Maniolas

MANILA, Philippines – Philippine stocks tumbled yesterday following an extended profit taking in the local bourse. The Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) slid 0.48 percent or 34.54 points to close below the 7,200 support mark at 7,167.89, while the broader all shares index declined 0.49 percent or 20.93 points to 4,244.29. “The local market followed leads from the overseas markets. IMF’s cut on its growth forecast was still a factor as well as the slowdown in Europe,” said Joyce Ramos, analyst at AB Capital Securities Inc. Ramos said the local market had succumbed to profit-taking the previous days and Friday’s performance was an extension. The market saw its best performance last week on Thursday, the only time the bellwether index closed in the positive territory for the entire week. Thursday’s gain, however, was timid at 0.23 percent. Abroad, Asian and US stocks declined after soaring the previous day. All three indexes in Wall Street suffered huge losses, with the S&P 500 leading with a 2.07 percent or 40.68-point decline. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 Locally, all counters finished in the red, led by mining and oil firms which lost 1.47 percent or 244.56 points. Value turnover dropped to P7.25 billion from Thursday’s P7.72 billion. Market breadth turned sour as decliners crushed advancers, 116 to 63, while 43 were unchanged.

MANILA, Philippines – Earnings from Philippine merchandise exports posted a 10.5 percent increase in August from a year ago on the back of the strong performance of electronic products. The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said the country’s merchandise exports were valued at $5.474 billion in August this year, higher than the $4.956 billion posted in August last year. The growth was seen as electronic products, which accounted for the bulk or 41.6 percent of total receipts, grew 10 percent to $2.277 billion in August this year from the previous year’s $2.070 billion. Aside from electronic products, other commodity groups that contributed to the positive performance of exports in August were coconut oil; articles of apparel and clothing accessories; machinery and transport equipment; ignition wiring set and other wiring sets used in vehicles, aircraft and ships; other mineral products; metal components, and chemicals. The PSA noted that Japan continued to be the country’s top destination of exports with its 19.1 percent share. Revenues from exports to Japan, however, declined 15.3 percent to $1.044 billion in August this year from the $1.234 billion posted in the same month last year. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 For the eight month period, the country’s merchandise exports registered a 9.2 percent increase to $40.748 billion this year from $37.330 billion recorded in the same period in 2013. National Economic and Development Authority deputy director general Emmanuel Esguerra said the double-digit growth of exports for the month is likely to be sustained. Read More …

MANILA, Philippines – The Department of Finance supports a proposal seeking to create a megabank by merging state owned Land Bank of the Philippines and Development Bank of the Philippines. According to the DOF, the merger of Landbank and DBP is necessary as the functions of both banks duplicate and unnecessarily overlap with one another. The merged entity would be more effective, efficient and sustainable in carrying out the mandates of both banks, especially with the entry of more foreign banks into the country following the liberalization of the local banking sector, the DOF said. The consolidation of the two banks is also expected to complement the implementation of the Treasury Single Account (TSA), a unified structure of government bank accounts. Under the TSA, all government revenues deposited to accredited agent banks would be lodged in a single account with the central bank.  The TSA forms part of the government’s public financial management reform program, which seeks to simplify, improve and harmonize the financial management processes and information systems of the public sector. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 If the merger pushes through, the government expects the funding capability and branch network of the consolidated entity to expand.  As of end-June 2013,  Landbank had a total of 337 branches while DBP had 104.   The union of the two banks would give the merged entity at least 441 branches, enabling them to increase their presence. Redundant branches, however, may be closed,  which would result in savings that Read More …

THE COUNTRY has enough chicken and pork supply to last until the Christmas season, local producers yesterday said.

Andrew Tan firm to ramp up production in Spain’s most modern vineyard MANILA, Philippines – Emperador Inc., the liquor firm of property tycoon Andrew L. Tan, is ramping up production in its vineyard in Spain through investments in modern technology. In a disclosure to the local bourse, Emperador said its world-renowned brandy would soon be produced in the most modern vineyard in Spain. With the distinction of having the most technologically-advanced vineyard in Spain, Emperador said it expects to generate 500 percent higher yield than average Spanish vineyards.  “With its modern and technologically advanced design, Emperador’s vineyard in Toledo is expected to yield approximately 30,000 kilos of grapes per hectare.  This is equivalent to five times the average yield of a typical Spanish vineyard,” said José Ramón Lissarrague, a professor in Universidad Politécnica de Madrid who is also part of a team tapped by Emperador to develop the best implementation strategies for the vineyard. Lissarrague said Emperador’s Toledo vineyard now employs the most advanced technology in Spain as it features state-of-the-art technology called precision viticulture, a method focused on promoting the high production of grapes while reducing production cost per kilogram. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1  “With precision viticulture, everything is considered-including when to turn off machinery in order to save on production costs,” said Jorge B. Domecq, managing director of Emperador’s wholly-owned subsidiary Grupo Emperador Spain S.A. Aside from advanced technology, Domecq said location also plays a vital part in the success of the vineyard. Read More …