Maniolas

EXTREME poverty may end within a generation, a report from the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) said.

CONCERNS over the quality of risk management and interest rates topped the list of 28 possible risks to banks in the Philippines, according to the biennial Banking Banana Skins survey conducted by the Centre for the Study of Financial Innovations (CSFI) in association with our firm, PwC.

LARGEST COMMERCIAL SOLAR ROOFTOP: SM Prime Holdings Inc. president Hans T. Sy (third from left) shakes hands with Solar Philippines president Leandro Leviste to seal the deal for the construction of the largest commercial solar rooftop in the country. Others in photo are (from left) Christopher Bautista, SMPHI chief finance officer; Steven T. Tan,  SMPHI senior vice president; Rhoel Carlo Gonzaga,  Solar Philippines head design engineer and Aldren B. Samson, Solar Philippines business operations manager. MANILA, Philippines – Retail giant SM Prime Holdings Inc. is building the largest  commercial solar rooftop in the Philippines as part of its  commitment to use clean, renewable and sustainable energy in  its operations.  SM Prime president Hans T. Sy said a 1.5-megawatt (1,500  kilowatt) solar rooftop is currently being built at the SM  City North Edsa which will be used to power up a significant  portion of the mall’s energy requirements.  The solar rooftop project, the largest of its kind on a  commercial establishment in the country, will be operational  by October this year and make SM City North Edsa the largest  solar-powered mall in the world.  It will be built by Solar Philippines, led by its president  Leandro L. Leviste, the same company behind the other  largest commercial solar rooftop installations in the  country.   “SM Prime has always been committed to reduce greenhouse  emissions and maximize energy efficiency in our malls. This  is just one of many renewable projects we have been doing in  our developments and we will continue with finding ways Read More …

THE ECONOMY could still achieve its growth target for this year despite a first-quarter slowdown, an economist and former Cabinet official yesterday said, banking on reconstruction activities, rising investor interest in Mindanao, and continued growth of remittances.

The long-running feud between the Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) and its private developer Camp John Hay Development Corp. (CJHDevco) involving the John Hay Special Economic Zone (JHSEZ) in Baguio City isn’t helping the country’s economic team in its bid to sell the Philippines as the region’s brand-new business hub. The feud turned for the worse when the BCDA caused to have CJHDevco chairman Robert John Sobrepeña arrested in connection with the lease and development of the former US military camp in Baguio City. This development also happened  when the Philippine Dispute Resolution Center Inc. (PDRCI) is deep in arbitration proceedings to amicably settle the issues that have in the first place led to this BCDA-CJHDevco row and Sobrepeña’s arrest order. As expected, the CJHDevco boss and his allies cried “selective justice,” “harassment” and “personal vendetta” before and after he posted bail on June 16 following the arrest warrant issued by the Pasay Regional Trial Court in connection with the P1.15-billion estafa case filed by Casanova following the DOJ’s indictment of Sobrepeña for this private developer’s alleged non-payment of  JHSEZ rentals totaling that amount. For his part, Casanova said the real issue is CJHDevco’s nonpayment of lease rentals to government while declaring dividends, extending  cash advances and assignment of shares to its stockholders in 1998 to 2000. But CJHDevco officials dismiss Casanova’s move as a trumped-up charge, saying the private developer made a payment deferment request based on the unfairness of charging full payments while BCDA was defaulting on Read More …