Belle earnings breach P3 B as casino revenues stream in

 Economy
Apr 042014
 
Belle earnings breach P3 B as casino revenues stream in

MANILA, Philippines – Belle Corp., the gaming arm and upscale leisure developer of the SM Group, breached the P3-billion income mark last year as rental revenues from its new integrated casino project streamed in. In a regulatory filing, Belle said its consolidated net income surged more than six times to P3.63 billion last year from P555.66 million in 2012. “This was achieved due to significantly higher revenues and a day one gain on finance lease accounting of P2.34 million,” the company said. It also recorded a P772.2-million gain from the swap of 809 million Highlands Prime Inc. shares for 109 million SM Prime Holdings Inc. shares, the property firm said. Gross revenues grew more than five times to P2.62 billion from P494.43 million a year ago. Belle said it posted higher revenues “due to the receipt of revenues arising from the lease and operating agreements with Philippine subsidiaries of Melco Crown Entertainment Ltd. totaling P2.28 billion.” Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 Belle is the builder of the $1.3-billion City of Dreams Manila complex in the Manila Bay reclamation area. Macau-based casino giant Melco Crown, for its part, leases the property and will operate the integrated casino. Gross revenues from sales of real estate and club shares for 2013 of P175.3 million was lower by 46 percent compared with P323.6 million a year ago. “Gross profit from sales of real estate and club shares for 2013 of P59.9 million was also lower than the gross profit of Read More …

PLDT chief sees better revenues

 Economy
Apr 042014
 
PLDT chief sees better revenues

MANILA, Philippines – Dominant carrier Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT) recorded higher revenues in the first quarter of the year amid the country’s growing domestic output as measured by the gross domestic product (GDP). PLDT chairman Manuel V. Pangilinan said the company’s revenues from January to March this year was better compared to the same period last year.  “Better than last year. It should be better than last year,” Pangilinan replied when asked about the company’s revenues in the first quarter of the year. He added that the higher revenues would also translate to a better bottomline for PLDT in the first quarter of the year. PLDT’s consolidated revenues remained steady at around P40 billion in the first quarter of last year while its net income fell eight percent to P9.2 billion after it booked a P900-million reduction in its net foreign exchange and derivative gains due to stronger peso. PLDT is back on the growth track as the company finally booked a five-percent increase in core net income to P38.7 billion last year from P36.9 billion in 2012. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 The PLDT Group’s service revenues increased three percent to P164.1 billion last year from P159.7 billion as its wireless revenues grew three percent to P116.7 billion while its fixed line business expanded by five percent to P61.9 billion. On the other hand, PLDT’s reported net income slipped two percent to P35.4 billion last year from P36.1 billion due to higher foreign Read More …

Inflation slips to 3.9% in March

 Economy
Apr 042014
 
Inflation slips to 3.9% in March

MANILA, Philippines – Consumer prices in March eased, the National Statistics Office said Friday. According to the NSO, inflation in March slipped to 3.9 percent, the slowest so far this year. In January inflation was 4.2 percent and 4.1 percent in February. “The downtrend was due to slower annual hikes posted in the indices of alcoholic beverages and tobacco; housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels; recreation and culture; and restaurant and miscellaneous goods and services. Inflation during the same month in 2013 was 3.2 percent,” the NSO said. Excluding volatile food and energy items, the core inflation was slower at 2.8 percent in March from 3.0 percent in February. 

Banks opt to pay fines than lend to 'risky' small Pinoy businesses

 Economy
Apr 042014
 
Banks opt to pay fines than lend to 'risky' small Pinoy businesses

MANILA, Philippines – Large and foreign banks in the country would rather pay fines than comply with the law mandating them to lend to small businesses. According to the inaugural edition of the Asian Development Bank’s Asia Small and Medium-sized Enterprise Finance Monitor, Philippine MSMEs continue to have poor access to credit, “which limits the ability of SMEs to survive and grow.” “According to the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas some large banks, particularly international banks, opted to pay  a fine rather than set aside funds for lending to risky borrowers such as MSEs (micro and small enterprises),” the report said. The BSP imposes a P500,000 a year fine for zero compliance, while the penalty fees for undercompliance; 90 percent of the penalties collected will be remitted to the MSME Development Council Fund, while the remaining 10 percent is retained by the BSP for administrative expenses. Citing data from the Philippine government, the ADB said MSMEs in the country, make up 99.6 percent (816,759) of the total enterprises in the country in 2011. These MSMEs employed some 3.872 million, representing 61 percent of the total employment in the country. The ADB said that while the Magna Carta for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises as amended by Republic Act (RA) 9501 mandates banks to allocate at least eight percent of their loan portfolio to MSEs and at least two percent to medium-sized enterprises, banks generally fail to comply with this requirement. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 “In particular, Read More …

Apple says Samsung knew iPhone would be big seller

 Economy
Apr 032014
 
Apple says Samsung knew iPhone would be big seller

The Apple iPhone 4s, left, is displayed next to the Samsung Galaxy S III at a store in San Francisco.(AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez) SAN JOSE, Calif. — Samsung knew Apple’s iPhone would be a big seller when it first went on the market, but the South Korean company didn’t have a product that could compete so it stole Apple’s technology, an attorney for Apple told jurors on Tuesday. “The evidence in this case will be Samsung copied the iPhone,” Apple lawyer Harold McElhinny said during his opening statement in the latest patent fight between the world’s largest cellphone manufacturers. Samsung, which accuses Apple of stealing its ideas, was expected to make its opening statement later in the day. The trial in federal court in San Jose marks the latest round in a long-running series of lawsuits between the two tech giants over mobile devices. If Apple prevails in the current case, the cost to Samsung could reach $2 billion. Apple’s costs, if it loses the litigation, were expected to be about $6 million. McElhinny asked jurors to remember where they were on Jan. 9, 2007, and showed a video of former Apple CEO Steve Jobs unveiling the iPhone in San Francisco. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 He said attorneys for Samsung would try to say Apple inventions were trivial and not valuable. “But that is not what the world was saying in 2007,” McElhinny said. It could be consumers who end up paying the ultimate price Read More …

Talk deal set with EFTA

 Economy
Apr 022014
 

AN AGREEMENT that will spur further talks on a possible trade arrangement between the Philippines and the four-member European Free Trade Association (EFTA) is expected to be signed in June, a Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) official said. “We’re hoping to sign the Joint Declaration of Cooperation in June in Europe. We are just now refining the declaration,” DTI Undersecretary Adriwan S. Cristobal, Jr. told reporters in a chance interview in Makati City.

BIR takes lead in importer accreditation process

 Economy
Apr 022014
 

IN AN effort to curb incidents of smuggling that have robbed the government of billions of pesos, the Department of Finance recently issued Department Order (DO) No. 12-2014, requiring importers to secure an Importer Clearance Certificate (ICC) from the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) as part of their accreditation process with the Bureau of Customs (BoC).

We just have to bite the bullet

 Economy
Apr 012014
 
We just have to bite the bullet

We just came from a fast weekend trip to the north for our yearly pilgrimage to Our Lady of Manaoag in Pangasinan. For a change our family decided to make a side trip to the “summer capital of the Philippines”—Baguio, which used to be referred to as the “City of Pines”, until the pine trees began to disappear. After all, my daughter Kristine, who’s more popularly known as DJ Suzy to her 89.9 Magic radio fans was having a hosting job for a grand wedding last Saturday at the Baguio Country Club. Well the trip turned out to be an eye opener for me. It made me realize that Metro Manila did not have the monopoly of motorists’ traffic woes due to road construction projects. The travel miseries are being felt all the way to the north. For starters, on Saturday morning, running smack into EDSA’s re-blocking, I left Paranaque at 10 o’clock and was able to inch my way up to Makati in record two hours and a half. I decided to take the circuitous route through Bonifacio Global City and on to C-5 to Mindanao Avenue and to the NLEX just so I would avoid EDSA and possibly more re-blocking. And NLEX was heaven, thank you to the Manila North Tollways Corporation (MNTC) for such a thoroughfare of global standards.          And travel to the north through the tollways is now seamless, from NLEX to the SCTEX (another “thank you” to MNTC) and on to the TPLEX. That present Read More …

AFCS deal signed

 Economy
Mar 312014
 

THE GOVERNMENT and AF Consortium yesterday signed the concession agreement for the P1.72-billion Automated Fare Collection System (AFCS), with a senior cabinet official saying that protests from a losing bidder will no longer be entertained.

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