Maniolas

In August, cash remittances coursed through banks dipped 0.6 percent to $2.04 billion. File photo MANILA, Philippines – The US dollar’s strength is cutting through remittance earnings of overseas Filipinos, but the recent drop in inflows could prove to be “temporary,” the chief economist of the Department of Finance said. “Overseas remittances will continue to be a positive factor in Philippine GDP (gross domestic product) growth and recent slowdown may be temporary as the US dollar strengthens,” Finance Undersecretary Gil Beltran said on Thursday. In August, cash remittances coursed through banks dipped 0.6 percent to $2.04 billion, the first monthly drop recorded in 12 years. For the first eight months though, inflows remained up 4.1 percent year-on-year. In an economic bulletin, Beltran said the dollar’s recent appreciation against major currencies lowered the value of remittances sent by Filipinos to their families. The greenback, he said, is garnering strength from expectations that the US Federal Reserve would hike key rates before the year ends. On Wednesday, the Fed kept its near-zero policy rates steady after its two-day meet. “If remittances were valued in respective local currencies, growth would have been double-digit or close to double-digit in many countries,” Beltran pointed out. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 That includes countries “mired in recession, except Italy, and the petroleum exporters which were adversely affected by steep oil price drop,” he added. A strong dollar strips the value of remittances in other currencies if the value being sent remains constant. Read More …

From January to September, Customs raked in P268.229 billion. File photo MANILA, Philippines – Depressed import prices pulled down the Bureau of Customs’s revenue collections by more than a fifth last month, although the agency remained optimistic it could meet its target by year-end. In a statement on Thursday, Customs said it collected P32.65 billion in September, down 0.8 percent from last year’s P32.9 billion. The bureau was also down by 20.6 percent against that month’s P41.109-billion target. The figures are based on the final tally for September. Last week, preliminary figures obtained by The STAR showed the bureau collected P32.1 billion in September. “Overall, the decline in collection was driven by a drop in the total value of imports,” Customs Commissioner Alberto Lina was quoted in the statement as saying. From January to September, Customs raked in P268.229 billion, up 0.9 percent year-on-year, but below the P314.171-billion target for the first three quarters.

MANILA, Philippines – Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT) is looking to invest about $40 million for a cable landing station and data center in Mindanao to boost its network. Eric Alberto, executive vice president and head of enterprise at PLDT and Smart Communications Inc., said the company wants a cable landing facility and data center in Mindanao within the next two to three years. He said the company may invest a minimum $40 million for the cable landing station and data center in Mindanao. The final amount would depend on what is agreed upon with telecommunication firms from Indonesia, Brunei and Malaysia. “We are looking at a variety of consortium, with the Indonesian, Bruneian and Malaysian telcos… We have about two or three options. We are finding out which is the most feasible for us,” Alberto said. The cable landing station would link to Japan and then to the US. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 The company is looking to invest in a cable landing station and data center in Mindanao to augment existing facilities in Luzon. The company has cable landing stations in Nasugbu in Batangas, Bauang in La Union, and in Daet, Camarines Norte. PLDT has earlier injected $55 million to the $550-million Asia-America Gateway project in La Union involving a 20,000-kilometer undersea cable network. The project connects Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Brunei Darussalam, Vietnam, Hong Kong, the Philippines, Guam, Hawaii, and the US West Coast using 40 gigabits per second (Gbps) technology and Read More …

MANILA, Philippines – The government made yesterday a partial award of three-year Treasury bonds in a bid to cap interest rates seen too high compared with prevailing market rates. A total P16.22 billion worth of re-issued three-year notes, with a remaining life of two years and seven months, was awarded by the Bureau of the  Treasury at the auction yesterday. The paper fetched a rate of 3.169 percent. Tenders reached P36.17 billion as against the P25 billion offer. Had the government awarded the full amount, it would have paid a higher rate of 3.18 percent. The debt paper charged 3.089 percent during the previous auction.  “We awarded it based on our internal guidelines which put the rate near the upper-end of our guidance. It is a little over our R2 (rate),” National Treasurer Roberto Tan told reporters after the auction. R2 pertains to the secondary market rates used by investors to trade with each other. The paper fetched 3.1 percent at this market yesterday. Treasury bonds are investment outlets issued by the government in exchange for borrowed money. Tan said the “uncertainty” coming from the looming interest rate hike of the US Federal Reserve still persists, “although there’s been a change in view” especially after the latter’s meeting last month. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 Investors seeking higher yields have been awaiting the US central bank to raise its rates for the first time since 2006 as the world’s superpower showed some recovery from the global Read More …

Real estate developer Deca Homes gives home buyers important housing loan tips.  MANILA, Philippines – A recent Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) report reveals that more Filipinos are optimistic about the country’s real estate sector. In the Consumer Expectation Survey for the second quarter of the year, 30.3 percent of households see this quarter as a favorable time to buy high-priced items like housing, motor vehicles and consumer durables. This optimism is largely driven by the improved outlook of consumers on real estate which people in the Metro consider as “a good investment and a means to avoid house rental fees”. But a house purchase always begins with facing critical money issues like your budget and financing source. While a lot of home loan providers these days have made the interest rates more competitive and the process simpler and easier, you still need to be on your guard while shopping around. Deca Homes gives you some tips on how you can be sure of your financing choice.  Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 READ MORE: How not to buy and get trapped in a bad house INFOGRAPHIC: Smart–and even smarter–ways to use your extra money INFOGRAPHIC: Did you know that your P30,000 salary can buy you a home? INFOGRAPHIC: What type of home buyer are you? TIMELINE: Deca homes through the years