Maniolas

MANILA, Philippines – Dominant carrier Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT) is confident of meeting its revised profit guidance for the year on the back of a strong performance in the fourth quarter. PLDT president and chief executive officer Napoleon Nazareno said the company’s performance in the fourth is better than the third quarter because of the Christmas season.  “The trending is okay in the fourth quarter and is most likely better than the third quarter. The fourth quarter is usually the best quarter for us because it is the Christmas season,” Nazareno said. He pointed out that the “free Internet” offered to all subscribers of Smart Communications Inc., Talk ‘N Text, and Sun Cellular last Sept. 26 likely tempered the performance of the PLDT Group in the fourth quarter.  “However with the free Internet, it might be tempered a little bit but we are maintaining the updated guidance profit, the bottom line guidance,” he added. Nazareno said the company would review the Jan. 5 scheduled end of the “free Internet” promo to determine if it could be extended. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 He noted that more subscribers are now using the mobile Internet as a result of the promo. “We have millions of unique users already. What we’re seeing is that 50 percent are new users since we launched,” he said. According to Nazareno, the company would be launching several offers to take advantage of the increase in the number of Internet users.  PLDT Read More …

MANILA, Philippines – The Electric Vehicle Association of the Philippines (EVAP) expressed its full support for the Alternative Fuels Vehicles Bill now pending in Congress In its position paper, EVAP said the bill, originally filed by Sen. Ralph Recto as Senate Bill 2856 with counterpart bill filed at the House of Representatives by Rep. Hermilando Mandanas of Batangas during the 15th Congress, remains pending in both chambers. In today’s 16th Congress, the AFV Bill was re-filed by Sen. Recto with Sen. Antonio Trillanes and Sen. Bam Aquino filing two other versions. In the Lower House, different versions of the AFV bill were filed by Reps. Rufus Rodriguez, Abby Binay, Rodolfo Biazon and Mark Villar. EVAP president Rommel Juan said the organization welcomes the inclusion of both electric and hybrid vehicles in all versions of the bill. “We have been at the forefront of EV development and local assembly in the country and have even launched an ambitious campaign to have one-million EVs on the road by 2020,” Juan said. To push the application of EVs, Juan said that EVAP has identified the public sector application as the proper launching pad for EVs as they represent a compatible solution to both transport and environmental problems. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 Among the salient features of the AFV bills is a nine-year exemption from value-added tax (VAT) and excise tax. “Since EVAP estimates that it would take about ten years to fully develop the local EV industry, it Read More …

MANILA, Philippines – With progress stalled, local business groups have expressed  concern about possible signs of backtracking by the government that would undermine the country’s customs reform process and ultimately result in lower revenue collections and proliferation of smuggling. Port stakeholders have accused the Bureau of Customs of dragging its feet on implementing necessary reforms which include the  re-introduction of  the pre-shipment inspection of cargoes destined for the Philippines at no cost to the government. The proposed reform program on pre-shipment inspection of all containerized cargoes has been put on hold by the BOC due to port congestion. According to several business groups, the proposal would  have eliminate delays being witnessed at the country’s main ports because cargoes would have been inspected and sealed by the approved inspectors before they are shipped into the country. BOC commissioner Sonny Sevilla earlier released a draft Customs Administrative Order (CA) announcing the return of pre-shipment inspection of all imports beginning June 1 this year.  The program, however, was postponed by two months as the details were still being firmed up.  The BOC later announced it would implement the program by  January 2015 due to port congestion.  Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1  Several port stakeholders, however, are wary that the program may never be implemented given the  reluctance of the Department of Finance to approve the CAO. The proposal has been gathering dust for almost two years.  Former Customs commissioner Ruffy Biazon has been pushing for the immediate inspection of Read More …

Oil affects countries around the world differently.  With oil prices plunging below $60 per barrel last Friday, oil producers such as Russia, Norway and OPEC members are the obvious losers.  Meanwhile, China, Japan, India, Philippines and other net oil importing countries are the clear winners. Oil prices fall to five-year lows Oil prices tumbled to fresh lows not seen since May 2009 last Friday.  US light sweet crude fell to $57.49 per barrel, taking its fall since a June peak of $107.68 to 47 percent.   Likewise, Brent crude oil dropped 47 percent to $61.85 per barrel from a June high of $115.71.  Both WTIC and Brent are in major downtrends with prices well below their 50-day, 100-day and 200-day moving averages.                                                                Source: Stockcharts.com                                                                                                                                   Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 Supply glut, weak demand and conspiracy theories A global supply glut, weak demand and a strong dollar have pushed oil prices to Read More …

MANILA, Philippines – The government continued to show a downtrend in its debt servicing for the first 10 months this year, with payments for amortization declining significantly. According to the latest data from the Bureau of Treasury, debt servicing from January to October amounted to P357 billion, down 28.3percent from P498.04 billion in the same period last year. The government settled a total of P82.83 billion in principal, including P79.66 billion in foreign loans and P3.18 billion in domestic debts. Total principal payment in the 10-month period was 137.7 percent lower than the P219.47 billion recorded in the year ago period. The government also paid a total of P274.16 billion in interest, covering P182.74 billion on domestic obligations and P91.42 billion on foreign borrowings. Total interest payments marked a slight decrease from the P278.56 billion settled the previous year. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 In October alone, government debt payments totaled P19.88 billion, 28.7 percent less than the P27.9 billion paid in the same month a year earlier. Of the P19.88 billion, P16.77 billion comprised interest payments while the balance of P4.69 billion made up principal payments. The government’s outstanding debt rose 1.2 percent to P5.71 trillion as of October as the state continued to rely on borrowings to fund its expenditure requirements. The latest figure, however, was lower than the P5.72 trillion registered in September due to the net redemption of government securities. Bulk of the amount or about P3.75 trillion was accounted for by Read More …