philstar.com – Business – Page 195

philstar.com - Business

US Fed stance on tapering beneficial to Phl economy, says Metrobank unit

Economy

Sep 282013

MANILA, Philippines – The US Federal Reserve’s decision to keep its asset-purchasing program in place will provide a lift to economic prospects in the Philippines in the short term. However, the research arm of Metropolitan Bank and Trust Co. (Metrobank) said volatility still remains as markets await the timing of the Fed’s tapering. “The decision to hold off tapering for now will boost economic prospects in the short term, particularly in the housing and auto industries that are very sensitive to interest rate movements,” Metrobank said in its research report. The Fed on Sept. 18 surprised markets around the world when it said it is sticking to its massive bond-buying program. The move gave a boost to markets, including those in emerging economies, as investors scrambled for high-yielding assets. But Metrobank stressed volatility will still be experienced by markets as the tapering will still be implemented sooner or later. “Tapering is still highly likely to start sooner than later so market volatility will still be the order of the day. Expect the peso-dollar exchange to continue to swing around despite the strong OFW remittances that should peak this coming fourth quarter,” Metrobank said. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 Emerging markets have experienced sell-offs since May, when the US Fed hinted at tapering stimulus. “[A] major concern is the significant rise in interest rates, largely a market reaction to the Fed’s announcement of the tapering in May. The US 10-year Treasury bond yield increased by nearly 120 Read More …

Huawei taps Phl distributor for new videoconferencing system

Economy

Sep 282013

Huawei taps Phl distributor for new videoconferencing system

MANILA, Philippines – China’s information and communications technology (ICT) solutions provider Huawei has tied up with Subicworx in the Philippines to be one of the major distributors of the world’s first all-in-one HD (high definition) videoconferencing system. Huawei Philippines channels manager Crissy Bancil said the Huawei TE30 is a breakthrough in video conferencing as it offers improvement in usability and revolutionary video communication experience. “Huawei is commited to develop enterprise market through partners. With Subicworx’s good logistics, countrywide service network, we believe we can give customers better support. I believe this dynamic partnership of two great companies, who understands what technology can do, is a partnership built with passion, commitment and understanding of what technology should be pointed towards,” Bancil stressed. Subicworx is one of the several companies under the umbrella of Worx Group of Companies, one of the leading computer and office equipment suppliers in the country with world-class standards and affordability. Huawei TE30 aims to be a tool for every enterprise rapid expansion.Executives and teams across the globe could discuss businesses and projects without the need to travel for personal meetings thus would reduce cost. With its voice dialing feature, users could call or join a conference by saying the name of the scheduled conference or the site name as it has a built-in Wi-Fi to support wireless network and microphone. The Huawei TE30 also recognizes multiple languages. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 Its compact appearance and simplified installation makes it an ideal choice Read More …

Yahoo, Softbank back Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba in fallout over failed Hong Kong IPO

Economy

Sep 272013

Yahoo, Softbank back Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba in fallout over failed Hong Kong IPO

A group of men walk past the corporate logo at the headquarters compound of Alibaba Group in Hangzhou in eastern China’s Zhejiang province.(AP Photo) HONG KONG — Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba’s biggest shareholders, Yahoo and Japan’s Softbank Corp., on Friday backed the company’s unusual management structure that Hong Kong’s stock exchange was unwilling to accommodate, forcing it to look to the U.S. for a potentially mammoth IPO. The show of support came a day after a senior Alibaba Group executive sharply criticized the southern Chinese city’s stock exchange for being too inflexible in discussions about a share sale that had been expected to raise up to $15 billion. The company broke off talks for a Hong Kong initial public offering because the stock market wasn’t willing to make an exception to its listing rules. Instead, it’s looking to New York for an initial public offering that analysts estimate could value the company at more than $100 billion. That would dwarf the tech world’s other hotly anticipated share offering by Twitter, which is estimated to have a market value of $10 billion. In a column posted late Thursday on Alibaba’s blog, Vice Chairman Joe Tsai said “Hong Kong must consider what is needed in order to adapt to future trends and changes.” Tsai said the company had ended its discussions for a potential listing. It’s the first public acknowledgement that it has dropped its plans for an IPO in Hong Kong, which Tsai said was the company’s “first choice” because most Read More …

New P4-B ind’l estate to rise in Batangas

Economy

Sep 272013

New P4-B ind’l estate to rise in Batangas

MANILA, Philippines – Science Park of the Philippines, Inc. (SPPI) is spending P4 billion to develop Light Industry and Science Park IV, a new industrial estate in Batangas amid demand from foreign firms for spaces for manufacturing facilities. “We are developing the latest site in Malvar, Batangas in response to demand from foreign firms,” SPPI chairman and chief executive officer Guillermo Luchangco said in a press conference yesterday. He said they have received interest from foreign firms engaged in electronics, as well as the automotive sectors, to invest in manufacturing operations here. The 200-hectare industrial park is alongside the Southern Tagalog Arterial Road (STAR) expressway that links to Makati and Metro Manila to the Batangas International Port. The industrial park would be complemented by a 60-hectare residential and commercial area. Luchangco said SPPI expects to complete the development of the industrial park in two and a half years. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 The development of the residential and commercial area though, he said, may take a longer time to complete. The firm intends to fund the development of the industrial estate through internally generated funds and loans from banks. The Light Industry and Science Park IV is the fourth industrial estate being developed by SPPI. The firm has already developed industrial parks in Cabuyao and Calamba in Laguna as well as in Sto. Tomas in Batangas. The development of the new industrial park comes as many foreign firms have expressed interest to bring their manufacturing Read More …

Meralco eyes $250-300 M bonds to finance capex

Economy

Sep 272013

Meralco eyes $250-300 M bonds to finance capex

MANILA, Philippines – Manila Electric Co. (Meralco), the country’s biggest power distributor, is eyeing to issue US dollar bonds of up to $300 million to finance its capital expenditure requirements. Meralco chief finance officer Betty Siy-Yap said while the company has not set a specific amount for the planned transaction, she said it would be a benchmark size of “anywhere between $250 million and $300 million.” She said proceeds would be used for Meralco’s capex needs. The final transaction date would depend on market conditions. “We continue to monitor the market for the interest while we have not priced,” Siy-Yap said. The planned dollar bond issue comes after Meralco earlier embarked on an investor roadshow in Singapore and Hong Kong. It is also distinct from the plan to issue P20 billion in long-term peso bonds, which would be used to refinance existing debts. Meralco earlier mandated Citigroup to arrange a series of fixed-income investor meetings in Singapore and Hong Kong for the dollar bonds issue. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 Officials earlier said the company has allotted P13 billion for capital expenditures this year from P10.3 billion last year. The company expects to post a consolidated core net income of P17 billion this year, higher than the P16 billion posted last year. In the first half of the year, Meralco reported a consolidated core net income of P9.2 billion, two percent higher than the P9 billion posted in the first half of last year. However, its Read More …

Gov’t to borrow P120B in Q4

Economy

Sep 272013

MANILA, Philippines – The government plans to borrow P120 billion from the domestic debt market in the fourth quarter, the Bureau of Treasury said yesterday. The borrowing is made up of P40 billion worth of Treasury bills and P80 billion worth of Treasury bonds, according to a memorandum posted on the Bureau of Treasury website. For the T-bills, the government will borrow P20 billion in October, and another P20 billion in November. The government will issue P4 billion worth of 91-day papers, P6 billion worth of 182-day papers, and P10 billion worth of one-year papers. With regard to the T-bonds, the Treasury will offer P20 billion worth of 20-year RTBs in October, P30 billion worth of 7-year RTBs in November, and another P30 billion worth of RTBs in December. In the third quarter, the government borrowed P150 billion from domestic sources. This was composed of P60 billion worth of T-bills and P90 billion worth of T-bonds.

EastWest Bank raising P10B

Economy

Sep 272013

MANILA, Philippines – EastWest Banking Corp., the banking unit of the Gotianun family’s Filinvest Group, is raising P10 billion through the issuance of securities to comply with Basel 3 global banking requirements, the bank told the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE). The bank said its board of directors authorized the issuance of Basel 3-compliant securities of up to P10 billion in one or more tranches. The issuance would form part of the bank’s regulatory compliance in accordance with Basel 3 capital guidelines of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas and to manage the bank’s capital base for its growth. Details of the issuance, however, were not disclosed pending corresponding approval from regulators. The Basel 3 guidelines issued by the BSP in Jan. 15, 2003 requires that Tier 2 notes have a provision for the instrument to either be written off or converted to common equity upon occurrence of certain trigger events. The BSP circular further stipulates that banks must make the necessary amendments to their articles of incorporation to accommodate such a conversion. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 EastWest Bank is a subsidiary of Filinvest Development Corp. (FDC), the publicly-listed holding company of the Filinvest Group that evolved from a consumer business founded by Andrew L. Gotianun Sr. in 1955. FDC is one of the country’s premier conglomerates, with business interests in real estate, banking, sugar, hospitality and tourism, and power generation. Through the years, EastWest Bank has successfully capitalized on the financial strength and synergy from the Read More …

BIR: Online filing of ITRs to be rolled out next year

Economy

Sep 172013

BIR: Online filing of ITRs to be rolled out next year

MANILA, Philippines – Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) Commissioner Kim Hernares on Tuesday said the tax collecting agency is now putting in place measures for the electronic filing of income tax returns (ITRs) by April next year. Henares said the agency is in talks with the Department of Budget and Management for the online payment system. “We will put up interactive forms for self-employed individuals to file their ITRs online with an option to pay electronically or through banks,” said Henares. She added that by next year, taxpayers will soon have the option to file their ITR either electronically or manually. She added that BIR is now pilot-testing other tax-related payments such as the value-added tax which it plans to implement by the end of the year. Other measures include the improvement of information technology capacity of registering corporations as well as properties, the state agency said. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 “This will provide us assurance that those who registered with us are legitimate persons,” Henares said.

Port cargo volume rises 5.3% in H1

Economy

Sep 142013

MANILA, Philippines – The volume of cargo shipped in and out of the Philippines grew 5.3 percent in the first half, mainly driven by the continued expansion of the local economy according to data from the Philippine Ports Authority (PPA). Total cargo volume reached 97.96 million metric tons (MT) from January to June or 4.93 million higher than the 93.03 million MT recorded in the same period last year. Cargo shipped within the Philippines rose 8.2 percent to 40.77 million MT, while cargo shipped in and out of the country climbed 3.34 percent to 57.18 million MT. Private ports handled 58.5 million MT, accounting for 59.7 percent of the total cargo volume, while government-run ports handled 37.5 million MT for a share of 40.3 percent. PPA general manager Juan Sta. Ana attributed the increase in cargo volume to the expansion of the country’s domestic output as measured by the gross domestic product (GDP) by 7.6 percent in the first semester, from 6.4 percent in the same period a year ago. For the second quarter alone, the country’s GDP grew 7.5 percent from 6.3 percent in the same period last year. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 Sta. Ana also traced the improvement to the increase in cargo volume handled in 16 port management offices (PMOs). The port of Tagbilaran booked the highest growth of 49.7 percent followed by Legazpi with 46.3 percent due to the increase in domestic shipment of aggregates, heavy equipment and construction materials and Read More …

Real estate sector to benefit from tourism

Economy

Sep 142013

Real estate sector to benefit from tourism

MANILA, Philippines – Tourism is still the next big thing in the real estate sector, according to Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL), a leading real estate services firm. JLL country head David Leechiu, in his speech during the recent general membership meeting of the Chamber of Thrift Banks, said for the next four years, there are over 12,431 rooms that are expected to be built. He noted that around half of the upcoming hotels will rise in the Entertainment City. “There are expected about 8,550 supply of hotel rooms in Entertainment City (launched and planned),” he said. The hotels that would be constructed in Entertainment City include: Belle Grande Manila Bay of Belle Corp. (2013); Manila Bay Resorts (2014); Radisson Hotel Manila of SM Investments Corp. (2014); Resorts World Bayshore of Genting Berhad Group/Alliance Global Inc. (2016); Luxury Hotel of Bloomberry Resorts and Hotels Inc.; and Mercure Hotel Manila of CDC Holdings Inc. Other hotels in the pipeline which will be located all over the metropolis and expected to be constructed within 2013-2017 include: WorldHotel Residences of WorldHotels (Makati); Marco Polo Ortigas of Edsa Grand Realty and Development Corp. (Ortigas); Ascott of CDC Holdings Inc. (Bonifacio Global City); Novotel Manila Araneta Center of Araneta Group (Araneta, Quezon City); Citadines of CDC (Makati); Citadines Millennium of CDC (Ortigas); Shangri-La at the Fort of Shang Properties (BGC); Grand Hyatt Manila of Federal Land Inc. (BGC);Conrad Hotel Manila of SMIC (Seaside Boulevard, Pasay City; Movenpick Hotel Manila of Picar Development Inc. (Makati); Savoy Hotel Read More …

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