THE PUBLIC-Private Partnership (PPP) Center said it made a presentation to a Singapore business forum to drum up interest in key local infrastructure projects.
Feb 052015
Feb 042015
MANILA, Philippines – Global crude prices are likely to go up again but not as high as they used to be, the chief energy specialist of International Finance Corp. (IFC) said in a press briefing yesterday. On the sidelines of an energy regulation forum organized by the Royal Norwegian embassy in collaboration with the Philippine Norway Business Council, the IFC’s Tonci Bakovic said oil prices will come back up “not to the prices that they were but they will.” Department of Energy Undersecretary Zenaida Monsada also said it was difficult to say when prices would move up again. She said while there is still a supply glut in the global crude market, there are also uncertainties such as the strike of oil industry workers in the United States that may indeed push prices up albeit slightly. There are reports that oil workers are on strike, marking the biggest strike in history. According to the BBC, US union leaders launched on Sunday a large-scale strike at nine refineries after failing to agree on a new national contract with major oil companies. “It marks the first nationwide walkout since 1980 and impacts plants that together account for more than 10 percent of US refining capacity,” the report said. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 Members of the United Steelworkers Union (USW) have called on oil companies to improve conditions in the workplace instead of being too greedy. As for local pump prices, oil companies raised local pump prices two Read More …
Feb 042015
MANILA, Philippines – Grand Plaza Hotel Corp., the company behind Heritage Hotel Manila, is seeking further remedies to resolve its alleged P508-million tax liability with the Bureau of Internal Revenues (BIR). In a disclosure to the local bourse, the hotel operator said its board of directors has directed its tax counsel to study further solutions in connection with the BIR’s denial for a reinvestigation and recomputation of its alleged tax liability stemming from the agency’s 2008 tax assessment. “The corporation’s tax counsel is studying further administrative and/or legal remedies in respect of the tax assessment,” Grand Plaza said. Grand Plaza said it received in 2013 a collection letter from the BIR for its alleged deficiency income tax, value-added tax, expanded withholding tax, withholding tax on compensation and documentary stamp tax for the year 2008. The total amount stood at P508.10 million, consisting of P262.58 million for basic tax and interest of P245.42 million from January 2009 to Sept. 30, 2013. The hotel operator said it asked the BIR for a reinvestigation and recomputation of the amount but has been denied of such. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 Grand Plaza owns and operates Heritage Hotel Manila, a 450-room deluxe hotel with a casino, restaurants, function halls and ballrooms. The company’s main source of income is revenue from its hotel operations. As of the first nine months last year, the listed firm’s total revenue dropped to P334.75 million from P451.79 million during the same period the previous year.
Feb 042015
ROSARIO, Cavite, Philippines – The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) is studying a proposal to allow firms catering to the domestic market to locate in the Philippine Economic Zone Authority’s (PEZA) economic zones. Trade Secretary Gregory Domingo said in a press conference during the tour of CS Garment, Inc.’s facility yesterday the DTI is looking into a proposal from the PEZA to have firms catering to the domestic market locate in the agency’s economic zones. “We’re actually in the midst of formulating a policy, but I don’t know how long it will take,” he said, noting that details on the taxation have to be ironed out. At present, locators in the PEZA’s ecozones are required to have the bulk or 70 percent of their production for export. When PEZA-registered firms sell goods to the domestic market within the 30 percent limit, they pay only the duties and taxes on the imported raw material. Domingo said there is a need to study the tax treatment to ensure a level playing field as firms from Southeast Asia could export goods to the country at zero duty. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 “If we assess them (firms catering to the domestic market) the regular duty rate, then we are in fact handicapping our own enterprises against our Asean (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) neighbors because they could come in duty-free,” he said. PEZA director general Lilia De Lima told reporters the government is considering providing an incentive of Read More …
Feb 042015
MANILA, Philippines – The Bureau of Internal Revenue is hoping to secure another grant funding from the Millennium Challenge Corp. to help bankroll the full computerization of its operations and reduce opportunities for corruption. The MCC, an independent US aid agency that is helping lead the fight against global poverty, extended a $434 million financial aid to the Philippines in 2010. Of that amount, P54.3 million went to the BIR to shore up the agency’s revenues and modernization its collection system. With the Philippines qualified for a new five-year grant from the MCC, BIR commissioner Kim Henares is hopeful that the agency would once again be tapped as a beneficiary of the compact. MCC was created by the US Congress in 2003 to provide multi-year economic assistance through a competitive selection process to developing nations. The Philippines garnered high scores in the US aid agency’s scorecard for fiscal year 2015, making it eligible for a second grant. The MCC scorecard measures a country’s performance peers based on independent, third party indicators that fall under three categories — economic freedom, investing in people and ruling justly. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 Finance Secretary Cesar Purisima earlier said the “Philippines’ eligibility adds to the virtuous cycle we began with good governance in our bid to promote inclusive, sustainable growth.” The BIR has identified 27 priority programs this year to further boost collections and meet its revenue target of P1.703 trillion. One such initiative is the establishment of an Read More …
Feb 032015
(From left) Carmina Velayo-Villo, Globe marketing head for international business; Jorge Tatsuki Takata, Brastel general manager for carrier operations and support; and Rizza Maniego-Eala, Globe senior vice president for international business. MANILA, Philippines – Globe Telecom launched Tuesday a reloadable call card, which offers cheaper IDD calls in Japan, as they partnered with Japanese telecommunication company Brastel. Globe Senior Vice President for International Business Rizza Maniego-Eala said in a press conference that the partnership allowed them to offer calling rates up to 50 percent lower than many alternatives in Japan. The Globe-Brastel Card lets overseas Filipinos in Japan call their loved ones in the Philippines for as low as 20 yen or about P7 per minute from a Japanese landline number to a Globe or TM mobile number. Eala said they chose to partner with Brastel because the company has been serving non-Japanese citizens in Japan for nearly 20 years, noting that Japan has also been an important market for Globe. According to Jorge Tatsuki Takata, Brastel general manager for carrier operations and support, an initial payment of 2,000 yen or nearly P750 is required to start using the call card. The maximum denomination for recharging is 10,000 yen. A call can be made by first dialing the access number found on the back of the call card, the country code, and the phone number. The card can be reloaded easily in any partner convenience store of Brastel like Family Mart, Mini Stop, Circle K, and Lawson through the SmartPit Read More …
Feb 032015
MANILA, Philippines – Have you ever dared to ask yourself this question: If money were a person, who would it be? What will he or she look like? Is he or she going to be a friend, a special someone, a parent or an enemy? Reality TV show star and Canadian entrepreneur Kevin O’Leary said, “Here’s how I think of my money: As soldiers. I send them out to war everyday. I want them to take prisoners and come home, so there’s more of them.” The way you think about money directly impacts your financial behavior and decisions. If you think you need to change the way you view money and get to know yourself a little bit more in this area of your life, you will need to consider these following principles: 1. Get rid of guilt. If you must start anew with your financial life, you should forget the past and the guilt from your mistakes. Focus on the future instead. Shun those thoughts that keep reminding you of what you should have done before with your finances so you could have been this and that today. Those thoughts will never help. Consider investing in the market. There are many ways to do so. Begin by exploring your options. You can also open a small business or a savings account (if you haven’t done so before) to start getting your finances in order. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 2. Be friends with money. Some Read More …
Feb 032015
MANILA, Philippines – Japanese carmaker Nissan Motor Co. Ltd. is looking to increase its market share to 10 percent over a five-year period in the Philippines given the country’s growing automotive market. Nissan Motor Co. corporate vice president Toru Hasegawa told reporters during the launch of the NP300 Navara pickup on Monday night that the company’s local unit, Nissan Philippines Inc. (NPI), which ended 2014 with a three percent share of the Philippine automotive market with sales of 7,473 units, is aiming to grow its market share to 10 percent. He noted that the Philippines offers the biggest potential for growth in the automotive market with most individuals without a car and as the economy continues to grow. In terms of car ownership, he said only 35 out of 1,000 individuals own a car in the Philippines, as compared to Thailand’s 200 out of 1,000, Malaysia’s 400 and Indonesia’s 70. “You have 100 million people…and with $3,000 GDP (gross domestic product) per capita, we are quite confident with the Philippines’ growth. We can re-start operations with a single distributor and we are in time to capture such kind of potential. We are happy with the new team, new direction and new strategy and taking 10 percent market share,” he said. While attaining the double-digit market share within five years is seen as a big challenge, NPI president and managing director Antonio Zara said the firm would like to focus on contributing to Nissan Motor Co.’s goal of achieving eight percent Read More …
Feb 032015
MANILA, Philippines – The food processing unit of diversified conglomerate San Miguel Corp. has wrapped up its acquisition of a local biscuit manufacturer, providing the company with a new snack offering after it failed to snag British snacks maker United Biscuits last year. San Miguel PureFoods Co. Inc. told the local bourse yesterday it has completed the acquisition of Filipino-owned biscuit company Felicisimo Martinez and Co. Inc. following the fulfillment of the closing conditions of the transaction last Feb. 1. PureFoods acquired the trademarks, formulations, recipes and other intangible properties relating to the manufacturer’s La Pacita biscuit and flour-based snack business. Felicisimo Martinez and Co. has been manufacturing cookies and crackers under the La Pacita brand for over 90 years. The acquisition is expected to further boost SMC’s food and beverage portfolio which already includes Dari Crème, Jellyace, Purefoods, Magnolia, Monterey, Star, SanMig Coffee, and Tender Juicy. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 SMC last year fell short in making it to the shortlist of bidders for United Biscuits, owner of brands such as Jaffa Cakes and Twiglets. PureFoods is into dairy, agro, milling and processed meats businesses. The company said last week its wholly-owned subsidiary San Miguel PureFoods International Ltd. is set to gain full ownership of a Vietnamese firm engaged in feed milling, meat processing and piggery operations PureFoods currently operates 35 processing plants and 36 feed mills in the country and is looking to raise as much as P15 billion from the offering of Read More …
Feb 032015
MANILA, Philippines – For 2015, Volvo Philippines proudly offers the new R-Design versions of the Volvo S60 and XC60. Models that feature an outstanding blend of a renewed sports appearance, a dynamic driving-focused chassis and a powerful engine output. These variants of the already robust S60 and XC60 models give the market more freedom in choosing a Volvo that suits their sophisticated tastes. “The new R-Design models are a perfect match for performance-minded individuals with a passion for exquisite details. In the new S60 and XC60 R-Design, we have turned up the visual volume of these popular models with meticulous attention to detail,” says Doug Speck, Senior Vice President Marketing, Sales and Customer Service at Volvo Car Group. Unique new front Both R-Design cars now feature a unique face with a redesigned, dynamic, expressive nose. The frameless Tech Matte Black grille has high-gloss black stripes, a silk metal diagonal and a refined R-Designed emblem. The DRL lights in the outer corners reinforce the low, road-hugging impression. “The front wheel arches are small design gems that enhance the car’s sporty aura. The rounded end of the front bumper ‘wraps’ around the dynamic Ixion wheel, which is now available in a redesigned 18-inch version for the S60 and a 20-inch for the XC60,” says Fedde Talsma, Design Director, Exterior. At the rear, the unique diffuser with aero fins is flanked by the round, high-tech R-Design tailpipes. New generation R-Design interior The new sport seat come as standard in the R-Design cars. It Read More …