philstar.com – Business – Page 166

philstar.com - Business

DBP income up 27.85% to P5.28 B

Economy

Feb 142014

MANILA, Philippines – The Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) registered a net income of P5.28 billion last year, a 27.85-percent growth from P4.13 billion in 2012, buoyed by significant increases in deposits, loans to borrowers, and investments. In a statement, DBP said deposit levels grew 41.92 percent from P176.92 billion in 2012 to P251.08 billion last year. Loans to borrowers increased seven percent from P118.93 billion to P127.37 billion. Meanwhile, investments jumped from P97.74 billion to P145.75 billion in 2013. Total assets increased to P436.1 billion from P361.08 billion in 2012, while capital adequacy ratio stood at 24.33 percent as of end-2013. DBP president and chief executive officer Gil A. Buenaventura said 2013 was a great year for the government-run development bank. “But challenges lie ahead such as the ever-increasing industry competition and stricter capital regulations,” he said. The bank supports the inclusive growth strategy of the National Government as stated in the Philippine Development Plan, he added. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 DBP helps finance projects under the government’s Public-Private Partnership (PPP) program. It now plans to expand its PPP financing program to include projects of local government units. The bank continues to provide financing to projects in the priority areas of infrastructure and logistics, social services, protection of the environment, micro, small and medium enterprises. Meanwhile, Buenaventura said DBP would increase its number of branches to 102 and expand the number of its ATMs in key locations nationwide. The bank plans to offer Read More …

Export-grade slaughterhouse to be put up in Batangas

Economy

Feb 082014

Export-grade slaughterhouse to be put up in Batangas

MANILA, Philippines – An export-grade slaughterhouse for hogs in Tanauan, Batangas that would service the tolling needs of pig raisers in neighboring provinces will be completed this year, according to Agriculture Secretary Proceso Alcala. Interviewed on the sidelines of the recently-held 5th INAGHEN International Animal Health, Genetics & Nutrition Congress held, Alcala said AAA abattoir would allow hog raisers in Batangas, Quezon, Laguna and Cavite to process meat for the export market. “This will greatly help the industry,” said Alcala. Of the total allocation of P150 million, the Agriculture chief said P120 million have so far been downloaded. “We can finance other equipment needed,” he said. The local government of Batangas would co-manage the abattoir and facilitate the communication with hog raisers. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 The Tanauan abattoir can process 250 hogs per day. Slaughterhouses are classified into three classes: A, AA, AAA. AAA slaughterhouses are abattoirs with the proper facilities for export production while A and AA slaughterhouses are equipped to serve the domestic market. A-rated abattoirs have a lesser production capacity than AA-rated ones. Three other slaughterhouses are expected to be put up this year. To be built in Bamban, Tarlac is a P120 million AAA poultry slaughterhouse and trading center.

GSIS restores full benefits of Philpost employees

General

Feb 082014

GSIS restores full benefits of Philpost employees

MANILA, Philippines – The Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) has restored the full benefits of nearly 7,000 Philippine Postal Corp. (Philpost) employees in the National Capital Region. A memorandum of agreement was signed by Philpost and GSIS following the reconcilation of service records of Philpost workers. Under the agreement, Philpost will pay about P110 million representing unpaid premiums from June 24, 1997 to Nov. 30, 2012. Since July 2012, GSIS has concluded 47 agreements with the postal agency, which allowed more than 20,500 employees to be reintegrated into the full coverage of the state pension fund. Aside from Philpost, some 1,400 active and inactive employees of Philippine National Railways will again have access to GSIS benefits after PNR agreed to settle unpaid compulsory GSIS premium contributions. Since 2010, the GSIS has signed agreements with a total of 149 suspended agencies that restored the loan privileges of more than 800,000 government workers. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1

Final part —‘new gun law’ series

Economy

Feb 072014

After parts I and 2 of the IRR (Implementing Rules & Regulations) of RA (Republic Act) 10591, the Comprehensive Firearms and Ammunition Regulation Act or quite simply for us the “new gun law”, our readers should have a fairly good grasp of what provisions from the old have been rendered obsolete and irrelevant, and what new provisions in the law have been enacted to make RA 10591 more comprehensive, more pre-emptive than reactionary and more responsive to the current situation in the country. And the penalties are stiffer to boot. In the past, for instance, the old law required Philippine citizens who would be out of the country for six months or more to go to the police station nearest them and deposit their licensed and registered firearms for safekeeping. With the new law, safekeeping of your firearms is a necessary part of your responsibility as a gun owner. Those with multiple guns are advised to have their own gun vaults, especially (but not limited to) those with 10 or more firearms in their possession. If a minor, for instance, in our household gains access to such loose guns at home and figures in any incident involving these firearms, the parent who owns the gun could be liable for a criminal offense. All it takes is one loose firearm for such accidents, and we have read about countless incidents like this in the newspapers, so even with just one such gun in the household, keep it safe and secure. There Read More …

BOC collections up 19.26%

General

Feb 072014

MANILA, Philippines – The reform program initiated by the Aquino administration to strengthen customs enforcement in a bid to stop smuggled and counterfeit products entering the country has yielded positive results barely four months since its implementation. Data from the Department of Finance showed that emerging cash collections by the Bureau of Customs from November 2013 to January this year grew 19.26 percent, a significant jump from the meager 4.76-percent growth recorded in the pre-reform period (January to October 2013). Collections totaled P81.32 billion for the three-month period, up from P68.19 billion a year ago. January to October 2013 collections, on the other hand, reached P250.08 billion compared with P238.73 billion. “One of the key performance indicators for the reform’s success is the improvement in its cash collections. One can draw a line before and after October, when the reform operations and personnel movements stabilized, and observe that the initial major elements of the President’s Customs Reform Program have been substantive and generated significant growth in revenues for the government. These are encouraging initial results. The numbers tell us the reform program is starting to work,” Customs Commissioner John Phillip Sevilla said. The reform program involved the top-to-bottom reorganization of the Bureau which led to the appointment of new top level customs officials, the reassignment of posts of BOC officials and employees, the creation of two new units — Office of Revenue Agency Modernization and Customs Policy Research Office – to ensure proper enforcement of customs laws and regulations. Business Read More …

Flores to address American Standard

Economy

Feb 032014

MANILA, Philippines – Realty entrepreneur, college teacher and multi-awarded columnist Wilson Lee Flores will address the officers and staff of American Standard tomorrow at the Makati Shangri-La Hotel, Makati City. He has been invited to speak on the topic “How to have a winning attitude”. Flores has won three Palanca literary awards and a record 11 Catholic Mass Media Awards (CMMA), including two CMMA Hall of Fame Awards. Aside from real estate, he has also invested in and turned around several businesses including the Caltex gas station in Iba-Malhacan Road of Meycauayan Exit in Bulacan and the unique 75-year-old Kamuning Bakery in Quezon City where he has retained the old owners as his business partners to continue old tastes and traditions. The 130-year-old multinational American Standard is a Fortune 500 company, a leader in bathroom and kitchen fixtures.

PDEx to list P15-B PLDT bonds this wk

Economy

Feb 032014

MANILA, Philippines – The Philippine Dealing and Exchange Corp. (PDEx) has given dominant carrier Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT) the green light to list P15 billion worth of fixed-rate bonds this week. Ma. Lourdes Rausa-Chan, PLDT corporate secretary, informed the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) that the seven and 10-year fixed rate bonds would be listed on PDEx on Feb. 6. “We wish to advise that the application of the company to list its P15-billion fixed rate bonds due 2021 and 2024 has been approved by PDEx effective Feb. 6,” she said. New York-based Moody’s Investors Service earlier said the fund raising activity of PLDT was credit positive as this would improve the debt profile by reducing foreign exchange risks. Moody’s assistant vice president Yoshio Takahashi said the proposed bonds would help PLDT to further term out its debt maturity profile despite the moderate increase in its total outstanding debt. “While the debt offering could modestly increase total debt outstanding in the near term, it will help PLDT to term out its debt maturity profile and reduce foreign exchange rate risk,” Takahashi said. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 Of the total P110 billion outstanding debt of PLDT as of end-September, about 16 percent or P17.7 billion were due between the fourth quarter of last year and this year. About P4 billion were due in the fourth quarter of last year and another P13.7 billion this year. PLDT intends to use the proceeds of the seven and Read More …

Feng Shui tips all year round

Economy

Feb 032014

MANILA, Philippines – As the world welcomes the “Year of the Horse,” Pinoy netizens will find it useful to download the Malayan Insurance mobile application either at the Google Play store or at the Apple App store. Malayan’s pioneering insurance mobile app is equipped with a “Feng Shui Advisor” which provides users with a handy fortune calculator, every week. “We made sure our mobile application features a Feng Shui advisor because Filipinos love to have some fun using digital applications. Also this Feng Shui advisor is one of Malayan’s trademark features in its annual planner, reflecting our Filipino-Chinese roots and advertising message of insuring for various life events,” said Aldous Anacion, Malayan’s digital marketing head. “You will not find this anywhere in the world,” he added, noting the uniqueness of the application to the Philippines. He said the company’s Feng Shui planner which the company gives to its clients and agents, has been available since 1981. “Our mobile app also comes with a horoscope to guide that users may consult regarding their lifestyle or even about money matters,” he added. Malayan’s mobile app is equipped with a personality calculator. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 Users will find this useful as it suggests to them the most appropriate insurance product which they can avail based on his or her answers to the mobile app personality quiz. Through the Malayan Insurance mobile app, users will also receive live twitter feeds from various government information gateways such as MMDA, Read More …

ECJ in isolation

Economy

Feb 032014

Retired business tycoon Eduardo “Danding” Cojuangco Jr. or ECJ is recovering very well from the kidney transplant he underwent, with the procedure performed locally at the St. Luke’s Medical Center in Bonifacio Global City early in December last year. The 78-year-old businessman told us he gained a few pounds but he says he hopes to lose it just as quickly. ECJ has been advised by his doctors to keep himself in isolation for the next six months to avoid getting infected by people with coughs or colds. He has been receiving a steady stream of visitors, mostly close personal friends and relatives who regularly drop by and chat with him through an enclosed glass living room. Visitors are received in the dining area with a glass divider through which they can see ECJ and talk to him through a microphone. The San Miguel chairman keeps himself busy watching DVDs, getting updated with current events through news reports on television and going over some papers – exactly what a retired business tycoon does. ECJ has left everything including major decisions to his lieutenant (Ramon Ang) who runs San Miguel Corporation and all the other businesses under the SMC Group. Once he is fully recovered, the founder of the Nationalist People’s Coalition party plans to travel around the country to see how and where he can help fellow Filipinos improve their lives. He told us he will also continue providing scholarships to students through the Eduardo Cojuangco Foundation, with scholars provided with Read More …

Biggest PAL booth at Travel Expo 2014

Economy

Feb 032014

MANILA, Philippines – This year’s Travel Tour Expo (TTE) of the Philippine Travel Agencies Association (PTAA) will have Philippine Airlines’ (PAL) biggest-ever participation at any trade fair – at 1,100 square meters – to accommodate the volume of customers availing of PAL’s low-priced tickets that can only be bought at the TTE from Feb. 14 to 16, 2014. The huge PAL booth at the second floor of the SMX Convention Center, Pasay City, will have more than 50 ticket counters and various amenities to keep customers entertained while waiting to be served. Dedicated counters will also make queuing less stressful for Elite and Premium Elite Mabuhay Miles members. Rock-bottom tickets that entitle passengers to full-service amenities annually attract overflow crowds to the PAL booth that will be manned by more than 50 ticketing agents from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. to handle all types of transactions. PAL is a platinum sponsors and official airline of this year’s 21st TTE, having been a regular participant since its inception by PTAA in 1994. Last year, TTE had approximately 76,000 visitors to the more than 500 booths that were used by 235 exhibitors. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1

Older Entries Newer Entries