AT LEAST three trade missions from the United Kingdom (UK) are expected to visit the Philippines in the first half of 2014 as part of the goal to double bilateral trade in the next five years.
Jan 072014
Jan 052014
LAS VEGAS — The Consumer Electronics Association estimates that global spending on technology will slip 1 percent this year to $1.06 trillion as the lower average selling price of smartphones and tablets offsets unit growth in markets like China. The decline is off the peak of $1.07 trillion estimated this year. Steve Koenig, the association’s director of industry analysis, issued the forecast at the opening of the annual International CES gadget show on Sunday. The retreat doesn’t reflect less consumer appetite for what Koenig called the “dynamic duo” of tech gadgets. Spending on smartphones and tablets is still expected to account for some 43 cents of every dollar spent on technology this year. But the average price of smartphones, for example, will fall from $444 in 2010 to an estimated $297 this year.
Jan 052014
MANILA, Philippines – The Philippines is lagging behind its Asian neighbors in utilizing information and communications technology (ICT) for its tax administration. Based on a report released by the Asian Development Bank (ADB), personal income tax statements that are electronically-filed account for only 0.3 percent of the total filed in the Philippines, as against Malaysia, (69 percent), Thailand, (45 percent), India, (26 percent) and Hong Kong (14 percent). The Philippines is also behind Japan, (44 percent), New Zealand, (71 percent), Taipei, (82 percent), Korea, (87 percent), Australia, (92 percent) and Singapore, (96 percent). For corporate income tax, a mere six percent is electronically-filed in the Philippines as against India’s 100 percent, Taipei’s 98 percent, Malaysia’s 49 percent and Thailand’s 10 percent. Curiously, the value-added tax accounted for highest percentage of electronically-filed returns for the Philippines at seven percent but it is still the lowest among its Asian neighbors, Singapore (100 percent), Taipei (94 percent), Korea (79 percent) and Thailand (14 percent). What may be the edge in the Philippines’ tax administration environment is the use of mobile phone technology for tax payments. In Quezon City, for example, real estate tax can be paid through a mobile platform introduced by telecommunications company (telco). Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 “In the Philippines, individual taxpayers can pay tax through an electronic cash service provided by a mobile phone company. Under this electronic cash service, consumers without a bank account can deposit electronic cash at mobile phone shops or shopping Read More …
Jan 052014
MANILA, Philippines – The local furniture industry is projected to grow by 10 percent this year, largely driven by strong demand expected from both local and export markets. Philippine Exporters Confederation, Inc. trustee for the furniture sector Myrna Bituin said in a statement there is room for the industry to grow as furniture makers can serve the strong demand from the domestic market. “The local market buys billions of pesos (worth) of furniture overseas… Majority of companies that do researches, are open to the market, invest in design and in their people, (and) they have always survived,” she said. Bituin said there are already some local companies which focus on the domestic market, particularly on hotels and resorts. “You save on your freight cost and you are here… serving your country. For those who are mechanized, for those who know about design, they can serve the local market,” she said. She noted that the export market is still growing despite the slowdown in demand from the US. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 She said the Middle East is one of the growing markets for the local wood sector. In Japan, there is strong demand for prefabricated housing components.
Jan 052014
MANILA, Philippines – Megawide Construction Corp. is arranging a financing deal with Standard Chartered bank for the construction of almost 10,000 classrooms nationwide. The listed contractor will tap the British lender’s innovative loan structure to manage risks and exposure in the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) for School Infrastructure Project (PSIP). Megawide chief financial officer Oliver Tan said the company is in talks with Standard Chartered bank for a loan whose amount has yet to be finalized. “Whatever structure they offered to BF Group,” Tan said. Megawide plans to monetize its long-term receivables to maintain a respectable debt ratio. In November, BF Group of businessman Bayani Fernando agreed to buy a portion of the contractor’s P3.44 billion in receivables. It ensured that BF Group’s debt ratios will remain low enough to venture into other projects. In 2012, BF Group won the build-lease-transfer contract for PSIP Phase 1, with the Department of Education (DepEd) committing to P344.6 million in lease payments for the new classrooms for the next 10 years. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 For its part, Megawide earlier won two school infrastructure projects involving the construction of 7,144 classrooms in Central and Southern Luzon. “The total contract is around P12.1 billion for 10 years for Phase 1. For Phase 2, the contract is P2.2 billion,” Tan said. The DepEd earlier signed a build-transfer deal with representatives of Megawide, and the BSP and Co. Inc. and Vicente Lao Construction joint venture, the winning bidders for the PSIP Phase Read More …
Jan 032014
Philippine Daily Inquirer 4:04 am | Saturday, January 4th, 2014 Naphthalene, a main ingredient in producing mothballs, is a chemical compound widely used as an insecticide and pest repellent. Made from crude oil or coal tar, this crystalline can be colorless but also range in color from solid white to brown. It can be found in car exhaust, cigarette smoke, or smoke from forest fires. Naphthalene, which was first registered as a pesticide in the United States in 1948, is primarily used to control clothes moth and silverfish through vapors that, in airtight containers, can kill insects. It is also used to repel animals such as squirrels and bats. Some hanging toilet bowl deodorizers may also contain naphthalene. Naphthalene is considered moderately toxic to some species of fish, water fleas and Pacific oysters, and slightly toxic to green algae. Apart from mothballs, this toxic and active ingredient is also used in the production of plastics, dyes, resins, lubricants and fuels. Exposure to naphthalene vapors may result in headache, nausea, dizziness or vomiting. Children who accidentally consume mothballs may also develop diarrhea, fever, abdominal pain and painful urination with discolored urine. Breathing in napthalene vapors or consuming the product may result in hemolytic anemia, which occurs when red blood cells break apart and fail to carry oxygen through the body. When naphthalene enters the body, it breaks down to alpha-naphthol, which is linked to the development of hemolytic anemia. Kidney and liver damage may occur as alpha-naphthol and other metabolites are Read More …
Jan 032014
THE TRANSPORTATION agency looks to bid out the P1.4-billion Light Rail Transit Line 1 (LRT-1) North Extension Project, otherwise known as the Common Station, in the first semester of next year, a government official said.
Jan 032014
THE BANGKO Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) projects that business process outsourcing (BPO) and tourism receipts will continuously grow in 2013 and 2014, supporting the country’s balance of payments (BoP) position.
Jan 032014
TRANSFORMING the country’s economic zones into trade facilitation hubs can boost the country’s competitiveness amid an increasingly integrated Southeast Asia, Philippine Exporters Confederation, Inc. (Philexport) said in a recent statement.
Jan 022014
That’s right… P-Noy only has two and a half years left in his term. But in practical terms, he has less time than that. He only has this year and the first half of 2015 to get any thing worthwhile done… one and a half years to go. Election fever will afflict the country starting the second half of next year and through the first half of 2016. Based on past experience, nothing much for the good of the country gets done during an election year. P-Noy started off his term on a very high note. There was hope that finally the country’s economy has a good chance to become a tiger like its neighbors in Asean. And things started well as P-Noy was seen as the exact opposite of the immediate past president, Gloria Arroyo on that long festering problem of corruption. P-Noy’s credibility in the good governance arena was enough to gain the confidence of the foreign economic and political analysts. Even if the Daang Matuwid battle cry has not produced palpable results beyond the Presidential pronouncements, folks were ready to take P-Noy at his word. Indeed, we found ourselves among those considered as a most promising emerging economy in no time. It was as if everyone had always recognized the outstanding economic potential of the Philippines and it was only the sheer corruption of its governing politicians that is holding us back. We got successive credit rating upgrades. Foreign investors looking for alternatives to the developed world’s equity markets Read More …