TWO foreign banks on Friday welcomed Moody’s Investors Service’s much expected upgrade of the Philippines’ sovereign credit rating to investment grade and said that another upgrade from the debt watcher is likely under the current administration as the economy stays in a sweet spot.
INTERNET freedom in the Philippines remains among the best in the world, though its score went down with the passage of the Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012, according to an annual ranking published by Washington-based advocacy group Freedom House.
ZAMBOANGA CITY — The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) regional office announced on Friday the postponement of the Zampex 2013 regional trade expo, scheduled here for Oct. 10-13.
MANILA, Philippines – The government is looking to prepay its 2014 borrowings requirements to take advantage of the country’s low interest rates and excess liquidity. “We need to be flexible. We’re considering several options including possible prefunding to lock in currently low interest rates as well as increased investor appetite,” National Treasurer Rosalia De Leon said in a text message. De Leon said the government is hoping to tap the P1.4 trillion funds expected to exit the Bangko Sentral’s special deposit accounts (SDAs). Banks were given until the end of November to withdraw all funds from the SDA facility. Budget and management Secretary Florencio Abad said the county’s deficit is expected to ease further this year if the Supreme Court fails to lift an order stopping the release of the remaining P14.7 billion out of the P24.7 billion Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) this year. Abad said a lower deficit will translate to lower borrowing needs for the government , lower liabilities and huge interest payment savings. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 As of end-July this year, the government’s deficit stood at P104.51 billion, still well below its full-year forecast of P238 billion. The Philippines plans to raise nearly all of its debt requirements locally amid near record low interest rates and a highly liquid financial market. The Aquino administration has programmed to borrow P735 billion of debt this year (P630.6 billion locally and P104 billion overseas). Domestic borrowings are mostly composed of the usual Treasury Read More …
MANILA, Philippines – The nationwide inflation rate picked up more than expected in September on higher prices of food, non-alcoholic beverages and utilities. In a report, the National Statistics Office (NSO) said the consumer price index rose 2.7 percent in September from a year earlier, the fastest in three months and picking up from a four-year low hit in August. Despite the acceleration, the latest figure is still within the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ forecast range of 1.9 to 2.8 percent for the month. Without food and oil prices, core inflation went up to 2.3 percent in September from 1.9 percent in August. “This reaffirms our assessment that inflation would remain manageable over the policy horizon, and that barring any unforeseen developments, policy settings continue to be appropriate,” BSP Governor Amando M. Tetangco Jr. said in a text message to reporters yesterday. ‘’The BSP will remain watchful of both local and global developments, including the impact of the resolution of the issues surrounding the US debt ceiling on financial market volatilities in the near term, and the real economy in the medium term,” he added. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 Tetangco said the central bank is ready to adjust policy settings in line with keeping prices stable. “The BSP will adjust policy settings, as appropriate, consistent with our price and financial stability objectives,” Tetangco said. Since the start of the year, the Monetary Board has kept overnight borrowing and lending rates at 3.5 percent and 5.5 Read More …
MANILA, Philippines – Following its investment grade stomp for the Philippine government, Moody’s Investors Service has subsequently upgraded the credit rating of National Power Corp. (Napocor) and the Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp. (PSALM) to Baa3 from Ba1 with a positive outlook. Moody’s said the decision to upgrade was consistent with the credit rating hike given to the Philippine government’s long-term foreign currency and local currency ratings to Baa3 with a positive outlook last Oct. 3. “The Baa3 senior unsecured bond rating reflects the Philippine government’s unconditional and irrevocable guarantee for Napocor’s rated long-term bonds,” said Mic Kang, a vice president and senior analyst at Moody’s. He noted that Napocor had transferred 99.9 percent of its rated US dollar bonds to PSALM, which was also upgraded to Baa3 with a positive outlook as a result of the sovereign rating upgrade – including $300 million due in 2028 and $160 million due in 2016. “The positive outlook is in line with that of the sovereign’s, reflecting the government’s guarantee on the bond,” Kong said. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 However, the Moody’s executive warned that a downgrade in the sovereign rating could also trigger a rating downgrade for Napocor and PSALM’s bond. Napocor is wholly owned by the government. It primarily operates and manages the power facilities that have been transferred to PSALM. On the other hand, Kang said “PSALM’s ratings are underpinned by its distinct policy role and its close integration with the government.” He noted that Read More …
MANILA, Philippines – Local stocks ended the week in positive territory despite the drag caused by top-traded Universal Robina Corp. (URC), as investors take positions ahead of the earnings season. The Philippine Stock Exchange index inched up 0.04 percent or 2.83 points to 6,390.48, while the broader all shares index added 0.31 percent or 12.04 points to 3,854.36. “The PSEi showed it can easily regain the 6,300 handle, even making an attempt at 6,400, “ said Justino Calaycay Jr., an analyst at Accord Capital Equities Corp. Investors took note of recent price drops as buying opportunities heading into the earnings cycle, Calaycay said. However, gains were cut by the correction in share price of URC, which has been the top-traded stock in the past few days. The snacks giant retreated 4.88 percent to P117 apiece after parent firm JG Summit Holdings Inc. sold P12 billion worth of URC shares at P115 each. Despite the flat closing, the local bourse bucked the decline in Wall Street that was hurt by the continuing US government shutdown. The Dow Jones industrial average shed 0.9 percent or 136.66 points to 14,996.48 while the broader Standard & Poor’s 500 index fell 0.9 percent or 15.21 points to 1,678.66. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 Most counters were in the green, led by financial firms that gained 0.81 percent or 12.65 points to 1,581.74. Losers were led by industrial companies that eased 0.28 percent or 26.15 points to 9,311.15.
MANILA, Philippines – The amount of remittances sent by overseas Filipinos is estimated to grow six percent to $26 billion this year, making up over six percent of the $414-billion forecast global remittance level this year, the World Bank said in a report. The World Bank said the forecast top recipients of remittances for 2013 are India ($71 billion), China ($60 billion), the Philippines ($26 billion), Mexico ($22 billion), Nigeria ($21 billion), and Egypt ($20 billion). Other large recipients include Pakistan, Bangladesh, Vietnam, and Ukraine. In its latest issue of the Migration and Development Brief, the global financial institution said the figure could have been bigger. “Several large remittance recipient countries such as Russia, Latvia, Lithuania and Uruguay are no longer considered (by the World Bank) as developing countries,” the report said. In addition, the data on remittances also reflect the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) changes to the definition of remittances that now exclude some capital transfers, affecting a few large developing countries like Brazil. Growth of remittances has been robust in all regions of the world, except for Latin America and the Caribbean, where growth decelerated due to economic weakness in the United States. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 Remittances in the East Asia and the Pacific region (including the Philippines) are expected to expand 7.4 percent in 2013 to $115.3 billion. The inflows would account for about 28 percent of total remittances to developing countries. Figures earlier released by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Read More …
A woman walks by the billboards of Samsung Electronics’ Galaxy Note 3 at a subway station in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, Oct. 4, 2013. AP/Ahn Young-joon SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — Operating profit at Samsung Electronics hit another record high in the July-September quarter, likely driven by robust sales of its cheaper mid-range smartphones in developing countries. The maker of Galaxy smartphones said Friday that its third-quarter operating income rose 25 percent over a year earlier to 10.1 trillion won ($9.4 billion). The result was slightly better than the market expectation of $9.3 billion, according to FactSet, a financial data provider. Third-quarter sales increased 13 percent to a record high of 59 trillion won ($55 billion). Samsung did not disclose net income or other details of its financial performance. Its full results will be announced later this month. Analysts said robust sales of mid- and low-end smartphones and improved profit from Samsung’s semiconductor businesses were behind another record quarter. There had been expectations that slowing growth in sales of high-end smartphone in rich countries would dent the South Korean company’s profit but the latest result underlined the success of Samsung’s expansion in the mobile-phone market in developing countries. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 Sales of the Galaxy S4 smartphone, Samsung’s flagship model that was released in April, plunged during the three-month period but Samsung probably still sold more smartphones than the previous quarter as consumers snapped up its cheaper smartphones, said Young Park, an analyst at Read More …
Overseas Filipinos hauling “balikbayan” boxes gather in an airport preparing to fly back to the Philippines. Jeff Youngstrom MANILA, Philippines – A Hong Kong-based finance publication attributed the latest investment grade rating from Moody’s Investor’s Service to overseas Filipino workers (OFW) remittances more than to government. Finance Asia business editor Nick Ferguson said in a report Thursday that while Finance Secretary Cesar Purisima gives credit to “sound fiscal and monetary policy” under President Benigno Aquino III, it is the 15 million OFWs who contributed to the upgrade. OFWs remitted $12.627 billion so far in 2013–a 5.8 percent leap from the same period in 2012. Related: OFW remittances up 6.6% in July “This windfall means that remittances are more than enough to service the government’s $125 billion national debt, given ultra-low interest rates, which has allowed the government to avoid addressing much-needed tax reform,” Ferguson writes. Bulk of the remittances were from Filipinos working in the US, Saudi Arabia, the United Kingdom, the United Arab Emirates, Singapore, Canada and Japan. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 On Thursday, Moody’s gave the country a Baa3 credit rating, citing that the country’s robust economic performance warranted the upgrade. Related: Moody’s gives Phl 3rd major investment grade rating The firm also said the sovereign rating was due to “improved fiscal management” leading to increases in infrastructure and social spending. It also suggested that the Philippines improves in revenue generation at par with other investment-grade countries.