IN THE RECENT Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Summit, President Benigno S. C. Aquino III told chief executives: “There is no better time to invest in the Philippines than now.” The president cited the steady growth of the country’s gross domestic product over the last four years, averaging 6.3%, as compared to 4.3% from 2006 to 2009. He said this growth partly due to increased investment and trade.
THE PHILIPPINES has been endorsed by a Singapore government agency as an investment destination for the infrastructure and consumer sectors, among others, citing the country’s strong economic fundamentals amid robust investment inflows and solid domestic consumption buoyed by remittances.
A REVIEW of the Electric Power Industry Reform Act (EPIRA) of 2001 will follow the discussions of a House panel on the joint resolution allowing the President to take necessary steps to plug the looming power shortage next year, a lawmaker said.
IT HAS BECOME customary for employers to grant equity-based payments — the most common of which is the stock option — to their employees in their desire to continuously recognize and incentivize employees as partners in the success and growth of their companies.
MANILA, Philippines – Samsung gives Filipinos more reasons to love the holidays with Samsung’s Galaxy of Christmas Wishes. From Nov. 15 to Dec. 31, customers can get a chance to take home their favorite Samsung device at a lower cost by visiting participating Samsung Experience Shops and authorized dealers nationwide. “We are very excited to make the holidays extra special for the Pinoys with Samsung’s Galaxy of Christmas Wishes” said Rhinn Piczon, product marketing head for mobile of Samsung Electronics Philippines Corp. “We listened to what our customers want and we’re thrilled to be able to give it to them this Christmas.” Included in the promo are the Samsung Galaxy V, Galaxy Tab 3 Lite, Galaxy Core 2, Galaxy Tab 4.7, Galaxy Grand 2, Galaxy S4, Galaxy S5 and Galaxy Note 3. The Samsung Galaxy V is a dual SIM phone that features a four-inch screen and runs on Android Kitkat 4.4.2. The Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 Lite, on the other hand, features a super light, slim design with a seven-inch WSVGA screen, as well as a a 1.2 Ghz processor and Android Jellybean OS. Also available at the Samsung’s Galaxy of Christmas Wishes is the Samsung Galaxy Core 2 which features a powerful Quad-Core processor on Android Kitkat and a 4.5-inch large screen, Samsung Galaxy Grand 2, with a large 5.2-inch screen an 8MP camera, Samsung S4 which boasts of a 5-inch Full HD Super AMOLED Display and 13MP rear camera, the latest Samsung S5 which has a 5.1-inch Read More …
MANILA, Philippines – The non-performing loans of banks went down in the third quarter from a year ago, indicating the industry’s continued efforts to keep prudent lending standards. Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas data showed banks’ gross non-performing loans (NPL) fell four percent to P140.209 billion as of September from P145.928 billion in the same period last year. This is against a 19-percent growth in banks’ total loan portfolio to P5.413 trillion during the period, bringing the NPL ratio of banks to 2.59 percent. Soured loans are obligations that remain unpaid for at least 30 days after the due date. The NPL ratio pertain to the amount of bad loans over the total loan portfolio. The September NPL ratio was an improvement from the 3.21 percent recorded in the same period last year and the 2.68 percent in end-June this year. The BSP monitors the loan quality of banks to maintain high credit underwriting standards, which is needed to keep the domestic financial system stable. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 Aside from improving their bad loan ratios, banks have increased their NPL coverage to 116.49 percent as of September from 110.52 percent in the same period in 2013. Setting aside for NPLs is a prudential measure meant to mitigate any potential credit losses. Latest BSP data showed lending by universal and commercial banks increased by 20.5 percent to P4.21 trillion in September. The bulk or 90.4 percent of the total loan portfolio went to production activities, reflective Read More …
MANILA, Philippines – The Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) index rose yesterday, buoyed largely by the positive outlook given to the economy by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). The Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) gained 0.26 percent or 18.71 points to close at 7,217.34 while the all shares index climbed 0.21 percent or 8.90 points to 4,245.96. “OECD’s optimism over the country triggered an attempt to move above 7,200,” said Jason Escartin, investment analyst at F. Yap Securities. OECD’s 2015 edition of its Economic Outlook for Southeast Asia, China and India gave the Philippines the most favorable growth rate in Southeast Asia in the next five years. Also triggering the local equities improvement was the Wall Street’s overnight rally, analysts said. The S&P 500, the Nasdaq and the Dow all finished in the green, with the latter posting the biggest increase of 0.23 percent. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 Local counters, meanwhile, were mixed at three apiece. Financials lead those in the green with a 0.96-percent gain while industrial and holding firms each lost 0.18 percent. Market breadth still failed to end on a positive note as decliners continued its dominance over advancers, 90 to 86, with 37 stocks unchanged. Value turnover further thinned to close the week at P6.65 billion.
Photo shows (from left): Conrado B. Sunga Jr., Ignify operations manager; Jingle Makabenta, Ignify senior manager; Joseph Ramil Lombos, DMCI Homes senior vice president for finance and operations; and Jesus Ma. A. Ferrer, DMCI Homes senior audit and business process manager. MANILA, Philippines – DMCI Homes, one of the country’s leading real estate firms, is investing in an IT modernization project aimed at further streamlining its business and improving client servicing. The company recently entered into a partnership agreement with leading software company Microsoft for the acquisition of the latest version of Microsoft Dynamics AX — a next-generation enterprise resource planning (ERP) solution that allows businesses to operate more effectively and make strategic decisions that keep them more efficient and profitable. “This is a big investment on the part of DMCI Homes,” says Alfredo Austria, president of DMCI Homes. “Both our staff and our customers will benefit greatly from this project since they will be able to get needed information on time. Our staff will also be able to make informed decisions and give our customers better service.” Microsoft’s central region general manager Diana Tibbs expressed similar enthusiasm for the project. “With our investments here in the Philippines for over 18 years now, I think it’s important for Microsoft to now really focus on its important clients. DMCI Homes is one of those important clients who make that extra effort to really help customers get into their first homes with ease. We are proud to have them entrust the heart Read More …
THE National Electrification Administration (NEA) has reduced its lending rates to electric cooperatives (ECs) as part of its regular review on loan pricing, the agency said in a statement yesterday.
THE TOURISM department said it expects to hit its target of 6.8 million foreign tourist arrivals in the country by yearend despite the effects of typhoon Yolanda (international name: Haiyan) and travel advisories imposed by some countries.