MANILA, Philippines – The peso moved flat against the dollar on Thursday, shedding 1.5 centavos to close at 43.6. Total volume transacted at the Philippine Dealing System amounted to $563.5 million, lower than the $781.3 million posted on Wednesday. The peso opened Thursday at 43.63.
MANILA, Philippines – Traders may have manipulated the prices of garlic in the market that resulted in the sudden increase of garlic at P280 per kilo in the market in the past few weeks. The Senate Committee on Agriculture and Food chaired by Sen. Cynthia Villar is looking into manipulation as the reason behind the soaring of garlic prices. “There is really manipulation because the cost of garlic at production cost is P 40 per kilo while imported garlic is pegged at 17 pesos per kilo with duty. How can P 17 and 40 pesos per kilo can go up to P 280 per kilo?,” Villar said. The Philippines produces only eight percent of the garlic supply in the market while the rest is being imported. “The prices are too high. If you sell it at P 100 per kilo, that’s understandable but P 280 per kilo is too much,” said Villar, who is unable to hide her disappointments with heads of government agencies who do not want to take responsibility for the garlic price increase. Villar slammed the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) and the Department of Agriculture for failure to provide consumer protection in the case of garlic.Production cost is too low relative to price. The concerned agencies also failed to fully implement the Price Control Act, she said. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 “There is no shortage in supply. They (traders) are just controlling the supply which is in the hands of Read More …
MANILA, Philippines – Private car owners are cooking up a nationwide protest against the new rules and regulations being implemented by agencies under the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC). In an event created on Facebook titled “National Rally on all LTO offices!” and hosted by certain Jay Magallanes along with Mike Zander Tumamao, Ishi Lee II, Philip Fernandez and Marvin Bondad, private car owners are urged to troop to the streets on Friday (July 4) to protest the higher fines being implemented along with the new rules and regulations by the Land Transportation Office and the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB). Participants are encouraged to wear black shirt to show their dismay over the JOINT ADMINISTRATIVE ORDER NO. 2014 01 or the REVISED SCHEDULE OF FINES AND PENALTIES FOR VIOLATIONS OF LAWS, RULES AND REGULATIONS GOVERNING LAND TRANSPORTATION. The buzz started from an article of motoring website Topgear.ph that drew negative reactions from private motorists. “Let us all do a Nationwide Simultaneous Rally on all LTO Offices regarding our disgust over their new rules and regulations!” stated on the event description. “I call on upon you guys, motorists, car clubs, car groups, car shops, netizens to make this happen!” Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 The protest will start at 10 a.m. in front of every LTO offices, particularly in the main office at the East Avenue in Quezon City with one-minute of honking of horns. As of this posting, 2,255 Facebook users have Read More …
MANILA, Philippines – The peso dipped against the dollar midday Thursday, settling at 43.65 from the previous day’s 43.585. Total volume transacted at the Philippine Dealing System amounted to $291.5 million in the morning, lower than the $413.8 million posted the same period on Wednesday. The peso opened Thursday at 43.63.
MANILA, Philippines – Power, energy and gas technology leader Shell, together with global consultants Booz & Co., studied more than 500 urban centers across the globe and gathered data on how cities have been utilizing energy. The results pointed to six illustrative archetypes indicating where energy use is most concentrated and where future urbanization is set to take place. The findings, published in a report titled New Lenses on Future Cities, show energy use currently concentrated in two of the six city archetypes: sprawling metropolises like Rio de Janeiro and Tokyo, and prosperous communities such as Dubai and Stockholm. These cities have relatively low-density and high per capita GDP, and are typically found in the United States and Europe. Urban powerhouses, the third archetype characterized by high population densities and high individual incomes, are also heavy energy users. However, their share of global consumption is modest by comparison as only a few cities belong in this archetype, such as Hong Kong, Singapore, and New York. Developing mega-hubs like Hyderabad and Chongqing, and underprivileged crowded cities such as Manila and Bangalore are relatively light energy users at present. But while these cities have low individual incomes and medium to high populations, most of them will join the next wave of urbanization as they become more prosperous. Their growing energy demand will shape global levels of energy use, making their development choices critical. Underdeveloped urban centers, the most common archetype, are low energy users — accounting for only 11 percent of total Read More …
MANILA, Philippines – Fifteen small banks are set to merge and consolidate as of end-June this year. Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Governor Amando M. Tetangco Jr. said these applications were approved by the Philippine Deposit Insurance Corp. and are currently being processed by the central bank. These deals were made under the BSP and PDIC’s Strengthening Program for Rural Banks Plus, to encourage mergers and acquisitions among rural and thrift banks, and also to weed out problematic banks. The program dangles incentives to investors for them to rescue ailing banks to minimize bank closures and by its name, strengthen the small lenders in the industry. “In addition, there are five other applications for consolidation and acquisition in the pipeline,” Tetangco said. The SPRB Plus, which will be in place until the end of the year, provides white knights or strategic third party investors financial assistance, regulatory reliefs, and branching and other incentives once they rescue problematic banks. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 Last year, 18 banks were ordered closed and placed under the receivership of the PDIC. Central bank data showed the number of head offices last year slid to 673, although bank branches continued to expand to 9,262. This was a result of continued consolidations and the exit of weaker lenders, the BSP said. “The Philippine rural banking sector continues to grow and expand… even as natural calamities devastated wide areas in the Visayas (late last year),” Tetangco said. The rural banking sector has increased Read More …
MANILA, Philippines – Property giant Ayala Land Inc. (ALI) stands to benefit from a P65-billion mass transit infrastructure project that will be awarded to conglomerates Metro Pacific Investments Corp. (MPIC) and Ayala Corp. (AC). The real estate arm of the Ayala conglomerate will introduce a retail concept in railway stations while additional Public-Private Partnership (PPP) projects will improve access to its properties, an official leading AC’s infrastructure businesses said. “ALI is our retail partner, the leasing partner,” Noel Eli B. Kintanar, executive vice-president of AC Infrastructure, said in a briefing. The assets up for redevelopment into commercial areas are part of the concession agreement for the P65-billion Light Rail Transit Line 1 (LRT1) Cavite extension project, Kintanar said. Specifically, there are plans to put up shopping centers or district mall concepts in LRT-1 stations, he said. Early last month, the Light Rail Manila Consortium formed by MPIC and AC offered to pay a P9.35-billion premium for the PPP mass transit project. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 The LRT-1 Cavite extension project would increase the span of Line 1 to 32.4 kilometers from 20.7 km with a new south endpoint in Niog, Bacoor, Cavite. Approximately 10.5 km of the Cavite extension system would be elevated while 1.2 km would be at grade level. The government, which will award the 32-year concession to the consortium this month, has set aside P30 billion to acquire up to 39 new light rail vehicles. Kintanar said a retail concept could be Read More …
MANILA, Philippines – The SM Group’s BDO Unibank Inc., the nation’s top lender, is accelerating its branch expansion program with its purchase of Quezon City-based thrift bank The Real Bank Inc. BDO told the Philippine Stock Exchange that it has agreed to acquire all recorded assets and assume all liabilities of The Real Bank. “The acquisition is in line with our objective to accelerate branch expansion in underserved areas,” BDO president and CEO Nestor Tan said. The Real Bank has a deposit base of P7.2 billion and operates 24 branches in Metro Manila and Luzon. Established in 1976 as Real Savings and Loans Association Inc. (RSLAI), it opened as a single-branch bank in Cainta, Rizal and rebranded as The Real Bank in 1994 by a group of investors led by realty developer Jose Acuzar. Its branches are strategically located in Metro Manila and major growth centers in Bulacan, Pampanga, Laguna, Cavite, Batangas, and Rizal. Total resources stood at P8.115 billion as of end-June 2013, a more than three-fold increase from P2.39 billion in 2003. The thrift bank offers micro-financing support to the small and medium enterprise market, housing and auto loan products. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 BDO, meanwhile, has one of the largest distribution networks in the country with more than 800 operating branches and over 2,300 ATMs nationwide. It also has a branch in Hong Kong as well as 13 overseas remittance and representative offices in Asia, Europe, North America and the Middle East. Read More …
MANILA, Philippines – State-run Philippine National Railways (PNR) is set to revive the 422-kilometer Bicol Express train service in September or almost two years after its operations was suspended due to a derailment incident in Sariaya, Quezon. Joseph Allan Dilay, general manager of PNR, said the government-owned and controlled corporation (GOCC) is looking at restoring its train services to Legaspi, Albay by September after a successful trial run last month. Since the revival of its operation in June of 2011, the Bicol Express line service catered to some 2,000 to 3,000 passengers weekly. The highest ridership recorded during peak travel seasons such as Holy Week, All Saints’ and All Souls’ Day, and Christmas season. However, the operation of Bicol Express has been stalled following a derailment incident in Sariaya, Quezon in October 2012 that injured nine passengers. Transportation Secretary Joseph Emilio Abaya suspended the train service and ordered a full investigation on the derailment of Bicol Express Train 611. The train was carrying 120 passengers when the derailment occurred. Abaya said the revival of the Bicol Express service would hinge on the findings of the CPCS Transcom Ltd. of Canada. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 “I for one, if I would only look at the economic side of the project would have given it a go signal. However, I am mindful of safety so I have given specific instructions not to run the service unless someone could certify that it is safe,” Abaya earlier said. Aside Read More …
MANILA, Philippines – The property development arm of Aboitiz Equity Ventures Inc. (AEV) is increasing its capital spending this year as it takes advantage of robust growth in both residential development and industrial projects. In a statement, Aboitiz Land Inc. said it allotted a capital expenditure budget of P5.4 billion in 2014, up 35 percent from P4 billion a year ago as it sets its sights on expanding nationwide. “We remain bullish on the property sector and want to enter the market nationally,” said AboitizLand president and CEO Andoni Aboitiz. More than half of the capital spending is allocated for residential development, while the rest will go to industrial and commercial projects. “Apart from the existing landbank in Cebu, (the company) is now looking at gaining a foothold in Mindanao through residential and industrial developments in Davao City,” AboitizLand said. For Luzon, after its initial entry through the acquisition of Lima Techonology Center in Batangas, AboitizLand said it is now looking at venturing into residential and commercial developments in Mega Manila in the medium term. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 “Our vision is not just to build, but to establish thriving communities where we are located,” Aboitiz said. Infrastructure development is also increasingly becoming part of its portfolio as it looks at more Public-Private Partnership (PPP) projects, particularly more airport and tollroad projects, Aboitiz said. AboitizLand and Ayala Corp., through joint venture unit Team Orion, topped the recent bidding for the P35.4-billion Cavite-Laguna Expressway. Team Orion Read More …