Maniolas

MPIC 2016 annual stockholders’ meeting: Metro Pacific Investments Corp. president  Jose Ma. Lim speaks before investors during the infrastructure conglomerate’s annual stockholders meeting in May. Also in photo is MPIC chairman Manuel V. Pangilinan. File photo Reported net income up 25% MANILA, Philippines – Metro Pacific Investments Corp. (MPIC) reported a 25 percent jump in its net income in the first half to nearly P7 billion, driven by the strong performance of its tollroad and hospital businesses. Core net income went up 13 percent to P6.6 billion largely due to robust traffic growth in the group’s tollroads here and in Vietnam. Given increased contributions from its tollroad business, the group plans to further beef up its portfolio of road projects in the ASEAN region. In a briefing yesterday, MPIC president and CEO Jose Ma. Lim said the company is eyeing several toll road projects in Malaysia and Indonesia through joint venture arrangements with local partners.  “The one in Indonesia is being discussed…That’s a road project that is part of the Trans Java tollways,” Lim said. MPIC is engaged in the toll road sector in Thailand through its 29.45 percent stake in toll road operator Don Muang Tollway Public Co. Ltd. In Vietnam, MPIC holds a 45 percent interest in CII Bridges and Roads Investment Joint Stock Co. which has various road and bridge projects in and around Ho Chi Minh City. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 The company is currently the largest toll road operator in Read More …

MANILA, Philippines – The Philippines is seeing a reversal of roles in the global contact center space as foreign investors and clients are now the ones calling for opportunities, the Contact Center Association of the Philippines (CCAP) said. “These companies that we are talking to now, they are the ones who are setting a meeting with us. Before, we had to look for these meetings, knock on their doors and beg for 10 minutes of their time just to listen to our story. Now it’s the reverse as they are the ones telling us I need one hour of your time,” CCAP industry affairs director Raymond Lacdao said. He said several UK, US, and Australian firms which are not yet present in the country are currently exploring opportunities to do business in the Philippines. “It’s very encouraging. But the interesting part is that we have actually attracted other countries outside of those main countries that we are targeting. We have companies from South Africa, Indonesia, Bangladesh. These are not our normal targets but they are interested now,” Lacdao said. The Philippines has held the distinction of being the world’s contact center capital since 2010. “There’s a lot of interest with the Philippines that we’ve seen. There’s a lot of interest in our industry because we’ve actually been known as a top provider for professional services,” CCAP president Benedict Hernandez said. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 “What’s interesting is there are client coming from the region, like Read More …

MANILA, Philippines – Laguna-based technology firnm Cirtek Holdings Philippines Corp. saw an eight percent rise in its first half profit to $3.5 million on the back of higher revenues. Revenues grew 15 percent to $32.5 million with the RF/microwave/millimeter wave business accounting for 37 percent of total. In the second quarter alone, Cirtek reported a 10 percent growth in net income to $2 million as revenues expanded by 23 percent to P17.5 million due to the strong performance of its broadband and antenna systems business under Cirtek ATS. Cirtek remains optimistic about its performance for the rest of the year as it sees the global millimeter wave technology market growing 45 percent annually, with a total addressable market of $12 billion by 2020. To take advantage of the expected growth in the millimeter wave market, Cirtek intends to continue to deliver high-end box build finished products, test-board fabrication, test solutions, and product support businesses required by its customers. The company is also developing proprietary wireless products and components for the wireless communication industry. It expects to begin selling these products in the fourth quarter of the year. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 Cirtek likewise plans to continue to expand its high capacity, multi-port, multi-band antenna business with Quintel. Apart from this, Cirtek is evaluating acquisition opportunities that will either significantly scale up its manufacturing operation or give it access to high-end research and development capabilities. Cirtek Holdings Philippines Corp. (CHPC) is the holding company of Cirtek Read More …

MANILA, Philippines – Global Business Power Corp. (GBPC), a leading power supplier in the Visayas which is now controlled by the Pangilinan Group, expects to double its existing capacity of 850 megawatts by 2021. Manuel V. Pangilinan, chairman of Metro Pacific Investments Corp., said the country needs more power plants because demand for power is increasing along with economic growth. GBPC has an aggregate capacity of 852 MW of coal and diesel powered generating capacity, including the 150 MW expansion project which is expected to be operational later this year of which 70 MW is contracted to Meralco. Bulk of the additional capacity will come from the planned 670 megawatt coal plant in La Union, GBPC’s first power plant in Luzon. The plant has no ECC or environmental clearance certificate yet but officials expressed optimism the company would be able to obtain the certificate even as Environment Secretary Regina Lopez is known to be critical of coal plants. MPIC president and CEO Jose Ma. Lim said GBPC was also looking at investing in renewable energy. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 In the first half of the year, GBPC sold 1,787 gwh of electricity, four percent higher than last year’s 1,721 gwh, owing to higher plant availability. This translated to core income growth of 27 percent with fewer purchases from the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market to source power obligations to customers. GBPC’s core income contribution to MPIC’s earnings amounted to P120 million, net of financing for the Read More …

The clamor for lower income tax rates continues to gain momentum, primarily from the business sector which rightfully justifies its posture with a comparative chart showing the Philippines as having the highest corporate income tax (30 percent) in the ASEAN region, higher than that of Indonesia (25 percent) and Thailand (20 percent). Comparatively high corporate income taxes are clearly a deterrent to the competitiveness of local businesses, and are a critical factor for foreign investors to decide not to set up their businesses here in the Philippines. Clearly, if the country wants to continue its growth levels in the next years, the government must align its corporate income tax structure to make it attractive to business and national growth. High personal income taxes With regards personal income taxes, the Philippines has also one of the highest rates slapped on its citizens within the ASEAN. At 32 percent, income taxes on working Filipinos are second highest in the region, almost comparable to the 35 percent of Thailand and Vietnam. While many working Filipinos belonging to lower income brackets earning minimum wage rates are technically exempted from paying income taxes, there in the next salary levels have to endure the high taxes. While the current personal income tax system is on graduated basis, the lowest rate applicable to those that are not minimum wage earners would still be 20 percent. Thus, a struggling P15,000-a-month employee will effectively bring home only P12,000. The case gets worse for those in the middle-income brackets, the Read More …