THE Mindanao Business Council (MinBC) said it will seek to build on the island’s strengths in agriculture and expressed optimism it can overcome current hurdles like law and order and logistics, as it encouraged members of the US-ASEAN Business Council to set shop in the southern island.
THE tax reform package being prepared by the government will also carry a proposal to relax the deposit secrecy law, which would allow the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) to look into bank accounts of suspected tax evaders.
THE Department of Finance (DoF) has tapped the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) to set up business and citizen registries expected to be operational by year’s end to aid in streamlining service delivery and cut red tape.
On July 25, President Rodrigo R. Duterte delivered his first State of the Nation Address (SONA) as the 16th President of the Philippines, focusing on improved government services, tax reform, transportation, tourism and agriculture, and economic development, among others. Taking up the SONA agenda, Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel F. Piñol has said that he is tasked with accomplishing two things — to ensure that sufficient food for Filipinos; and to stop corruption within the agency. These objectives may be achieved with the help of Republic Act (RA) No. 10845, or the Anti-Agricultural Smuggling Act of 2016, signed by former President Benigno S. C. Aquino III on May 23, which primarily aims to boost the productivity of the agricultural sector and protect Filipino farmers and agricultural enterprises from illegal traders and importers.
MANILA, Philippines – Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) is looking at a possible partnership with Solar Philippines of young entrepreneur Leandro Leviste. The power company is keen on a partnership in “some solar farms in Tarlac,” Meralco chairman Manuel Pangilinan said in an interview with reporters after the Financial Times-First Metro Philippines Investment Summit in Makati City Tuesday. He said the solar power plant has a capacity of 135 megawatts (MW) but did not disclose the identity of the possible local partner. Sought for further comment, Meralco SVP and head for customer retail services and corporate communications Alfredo Panlilio said in a text message the power distributor is under negotiations with a number of solar developers for power supply deals, which includes Solar Philippines. “We are in discussions with several solar entities for (power supply agreements) PSAs including Solar Philippines. This is a normal process for us with our Energy Sourcing Group,” he said. Solar Philippines declined to comment on the matter. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 Solar Philippines is developing a 135-MW solar farm in Tarlac, which will be the first plant to use Philippine-made solar panels by the same company, its founder and president Leandro Leviste said earlier. In June, the solar developer announced plans to put up a $1-billion solar factory in Tanauan, Batangas in the next three years, with the first $100-million manufacturing line to start operating by December. Leviste said the capacity of the Tarlac solar plant was raised to 150 MW 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 …
MANILA, Philippines – The Silangan Mindanao Mining Co. Inc., a subsidiary of Philex Mining Corp., expects its mine in Surigao del Norte to commence commercial operations by 2020 or a year later than it initially planned. Businessman Manuel V. Pangilinan said the company is currently completing the requirements for the planned feasibility study on the Silangan mine, which has estimated reserves of five billion pounds of copper and nine million ounces of gold for the first 30 years. Initial ore production at the Silangan mine was targeted to start as early as 2019. The Silangan project is located at the northern part of Mindanao that combines the development of Boyongan and Bayugo deposits, which comprise gold, copper and silver. It is classified as a mid- to large-scale mining operation by international standards. The Silangan project is Philex’s next big prospective mine that will replace the Padcal mine whose mine life is expected to end by December 2022. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 The company has invested over P13 billion for the initial exploration and related works on the site as of the end of 2014. Pangilinan has placed the estimated cost of developing the Silangan copper-gold mine at $900 million, lower than the $1.2 billion indicated earlier. Meanwhile, Philex reported a 34 percent jump in its first half profit to P757 million, largely driven by higher metal prices and improved production. Revenue from gold rose to almost P3 billion from P2.8 billion due to improved gold 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 – ABS-CBN Corp. claimed nationwide leadership in TV ratings, while GMA Network Inc. continued to be the leader in Urban Luzon in July. In a statement, ABS-CBN said it maintained its national audience share of 47 percent versus GMA which only scored 32 percent, and TV5 which had seven percent, based on data from Kantar Media. Kantar Media, which provides TV audience measurement, uses a nationwide panel size of 2,610 urban and rural homes representing 100 percent of total Philippine TV viewing population. By area, ABS-CBN beats its rivals. In Luzon, ABS-CBN had a 41 percent share, higher than GMA’s 35 percent and TV5’s six percent. In the Visayas, ABS-CBN took the lead with its 57 percent audience share, while GMA had 23 percent and TV5 had eight percent. As for Mindanao, ABS-CBN was also the most watched with its 58 percent share compared to GMA’s 26 percent and TV5’s seven percent. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 ABS-CBN also ruled the primetime block or the most important part of the day, by obtaining a 50 percent average audience share, bigger than GMA’s 30 percent and TV5’s eight percent. The primetime block (6 p.m. until 12 midnight), is when firms put the bulk of their advertising budget as this is when most Filipinos tune in to their TV sets. Aside from primetime, ABS-CBN also ruled all time blocks nationwide for the month of July. In the morning block (6 a.m. to 12 noon) ABS-CBN accounted Read More …
MANILA, Philippines – Metropolitan Bank & Trust Co. (Metrobank), the banking arm of taipan George Ty, continued to make strides in its core business expansion with net earnings hitting P9.1 billion in the first half of the year. “Overall, we are pleased with our earnings results. Despite the volatility in the global financial markets, local elections and heightened competition, we managed to accelerate our performance in our core business, particularly lending, low cost deposit generation and fee income,” said Metrobank president Fabian Dee. “More importantly, our margins held steady in the face of the challenging environment. We are also confident that given our strong capital, we are best positioned to take advantage of the country’s growth opportunities,” Dee added. Leveraging on the strength of its balance sheet, Metrobank expanded net loans and receivables by 24 percent year-on-year to P920.5 billion. The commercial segment accelerated by 27 percent as the bank continued to support the business expansion plans and infrastructure spending of local conglomerates, while the consumer segment sustained strong volume growth of 17 percent. Low cost deposits grew 21 percent, faster than industry’s 13 percent growth rate in overall deposits as of May 2016. This improved the bank’s CASA ratio to 61 percent of the total P1.3 trillion deposit base. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 Despite the market volatility and competitive pressures, net interest margin held steady at 3.5 percent as a result of the robust growth in low cost deposits as well as loan expansion Read More …