Maniolas

MANILA, Philippines – The Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) is set to test the 7,200 level this week as investors await the announcement of the Philippine economy’s second quarter performance. Analysts believe that the country’s second quarter gross domestic product (GDP), which is expected to grow at a faster pace compared to the 5.7 percent expansion in the first quarter, can make or break market confidence in equities in the succeeding weeks.    “This will be the turning point on whether the PSEi can sustain its advance toward 7,200 or serve as the platform for a near-term correction,” said Accord Capital Equities Corp. analyst Justino Calaycay Jr. The bellwether index finished strong last week after a four-day rally, closing at a fresh 14-month high and piercing through the 7,100 level for the first time this year. “Trading activity has picked up significantly with value turnover picking up towards the tail-end of the Chinese ghost month. Earnings have definitely recovered off the first quarter weakness. They are not as stellar as we would probably want them to be – sufficient to justify the PSEI’s foray into the 7,000-7,200 band. But, ceteris paribus, expectations that the index will head even higher in the balance of the year appear justified,” Calaycay said. F. Yap Securities investment analyst Jason T. Escartin said optimists dominated last week as political tension in Eastern Europe & the Middle East receded. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 “Any indication at the political front that would show Read More …

MANILA, Philippines – The government’s debt servicing requirements will decline slightly next year because of prudent and efficient public financial management and decreasing principal payments. Documents from the Department of Finance show that out of the proposed 2015 national budget of P2.61 trillion, the government would spend P763.25 billion to pay its debts, P56 billion lower than the P819.19 billion earmarked this year. Of the P763.25 billion, P390.39 billion has been set aside for principal payments comprising P315.58 billion in domestic debt and P74.8 billion in foreign loans. The amount allocated for the settlement of principal obligations represents a 16.3 percent drop from this year’s P466.54 billion allocation.  The government has allotted P372.86 billion for payment of interest on the state’s outstanding debt. This is 6 percent higher than the P352.65 billion earmarked this year and 14.28 percent of the proposed 2015 national budget. Out of the P372.86 billion allocation, P277.56 billion will be set aside for domestic liabilities while P95.3 billion will be for foreign debt. Since President Aquino assumed office in 2010, the proportion of the national budget allotted for interest payments has been on a downward trend. Last year, the share fell to only 16.6 percent of the national budget. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 The country’s economic managers seek to further reduce the interest payment share to 12 percent by 2016. As the allocation for interest payments is lowered, more funds would be available for infrastructure, social services and other vital expenditures Read More …

MANILA, Philippines – The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) earned more than P2 billion from the collection of delinquent and unpaid accounts since last year. An account becomes delinquent when the due date for a tax return or other established liability has passed and the amount due remains unpaid. Penalties and interest begin to accrue on the unpaid tax until the entire balance is paid in full. In a statement, the BIR said the arrears management teams of four revenue regions (Makati, Manila, Quezon City and Caloocan), collected P2.205 billion since the initial implementation of the Arrears Management Project (AMP) in March 2013. From January to July this year, P1.19 billion was collected from Metro Manila taxpayers with past-due accounts. The balance of P1.08 billion was collected from March to December 2013. The project’s goal is to ensure timely, appropriate and cost effective collection actions amid growing accounts receivables/delinquent accounts of the BIR.    Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 The BIR has put in place a web-based system to track the status, whereabouts and actions taken on any accounts receivable or delinquent accounts arising from self-assessed taxes or as a result of audit or third party information. With the Accounts Receivable Monitoring System (ARMS), the BIR can update the status of delinquent account cases. The AMP involves the fielding of seizure agents and staff, locating delinquent taxpayers and undertaking collection enforcement activities through streamlined procedures and policies culled from international best practices.

MANILA, Philippines – Trans-Asia Oil and Energy Development Corp. is eyeing to participate in the Philippine Energy Contracting Round 5 (PECR 5), its top official said. PECR 5 is the Department of Energy’s latest contracting round for coal and petroleum service contracts. Trans-Asia president Francisco Viray said the company is looking at the areas to be offered under PECR 5. “If there are opportunities, we will look into it and we will pursue it,” he said. Trans-Asia senior vice president Raymundo Reyes Jr., for his part, said the company is eyeing at least one area under PECR 5. The DOE launched last May an offer for 26 new areas for petroleum and coal exploration, which if found viable could reduce the country’s dependence on imported fuel. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 A regular activity conducted by the energy department, the PECR is a transparent and competitive system for awarding service contracts. The goal is to showcase the petroleum exploration opportunities in the country and to attract energy investors to develop the country’s indigenous oil and gas resources. The PECR 5 offers 11 areas for petroleum exploration mostly located in Luzon and 15 areas for coal exploration, largely concentrated in Mindanao. Areas offered for petroleum exploration are in Southeast Luzon, Masbate-Iloilo, Northeast Palawan, Southeast Palawan, West Palawan, West Luzon while areas offered for coal exploration are in Surigao, Agusan-Davao, Zamboanga and Cotabato-Sarangani. As for the timetable, the Review and Evaluation Committee (REC) has moved the last day of Read More …

MANILA, Philippines – BPI Family Savings Bank plans to securitize P5 billion worth of car-buyer loans to broaden its financing channels and support the growing demand from the automotive market. The planned transaction will mark the Philippines’ first auto loan securitization. Under the plan, BPI Family will be selling a portfolio of auto loans to a newly-created bankruptcy remote Special Purpose Trust (SPT). Ownership of the portfolio will be transferred to the books of the issuer via a true sale. BPI Family, however, will remain the servicer of the said portfolio. To fund the purchase of the acquisition of the portfolio, the SPT will issue senior and junior bonds which will be secured by the underlying auto loans in the portfolio. By securitizing its auto loans, BPI Family will take the loans off its balance sheets and free up funds to continue lending. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 The planned issuance was assigned a conditional issue credit rating of PRS Aaa by the Philippine Rating Services Corp. Obligations rated PRS Aaa are defined as having “the highest quality with minimal credit risk.” This means the obligor’s capacity to meet its financial commitment on the obligation is very strong.  Based on latest data released by the automotive industry, a total of 129,687 vehicles were sold from January to July this year, up  26 percent or from a year earlier. July posted the highest vehicle sales in a single month to date, in which 20,730 units or 32 Read More …