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DOT chief urges tourists to continue Phl visits

Economy

Nov 162013

DOT chief urges tourists to continue Phl visits

MANILA, Philippines – The Department of Tourism (DOT) is appealing to foreign tourists to continue visiting the Philippines as this can help speed up rebuilding efforts following the devastation caused by the recent calamities that hit the country. “Tourism continues to be one of the major contributors to the economy, playing a significant role in rebuilding lives and businesses in communities,” Tourism Secretary Ramon Jimenez Jr. said in a statement in the aftermath of Super Typhoon Yolanda. As this developed, the DOT started an initiative to give out special tourism bookmarks to travelers at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA)-1. “These bookmarks are being given away by our airport staff in both Manila and Cebu airports after the final check-in (last x-ray counter) and this will run for the next couple of weeks,” Jimenez said. “The bookmarks are for outbound foreign visitors as a token for bearing with the Filipino people during this most difficult time,” he said. “We understand that most of these departing foreigners were in the Philippines when Yolanda hit us and in one way or another, they might have been inconvenienced during their stay with us. As a token of apology and appreciation, we are giving away these bookmarks to foreign tourists leaving the country in hopes that they will realize that we appreciate them for having the Philippines as their destination of choice,” he added. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 “We are also hoping that through this simple gesture, they will Read More …

Need for quick response

Economy

Nov 162013

After reports began trickling in showing the overwhelming loss of lives and damage to property from super typhoon “Yolanda,” President Aquino announced a state of national calamity and approved the initial release of P1.1 billion as “quick-response funds” to enable the government to immediately bring relief to victims of the tragedy. He also said that P18.2 billion in savings, calamity and contingency funds had been identified and could be used to help rebuild towns and provinces affected by the monster storm. But with the death toll feared at over 10, 000 in Leyte alone, P1.1 billion in quick-response funds and the additional P18.2 billion seem like peanuts and can only go so far in rehabilitating areas devastated by Yolanda, considering that we have yet to get a full picture at this point of the loss of lives, property and crops in all typhoon-affected provinces. In the farm sector, the Department of Agriculture (DA) has announced an initial farm damage estimate of at least P3.7 billion. In these difficult times, the President’s contingency and other forms of discretionary funds truly serve their primary purpose of collectively being a standby facility to swiftly provide aid to those urgently in need of government assistance. The losses suffered due to monster Typhoon Yolanda, which slammed the Visayas region only a few weeks after Bohol and Cebu reeled from a massive 7.2 magnitude earthquake, has given Malacañang a strong argument on the necessity of the President’s discretionary funds. The catastrophic Yolanda struck at a time Read More …

Western Union shares fall on reported CIA news

Economy

Nov 152013

Western Union shares fall on reported CIA news

Western Union slumped 5 percent in trading Friday following a report by the Wall Street Journal that the CIA is building a database of international money transfer data. The report, citing unnamed officials familiar with the program, says the program collects information from U.S. money-transfer companies including Western Union. It is carried out under the same provision of the Patriot Act that enables the National Security Agency to collect nearly all American phone records. The mass collection of financial data includes millions of Americans’ financial and personal data. The CIA is barred from targeting Americans in its intelligence collection. But as a foreign-intelligence agency, it can conduct domestic operations for foreign intelligence purposes. The CIA program is meant to fill what U.S. officials see as an important gap in their ability to track terrorist financing world-wide, officials told the newspaper. Western Union said last month it would be spending about 4 percent of its revenue in 2014 on compliance with rules under the Patriot Act, the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control and other anti-money-laundering and terrorist-financing requirements. Company spokesman Dan Díaz said that Western Union collects consumer information to comply with the Bank Secrecy Act and other laws. In doing so, the company also protect customers’ privacy and works to prevent consumer fraud. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 Shares of The Western Union Co. fell 90 cents to $16.55 by late afternoon amid a broader market uptick.

DOLE sets aside P50M for Yolanda job program

Economy

Nov 152013

DOLE sets aside P50M for Yolanda job program

MANILA, Philippines – The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) has earmarked P50 million to provide livelihood to displaced workers in areas affected by Typhoon Yolanda. DOLE Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz told reporters at the sidelines of the 3rd Philippine Manufacturers and Producers Summit of the Federation of Philippine Industries yesterday, DOLE is ready to provide P50 million for the cash-for-work program in typhoon-affected areas. “All the P50 million will be spent for cash-for-work there (typhoon-affected areas),” she said. She said the fund would be used as payroll for displaced workers to be hired for temporary jobs such as clearing of debris as well as rehabilitation work. “We want to start the program within the year but we need the work plan which will come from the LGU (local government units),” she said. “The idea is to have the P50 million immediately accessible,” she added. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 The hiring of workers would depend on the jobs identified by the LGU. As the DOLE’s office in Leyte was destroyed by Typhoon Yolanda, the Labor chief said they have no estimate of the number of displaced workers due to the typhoon at the moment. Baldoz noted that most of the workers in the Eastern Visayas region, which covers provinces hit by the typhoon, are employed by small and medium enterprises. “The way I see it, everyone there needs jobs,” she said. The DOLE is still in the process of restoring its operations in the province with Read More …

Never enough said

Economy

Nov 152013

My heart goes out to the people of Tacloban, Ormoc, Leyte and Cebu as well, and amid growing fears of how nature has proven to be such a formidable foe in recent years, I am also heartened by the sincere concern and generosity of other nations who have stepped up their humanitarian aid so that we Filipinos can cope. Yolanda was the single most devastating calamity to visit us in recent years, and to think that I always thought that we here in Northern Luzon were more vulnerable to deadly typhoons than those in the Visayas. Likewise, our government tried to manage the risks ahead through early warnings to people living in coastal areas and evacuation, but the system was not as efficiently carried out and many of our people ignorantly believed that they could beat the odds and weather the storm. I read about the account of the Romualdez family in Tacloban, and an officer of the PNP who was in charge of relief operations in Leyte there – they clearly knew the odds but they too miscalculated them and only by the grace of God were they saved. The aid was pouring in, but to get them to the people was not easy, and the authorities, trying hard as they could, could barely get their acts together. Philippine Star’s president, Miguel Belmonte said they had about P5 million worth of relief goods to be shared with the people of Tacloban, but getting them across San Juanico Bridge was Read More …

First Pac invests P5.8B for stake inThai toll road project

Economy

Nov 152013

First Pac invests P5.8B for stake inThai toll road project

MANILA, Philippines – Hong Kong-based First Pacific Co. Ltd. and Philippine infrastructure conglomerate Metro Pacific Investments Corp. (MPIC) are investing P5.8 billion to acquire a 29.45 percent stake in a toll road operator in Thailand. FPM Infrastructure Holdings Ltd., 75 percent owned by First Pacific and 25 percent owned by MPIC, is investing in Don Muang Tollway Public Co. Ltd (DMT) as part of plans to invest in infrastructure projects in the region. First Pacific is spending P4.4 billion for a 26.2 percent stake in the toll road operator while MPIC is investing P1.4 billion for a 3.25 percent interest in DMT. The vendor of the toll road stake is a 50-50 joint venture between Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ and South East Asian Strategic Assets Fund. Other major shareholders of DMT include the Phanichewa Group with 37.1 percent and Thailand’s Ministry of Finance with 25.1 percent. First Pacific managing director and chief executive officer Manuel V. Pangilinan said in a statement that the company is seeing more opportunities outside the infrastructure market of the Philippines. “We welcome the prospect of diversifying our investments as we continue to seek strong and steady returns for our shareholders,” Pangilinan said. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 He pointed out that the First Pacific Group is keen on further investing in infrastructure, telecommunications as well as consumer and food sectors in emerging Asian countries. “We are strong believers in the growth potential for emerging Asia in the years ahead and we Read More …

Atlas nets P1.63B in Jan-Sept

Economy

Nov 152013

MANILA, Philippines – Listed Atlas Consolidated Mining and Development Corp. yesterday reported a 20-percent year-on-year decrease in its net income in the first nine months of the year on unrealized foreign exchange losses on its dollar-denominated debts. In a regulatory filing, the company reported a net income of P1.63 billion in the first three quarters of the year against P2.04 billion in the comparative period last year. Atlas said it had unrealized foreign exchange losses of P698.57 million on dollar-denominated debts in the period ending September that resulted from the depreciation of the peso against the dollar during the period. In the same period last year, it has an unrealized foreign exchange gain of P434.47 million as the peso appreciated against the dollar. Atlas said that without the unrealized foreign exchange loss, the net income for the period would have reached P2.32 billion ending September. The company’s core income, however, rose 21 percent year-on-year in September to P2.10 billion from the previous P1.74 billion. Revenues for the period fell three percent year-on-year to P10. 98 billion from the previous P11.36 billion on lower realized copper prices. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 Copper prices averaged at $3.32 per pound during the first three quarters while gold pirces averaged at $1, 431 per ounce, down by eight percent and 13 percent respectively. Cash costs, however, fell 10 percent to P6. 45 billion from P7.19 billion in the same period last year. Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization Read More …

PSBank income jumps 82%

Economy

Nov 152013

MANILA, Philippines – Philippine Savings Bank, the thrif unit of the Metrobank Group, posted a record P3.2-billion net income in the first nine months of the year, up 82 percent from P1.8-billion net income in the same period last year, due to the continued expansion of its loan portfolio and gains from its investment portfolio. In a statement, PSBank said net interest income grew 16 percent to P4.9 billion. Interest income from loans rose 15 percent amidst lower margins as the bank continued to expand its asset base. The bank’s gross loan portfolio went up 17 percent to P83.7 billion on strong consumer demand. Even with the increase in loans, the bank said its net non-performing loan (NPL) ratio fell to 0.1 percent and its NPL coverage ratio was in excess of 100 percent. The bank’s total deposits reached P100 billion, up 14 percent from last year, with the growth driven by excess system liquidity and an increase in new retail clients. “We are pleased with the strong growth posted not only by our auto and mortgage loans, but also of our retail deposits.” PSBank president Vicente Cuna said. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 The bank’s equity was 21 percent higher at P17.6 billion. This translates to a capital adequacy ratio of 18.4 percent and Tier 1 capital ratio of 15.2 percent, well above the 10-percent regulatory minimum and the Basel 3 requirements set for implementation in 2014. PSBank’s distribution network includes 222 branches and 537 Read More …

PAL parent firm’s losses balloon to P2.2B as of Sept

Economy

Nov 152013

PAL parent firm’s losses balloon to P2.2B as of Sept

MANILA, Philippines – Losses of listed PAL Holdings Inc. – parent firm of national flag carrier Philippine Airlines Inc. (PAL) – ballooned in the first half of its fiscal year 2013 ending September due to lower passenger revenues. In a submission to the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE), PAL Holdings reported that losses reached P2.19 billion in the first half of the year ending September compared to P121.79 million in the same period last year. The holding firm reported that revenues fell 5.9 percent to P36.57 billion compared to P38.86 billion as passenger revenues dropped 7.7 percent to P29.8 billion while cargo revenues remained steady at P2.7 billion. “The decrease was attributable mainly to the unfavorable passenger revenue performance during the period as a result of lower passenger yields as well as the drop in volume of traffic flown,” PAL Holdings said. PAL said it mounted less flights from April to September as it restructured its operations by transferring the bulk of its domestic flights to sister firm PAL Express to focus on international operations. PAL recognized P1.48 billion in other income due to a foreign exchange gain as a result of the revaluation of the retirement liability account balances denominated in peso that strengthened against other currencies particularly the US dollar as well as the result of PAL’s adoption of the amendments to Philippine Accounting Standards (PAS). Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 Expenses of PAL Holdings were almost unchanged at P38.77 billion in end-September amid higher Read More …

Puregold profit up 46.5% to P2.64B

Economy

Nov 152013

MANILA, Philippines – Grocery chain Puregold Price Club Inc. said its earnings surged by nearly half in the nine months to September this year as its network expected through new stores and acquisitions. In a disclosure, to the stock exchange, the Lucio Co-owned retailer reported that its net income spiked 46.5 percent to P2.64 billion in the nine-month period, from P1.8 billion last year. “This was a result of the continuous strategic expansion of the group including major acquisitions in the previous year and in the first half of 2013,” Puregold said. Net sales hit P51.49 billion, up nearly a third from P39.13 billion in the same period last year, while cost of sales picked up at a slower pace of 29.5 percent to P42.57 billion from P32.87 billion. “New stores put up in 2012 were fully operating in 2013, increasing consolidated net sales for the nine-month period,” Puregold said. Operating expenses climbed 40.7 percent to P6.85 billion from P4.87 billion a year ago due to manpower costs in new stores “as well as rent expenses relative to new lease contracts, utilities expense, depreciation expense and taxes, all related to the establishment and opening of new stores,” Puregold said. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 The grocery chain is putting up at least 25 new stores every year in the next five years, focusing on unserved cities and municipalities nationwide. Puregold has counted close to 500 cities and first-class municipalities nationwide that it can tap for new Read More …

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