philstar.com – Business – Page 205

philstar.com - Business

Infinity Tower row

Economy

Aug 062013

In my last column, I mentioned about this raging controversy at the Infinity Tower condominium involving two groups claiming control over a company that owns units at said condominium. Last July 29, Optimax International Corp., headed by Joaquin Rodriguez Jr., filed a manifestation with a motion to dismiss the case filed by one Martin Nicolo de los Angeles against Quadrillion Property Development Corp. According to Optimax, the case is a deliberate attempt by Byucksan Engineering, Seokwan Hahn, Oliver Bonus, delos Angeles, and their alleged dummy entities namely Archinet International, Greenstone Serviced Residences Makati, the Mendozas, to circumvent the rules against forum shopping and intended to violate an existing preliminary injunction issued by the Makati RTC Branch 66. Optimax owns 60 percent of Beccomax Property and Development Corp. while the rest is owned by Byucksan. Beccomax owns condo units at Infinity Tower. Last April 11, Optimax was able to secure a writ of preliminary injunction from RTC Branch 66, in which order the court enjoined Greenstone Serviced Residences, its president Oliver Bonus, and/or Seokwan Han to turn over the equipments, computer cards/keys, and locks to Quadrillion, and for respondents to stop interfering in the management of the building, the units, parking lot, and bookings on the property being managed by Quadrillion. According to Optimax, the order placed Quadrillion Property Management as the lawful property manager of Infinity Tower and all units of Beccomax until final resolution of the case. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 On July 25, Read More …

Globe's H1 profits up by 13%

Economy

Aug 062013

MANILA, Philippines – Profits of listed Globe Telecom, Inc. jumped by 13 percent from last year’s P5.7 billion to P6.4 billion in the first half of 2013, the company announced on Tuesday. “We are pleased with our first half performance despite the ongoing network and IT (information technology) modernization initiatives we are undertaking to serve our customers better,” Globe president and Chief Executive Officer Ernest Cu said. The company posted consolidated revenues of P44.5 billion, rising by 9 percent from the P40.8 billion in recorded in the first half of 2012. Revenues from Globe’s mobile business hit P35.8 billion, P2.6 billion higher than what it posted in the same period last year. Its broadband arm also generated P5.1 billion in revenues in the first semester, while its fixed line data revenues posted P2.3 billion. Globe’s total number of subscribers, meanwhile, reached 36.1 million in the first half of the year, 14 percent higher than what it recorded in the first of 2012. “We anticipate competition to escalate in the second semester given the gains we’ve realized in the past, and anticipated launches of in-demand mobile devices from Apple and Samsung in the second half of the year. We’ve built up great momentum during the first semester, and we need to strive harder to sustain it in this very competitive and fast paced environment. We remain confident that with the modernized Globe network and IT infrastructure that is nearing its completion, we’ll be able to deliver superior value and differentiated customer Read More …

July inflation slows down to near 4-year low

Economy

Aug 062013

July inflation slows down to near 4-year low

MANILA, Philippines – Prices of goods and services decelerated to a near four-year low with inflation settling at 2.5 percent in July, the National Statistics Office (NSO) reported on Tuesday. Inflation in July was slower than the previous month’s 2.7 percent, and the slowest since the 2.3 percent recorded in September 2009. Year-to-date, inflation settled at 2.9 percent, lower than the central bank’s 3-5-percent target for 2013. Inflation a year ago was at 3.2 percent. “The indices of alcoholic beverages and tobacco; clothing and footwear; housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels; furnishing, household equipment and routine maintenance of the house; recreation and culture; and restaurant and miscellaneous goods and services recorded slower annual increases during the month,” NSO said. Inflation within the National Capital region dropped to 1 percent from June’s 1.6 percent while other areas similarly slowed down to 2.9 percent from 3 percent. Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Arsenio Balisacan said the slow uptick in prices was driven by lower inflation among food items. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 “According to the Bureau of Agricultural Statistics (BAS), there were sharp reductions in the prices of vegetables in Metro Manila. These include ampalaya, sitao, cabbage, carrots, baguio beans and white potatoes, while tomatoes posted slower price increases in July 2013 compared to the previous month,” Balisacan said. Data from BAS showed that the average price of ampalaya was cheaper by 10.5 percent, sitao by 2.7 percent, cabbage by 31.5 percent, carrots 21.4 percent, baguio beans by Read More …

Purisima to tax evaders: You can run, but you can't hide

Economy

Aug 062013

Purisima to tax evaders: You can run, but you can't hide

MANILA, Philippines – Finance Secretary Cesar Purisima warned tax evaders on Tuesday while stressing the need to monitor statistics specific to various taxpaying groups. “You can run, but you cannot hide from Commissioner Henares,” he said, referring to efforts being done by Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) Commissioner Kim Henares to chase after citizens who underdeclare or avoid their taxes. Purisima said that part of the Department of Finance’s tax watch campaign is to increase transparency in tax payments and to ask Filipinos to pay the right taxes by revealing insights about the tax base. “We want to raise awareness about tax payments and ask the public if the numbers we observe make sense,” he said. He noted as an example the number of taxpaying pawnshops in the country versus the number being supervised by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP). “Why is it that we have 5,230 pawnshops that paid in 2012, but the BSP supervises 6,301? The average tax payment for pawnshops also went down from P363,085 in 2011 to P315,812 in 2012,” he said. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 He goes on by saying that in Binondo, a place full of popular Chinatown eateries, there are only 120 registered restaurants with a combined tax of P156,780 in 2012, lower than the P222,000 posted in 2010. “This average is lower than the average tax payment of restaurants in Baguio, Tarlac, Legaspi City, and the Cordillera Administrative Region. Is that right?” he said. He added Read More …

T-bills still below 1%

Economy

Aug 052013

MANILA, Philippines – Interest rates on treasury bills remain below one percent following Monday’s auction with mixed results and the government raising only P13.85 billion or just 70 percent of its planned offer size. The Bureau of Treasury rejected some bids for the six-month and one-year debt instruments to control the rates on the longer tenor government securities. The yield on the 91-day T-bills declined by 7.7 basis points to an average of 0.589 percent from the 0.666 percent in the previous monthly auction. Demand for the three-month debt paper was strong with bids reaching P5.91 billion compared with the P4 billion on offer. The government, however, accepted only P4 billion worth of bids in line with its borrowing plan. The rate for the 182-day paper, on the other hand, rose by 2.4 basis points to .897 from 0.873 percent the previous month. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 Bids for the six-month bills stood at P7.5 billion, exceeding the offering volume of P6 billion. Despite the oversubscription, the BTR accepted only P4.85 billion worth of bids. Meanwhile, the yield on the 364-day bills dropped by 26.7 basis points to 0.933 percent from 1.2 percent. The one-year government securities attracted only P7.78 billion or less than the P10 billion on offer.

Stocks fall anew on dismal US jobs data

Economy

Aug 052013

MANILA, Philippines – Stocks declined for the second straight session yesterday as negative sentiment in the US caused by lower-than-expected hiring data spilled over to the local bourse. The Philippine Stock Exchange index fell 0.37 percent or 24.22 points to 6,509.73, closing at its intraday low in a lethargic session. The broader All Shares index declined 0.38 percent or 15.09 points to 3,967.04. “A shortfall in new hires in the US against expectations sent Asian investors rushing to the exits, pulling the regional benchmark and majors lower as the week’s trading opened,” said Justino Calaycay Jr., an analyst at Accord Capital Equities Corp. Late last week, the US Labor Department reported that 162,000 jobs were created in July, below the market’s expectation of 185,000 jobs. The unemployment rate, however, slipped to 7.4 percent, its lowest since December 2008. “Positive numbers, which generally should impart a positive spin to trades, particularly from the employment and inflation numbers, have generally elicited negative reactions at it draws the US Federal Reserve closer to justifying a cut to the bond purchase program,” Calaycay said. Around Asia, shares were mixed, with Japan’s Nikkei 225 losing 1.44 percent or 208.12 points to 14,258.04, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index inched up 0.14 percent or 31.04 points to 22,222.01. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 Locally, all counters, save for mining and oil that rose 0.44 percent or 63.23 points to 14,395.28, were in the red. The decliners were led by holding firms that Read More …

Oil rises above $107 on Fed stimulus hopes

Economy

Aug 052013

Oil rises above $107 on Fed stimulus hopes

BANGKOK — Oil rose above $107 a barrel Monday after a disappointing U.S. jobs report made it more likely the Federal Reserve will continue its stimulus program beyond September. Benchmark crude for September delivery was up 18 cents to $107.12 at midday Bangkok time in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract fell 95 cents to close at $106.94 a barrel on Friday. U.S. employers added 162,000 jobs in July, which was below expectations. The government also revised down gains for the prior two months when it released its employment figures Friday. Some analysts were expecting the Fed to start reducing its massive economic stimulus program in September. However, the disappointing employment data raised hopes that the Fed might continue its $85 billion a month in government bond purchases until the end of the year. The bond purchases have pushed down interest rates, which makes money available for spending and investment. But the purchases also inject more dollars into the economy, which lowers their value. That tends to push up the price of oil as it becomes more affordable for investors using other currencies. “The U.S. dollar weakness generally is positive for risk assets, gold and other commodities. So that will be a good scenario for the markets, if tapering is delayed,” said Stan Shamu, market strategist at IG in Melbourne, Australia. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 Brent crude, traded on the ICE Futures exchange in London, rose 17 cents to $109.12 per Read More …

ETF launch comes at opportune time

Economy

Aug 042013

MANILA, Philippines – The launch of the Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs) this year comes at a time when investor confidence is high given the stock market’s ascent and the investment grade rating for the Philippines. The timely launch of the new investment product is expected to result in more investors participating in the local capital market, industry experts said. “While we wanted to roll this out earlier, we’re pleased that it is happening this time when the robust economy serves as a backdrop to launch these types of investment products,” said Philippine Stock Exchange president and CEO Hans Sicat. “The launch of the ETF is exceptionally timely. This instrument will improve financial intermediation which is one of the hallmarks of long-term economic development,” said National Treasurer Rosalia de Leon. For ETF expert Robert Tull Jr., the current momentum of the stock market serves as a good backdrop for the introduction of ETFs. “It’s always positive when investors see the equity markets up. Another value is that the Philippines has moved to investment grade rating now, which builds a lot of investor confidence,” Tull said. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 Tull, CEO of consultancy firm Robert Tull & Co., has played a leading role in the design and development of more than 300 ETF products in the past 20 years. ETFs are securities and investment instruments that monitor a commodity of assets like an index fund but trades like a normal stock in an exchange. Last month, the Read More …

Banning open pit mining has dire implications – expert

Economy

Aug 042013

Banning open pit mining has dire implications – expert

MANILA, Philippines – A geology expert said banning open pit mining method has dire implications in construction, cement manufacturing and other key industries. “People opposed to open pit mining do not know what they are saying. The open pit mining method is surface mining. It means entry and exit of materials all begins from the surface as compared to underground mining where at some point in time one operates below the surface,” explained Dr. Carlo A. Arcilla, director of the National Institute of Geological Sciences (NIGS) at the University of the Philippines (UP) Diliman. “People may not know that a simple example of open pit is quarrying.” He added that if quarrying isn’t allowed, there wouldn’t be construction activities. “Where will we get all the aggregates like stones, sand, and cement that come from limestones? Maybe what they [anti-mining groups] want to say is ban open pit mining for metals.” Countries that have advanced industries use open pit mining methods to extract minerals from the soil. Dr. Arcilla said Canada mines its coal using the open pit mining method. Coal is Canada’s main source of power. “And it is ‘mine to mouth method’ – coming from the mine the coal goes directly to the power plant. It’s the same thing in Australia where most of their exported ores and iron are mined using the open pit method.” Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 Arcilla said among the companies in the Philippines that employ the open pit mining Read More …

Kyochon, Korean fried chicken resto, to open 1st store in December

Economy

Aug 022013

Kyochon, Korean fried chicken resto, to open 1st store in December

MANILA, Philippines – The group that brought the popular Singaporean chain BreadTalk in the country is also bringing Korean fried chicken restaurant chain Kyochon here. In a briefing on Friday in Makati, businessman Wilson Chu said Kyochon will initally open nine stores in the Philippines and its first store will be located somewhere in Greenbelt in Makati. Target opening of the first store is December. Besides BreadTalk, Chu’s group was responsible for bringing ToastBox Philippines, Banana Leaf Curry House Inc., Ikkoryu Fukuoka Ramen Philippines and Chops Chicago Steak House Inc. Chu’s group meanwhile also brought Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf to the country through a joint venture with a partner. It also operates No. 8 Chinese Bistro, Royal Sporting House, and Academy of Rock Inc. Kyochon operates 950 stores in South Korea and has expanded to the US and other countries in Asia such as China, Thailand and Indonesia. Restaurants in Camboadia, Myanmar and Laos will also be opened. By 2020, the restaurant is tageting to have 10,000 stores worldwide. “You can say we are a little ambitious,” Chu said of the restaurant’s plan to become the number one fried chicken restaurant in the country. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 Chu added that their offering would be priced a little higher than BonChon, the first Korean fried chicken restaurant in the Philippines. He cited their experience when they brought in CBTL to the Philippines and priced their coffee at P5 higher per cup than those sold Read More …

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