Economy – Page 337

Overpricing issues

Economy

Aug 022014

Is P400 million enough to construct an 11-storey building? Observers note that for the Makati City government under the leadership of former Mayor Jejomar Binay and current head Junjun Binay, it wasn’t. In 2007, councilors passed a resolution to secure a P400 million loan from the Land Bank of the Philippines (LBP) for the construction of an 11-storey parking building. Based on official data from the National Statistics Office (NSO), the said amount was more than enough to cover the construction cost as only P7,691 per square meter was needed for commercial and institutional buildings during that time. With a total area of 31,928 square meters, the construction of the parking building will cost just aroundP246 million, giving the city savings of about P154 million. However, P400 million was still not enough. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 In 2010, or less than three years after the initial fund was approved, the city council and new Mayor Junjun Binay approved the appropriation of an additional P760 million for the construction of the building, bringing its total to P1.16 billion. Not contented with the additional funds, the Binays did not stop there. The next year, Mayor Binay approved a city council resolution earmarking another P400 million from the P5-billion loan it obtained from the Land Bank of the Philippines (LBP) for the construction, raising the total budget to P1.560 billion. However, the existing acceptable construction cost per square meter is only P25,000 per square meter or P798 million Read More …

PLDT, Globe ink S’pore interconnection agreement

Economy

Aug 022014

PLDT, Globe ink S’pore interconnection agreement

MANILA, Philippines – Globe Telecom Inc. and dominant carrier Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT) inked a new interconnection pact allowing their subscribers in Sorsogon to call each other without additional charges. Froilan Castelo, general counsel of Globe, said the company, through Globelines, and PLDT are also in talks for similar interconnection arrangements in Zambales, Misamis Occidental and Ilocos Norte. “We are happy to announce the expansion of Globe Telecom’s interconnection with competition to include the province of Sorsogon, which further enhances our customers’ access to affordable telecommunication services. We are hopeful that such collaboration and cooperation for cost-effective services will further extend to more and more provinces in the country,” he said. Globe and PLDT are now interconnected in Metro Manila, Cavite, Iloilo, Capiz, Batangas, Cebu, Negros Occidental, Negros Oriental, Bohol, Leyte, Davao City, Pampanga, Bulacan, Zamboanga, Laguna, Quezon, La Union, Nueva Ecija, and Benguet, GenSan/South Cotabato , Tarlac, Davao del Norte and Pangasinan. Republic Act 7925 or the Public Telecommunications Policy Act mandates the compulsory interconnection of authorized public telecommunications carriers to create a universally accessible and fully integrated nationwide telecommunications network. The law also encourages more infrastructure investments from the private sector that would benefit the consumers. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 The local interconnection between Globe and PLDT allows landline customers of both entities to realize substantial savings as they no longer have to pay for long distance charges when calling one another. Prior to the commercial activation of the interconnection, landline Read More …

Valenzuela issues JV guide

Economy

Jul 272014

THE CITY of Valenzuela has issued guidelines it hopes would spur private sector investments that could help prod development.

Prepayment drops for foreign loans

Economy

Jul 272014

PREPAYMENTS of foreign loans by public and private firms declined sharply in the first four months of the year, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) data showed, as the peso weakened against the US dollar.

Revisiting accounting for levies

Economy

Jul 272014

PAYING THE government certain amounts primarily due to legislation is often customary or necessary in conducting a business. In our current business environment where compliance with legislation is paramount, businesses are compelled to pay and settle these obligations. Failure to comply with these obligations has implications ranging from imposition of penalties to revocation of licenses or business permits.

Public sector debt hit 7.6 trillion in 2013

Economy

Jul 252014

THE COUNTRY’S outstanding public sector debt (OPSD) reached P7.654 trillion as of end-2013, the government reported on Friday.

Php commercial services notches fastest Q1 growth in ASEAN

Economy

Jul 252014

PHILIPPINE EXPORTS and imports of commercial services in the first quarter grew the fastest in Southeast Asia from a year ago, preliminary data from the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development showed.