and utility prices, as well as the pending power rate adjustments. “Indeed, we see a good chance for CPI inflation inching just above the five percent mark in 3Q14, which is the upper limit of the central bank’s three to five percent comfort zone,” DBS noted. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 Inflation hit a 30-month high of 4.5 percent in May, bringing the five-month average to 4.1 percent.  For next year, the central bank has forecast the rate to average 3.7 percent, up from an earlier projection of 3.4 percent but still within the two to four percent target range. “The tight monetary policy stance Read More …

MANILA, Philippines – The Philippine economy is expected to grow faster in the second quarter to around 6.3 percent as exports and reconstruction spending in Super Typhoon Yolanda-stricken areas accelerate, First Metro Investment Corp. (FMIC) noted in its latest research report. FMIC, the investment arm of the Metrobank Group, however, warned that as the economy picks up in the second quarter, inflation would likely remain higher, fuelled by rising rice prices due to the delayed decision to the import rice and crude oil prices remaining high due to the Middle East and Ukranian crises. But FMIC said the inflation rate may reach its peak during the period.  “However, we will likely see it peak at the same time, as rice and oil prices stabilize,” it said Moreso, it said exports would further improve in the next quarter.  “With the solid economic data emanating from the US economy and the escape of the euro zone from a two-year recession, we expect exports to take a double-digit growth path all the way to third quarter,” it said. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 “No surprises came from robust overseas Filipino workers’ (OFW) remittances in March, while the Q1 fiscal deficit stood at some five percent of GDP (gross domestic product) as the National Government stepped on the accelerator in terms of spending,” it noted. Despite the slight deceleration in money growth (which kept above 30 percent in April), FMIC noted that the exchange rate appreciated in May, as the Read More …

MANILA, Philippines – Aboitiz Power Corp., the power generation arm of the Aboitiz Group, has bought into Lima Utilities Corp. (LVC)  an electricity distribution utility operating inside the Lima Technology Center in Batangas. In its disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange, Aboitiz Power said the acquisition is part of the company’s move to expand its EnerZone brand. “The acquisition of the shares in Lima Utilities Corp.’s is in line with Aboitiz Power Corp. strategy of expanding its EnerZone brand,” the company said. Aboitiz has in its portfolio the Subic EnerZone Corp. (SEZ), which is an electric distribution utility managing the power distribution system of the Subic Bay Freeport Zone. SEZ commenced commercial operations in October 2003. In its disclosure, Aboitiz Power said it acquired eight million shares in LUC from Lima Land Inc. “The agreed enterprise value of LUC was derived by utilizing the commonly used valuation methods: discounted cash flows method and transaction and trading multiples analyses,” Aboitiz Power said. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1  “The seller, Lima Land, Inc. is 100-percent owned by Aboitiz Land Inc. (AboitizLand). AboitizLand is a wholly owned subsidiary of Aboitiz Equity Ventures Inc., the parent company of Aboitiz Power Corp.,” Aboitiz Power also said in its disclosure. Lima Land used to be owned by the Alcantara Group and Marubeni Corp. of Japan but AboitizLand bought the company last year. Lima Land is the owner and operator of the 485-hectare Lima Technology Center, an industrial park registered with the Philippine Read More …

Keynote Speech Sharephil Conference On Enhancing Share Value And Protecting Minority Shareholders June 18, 2014 Dusit Hotel, Makati City  Her Majesty’s Ambassador Asif Ahman, Peza Director General Lilia De Lima, Sharephil Chairperson Evelyn Singson, Vice Chair Cherry Bernaldo, President Francis Lim, Sharephil Members, Honored Guests – Good Afternoon To All Of You. I’m Glad To Be Here With You, And Join The Advocates Of Good Governance. Introduction To Governance Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 MANILA, Philippines – There is no reason as important and compelling as the matter of ethics and governance, for us to convene today. I’m a businessman in a country where one local columnist once described business ethics in the Philippines as an oxymoron. How can this be? Perhaps because ethical behavior is not always rewarded, and unethical behavior is rarely punished. We have yet to learn that those who do the right thing will, in the long run, perform better than those who don’t. Business is finally alive to the hard issues involving governance, following the collapse of global corporations like Enron, Arthur Andersen, Vivendi and, most recently, Lehman brothers. The demise of these companies lies more in their failure in governance, rather than weakness in regulation. Troubled companies too big to fail were finally allowed to crash. Closer to home, governance is a relevant topic today with the constant stream of news about politics and corruption. There’s a public outcry for transparency – ironic in this age of Twitter and Facebook Read More …

MANILA, Philippines – Selective buying allowed the local stock barometer to rebound despite mixed performance of overseas markets and the World Bank’s cut in its global economic growth forecast. The Philippine Stock Exchange index recovered 0.46 percent or 31.20 points to finish at 6,809.18, while the broader all shares index inched up 0.13 percent or 5.39 points to 4,076.01. “It seems like market is still in a consolidation mode. But despite the drop in Asian markets given the World Bank’s downgrade, investors continue to pick up stocks that will perform well for the year,” Astro del Castillo, managing director of First Grade Finance Inc., said in a phone interview. Del Castillo said the direction of the local bourse continued to be influenced by economic reports here and abroad. The World Bank yesterday trimmed its 2014 global economic growth forecast to 2.8 percent from 3.2 percent announced in January amid slower growth in developed countries and geopolitical tensions. Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 0.5 percent or 74.68 points to 15,069.48 but other regional indices like Hong Kong’s Hang Seng and Singapore’s Straits Times retreated. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 Wall Street also ended mixed on Tuesday, snapping the string of record closing of the broad-based Standard & Poor’s (S&P) 500 index as the stock market took a breather. The Dow Jones industrial average barely rose 0.02 percent or 2.82 points to a record high 16,945.92, while the broader S&P 500 fell 0.02 percent or 0.48 point to 1,950.79.