Maniolas

MANILA, Philippines – The US Wheat Associates (USW) supports the Philippine government’s decision to impose provisional duty on flour imports from Turkey citing that such creates a level playing field. In a statement, the USW said it is pleased the Philippine government has decided to provide relief to flour millers in the form of a provisional anti-dumping duty on Turkish flour imports. “The government’s decision sends a clear signal that flour millers in the Philippines, employing Philippine workers, should be able to operate in an open and fair trade environment,” the group said. USW which works with American wheat farmers with millers and baking associations in the Philippines, supports competitive, open and fair trade environments. It noted that Turkey’s highly protected wheat and flour market and complex inward processing scheme has created disruptive incentives for the Turkish milling industry to dump flour in export markets. “The Philippine government was correct in investigating PAFMIL’s (Philippine Association of Flour Millers, Inc.) claim against Turkish flour dumping. It also correctly found strong justification to protect its flour milling industry. As a result, every stakeholder in this issue may now move forward together in the spirit of fair competition,” the group said. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 Last week, the Department of Agriculture (DA) issued an order imposing a provisional duty of 35 percent on hard flour used for making bread, 39.26 percent on biscuit bread, and 35.21 percent on soft flour used for pastries and cookies, on top of Read More …

MANILA, Philippines – The country’s possible participation in the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement is expected to be part of the discussions in the visit of US President Barack Obama to the country today until Tuesday. In a statement, the American Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines said its members are hopeful the discussions between the leaders of the two countries will lead to enhanced economic and security relations. “In particular, we hope that the Philippines will be welcomed into the group of countries in the TPP at the earliest opportunity to help sustain high levels of economic growth needed for the Filipino people to enjoy better lives in future years,” the group said. The Makati Business Club (MBC) likewise expects the TPP to be among the economic issues to be discussed. “That’s probably something they can discuss. What are some of the reasons why we cannot go on board immediately and maybe look at how we can get in the next round of countries that will join,” MBC executive director Peter Perfecto told reporters. The TPP, currently being negotiated by the US and 11 other Pacific countries such as Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam, seeks to set high standards covering intellectual property, labor rights and environmental protection, in line with the creation of a free trade bloc which would represent more than half of global output and over 40 percent of world trade. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: Read More …

In our article four weeks ago, we showed how people can profit from the Peso Cost Averaging method (Example of a Real-Life Investor, March 31, 2014). We recounted the inspiring story of an actual investor of the Philequity Fund who invested P5,000 to P10,000 on a weekly basis. In our article today, however, we show the ledger of another investor who employed a different style of investing but still made a lot of money. Recalling the peso cost averaging method Like we discussed previously, Peso Cost Averaging is an investing technique which involves buying a fixed peso amount of stocks on a regular schedule. As we showed during our March 8 Investors’ Briefing and in our article last March 31, this method is a stress-free way of investing. This is because it allows people to grow their investment position gradually instead of committing a large sum all in one go. One time, big time Let us now look at the statement of account of another investor that we presented during our Investors’ Briefing.  As you can see, he invested P1.56 million back in 1994 (when the Philequity Fund began). He has neither withdrawn from nor added to his investment since. Today, his lump sum or “one-time-big-time” investment has grown to over P51 million! This translates to a CAGR of 19 percent for the past 20 years. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 Time to grow What can we gather from this investor’s experience? It is the significance Read More …

MANILA, Philippines – Property giant Ayala Land Inc. (ALI) likely continued growing its profits in the first quarter on the back of strong performance across all business segments. New properties like malls, offices and hotels launched last year will start contributing profits in the next few months, an official said. “(Performance) is still good. It’s a respectable quarter, still consistent with expectations,” said ALI chief finance officer Jaime E. Ysmael. “We were firing on all engines effectively. All different businesses continue to contribute to the pie,” Ysmael said. The property arm of the Ayala conglomerate posted a 30-percent jump in profits to P2.76 billion in the first three months of 2013 from P2.13 billion a year ago. Consolidated revenues hit P18.53 billion, up 38 percent from the P13.39 billion. Ysmael said the country’s property sector remained robust, allowing the residential segment to remain as the biggest contributor to ALI’s earnings in the first quarter of the year. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 “We did not launch that many projects in the first quarter. But the succeeding quarters is when most of the projects will happen,” Ysmael said. ALI plans to launch 78 projects consisting of 30,000 residential units this year with an estimated value of P142 billion. The five residential brands of the property firm launched a total of 28,482 units worth P108 billion last year. ALI is primarily into the development of residential projects, lease of commercial and office space and sale of prime lots. Read More …

MANILA, Philippines – Two business delegations from Luxembourg and Russia are expected to visit the country this year to check out investment opportunities, the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI) said. PCCI president Alfredo Yao told reporters the 30-member business delegation composed of firms engaged in the information technology and tourism sectors from Luxembourg would visit the country in July. He said another business delegation from Russia is likewise expected to visit the country within the year. “With AEC (Association of Southeast Asian Nations Economic Community), they are looking at using the Philippines as a hub for ASEAN (Association Southeast Asian Nations),” he said. The AEC, to be in place by December next year, seeks to create a single market economy with free movement of goods, services and investments throughout the region. Yao said the PCCI is promoting the Philippines as a potential hub in the region to foreign firms and the group’s partner business councils in other countries. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 “We are looking for them to invest here and use the Philippines as a hub for the ASEAN market,” he said. The PCCI is also encouraging partnerships between foreign firms and local companies. Yao noted that among the advantages of the Philippines over its peers in the region is the availability of a Filipino workforce which speaks the English language and could easily be trained. “The Filipinos are fast learners. We work well with others,” he said. The Philippines has become Read More …