TWO projects under the government’s public-private partnership (PPP) program moved forward yesterday as three bidders submitted offers for a school building project while 11 firms bought bid documents for an expressway project.
Jul 302013
Jul 302013
GOVERNMENT agencies are no longer required to submit budget matrices and may immediately implement projects under the 2014 budget on Jan. 1.
Jul 302013
THE GOVERNMENT will pilot-test an automated payroll system for agencies by yearend, the Budget department said in a statement yesterday.
Jul 302013
MANILA, Philippines – Cement sales went up six percent in the first semester from a year ago due to increased construction activities, the Cement Manufacturers Association of the Philippines (CeMAP) said. CeMAP data showed total cement sales reached 10.136 million metric tons (MT) in the January to June period, higher than the 9.546 million MT sold in the same period last year. For the second quarter alone, cement sales rose bnine percent to 5.349 million MT compared to the previous year’s 4.916 million MT. In a text message, CeMAP president Ernesto Ordonez said among the reasons for the higher sales are “government’s increased budget for infrastructure (and) continued business confidence of private sector in government resulting in increased commercial, residential and other private sector construction.” Earlier, he said higher cement sales are expected this year compared to a year ago as construction works continue to pick up. Lafarge Cement Services (Philippines), Inc. president Don Lee also said earlier that even as construction activity is seen to rise given the country’s strong economic growth, cement manufacturers are ready to provide supply. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 Cement manufacturers, he said, are currently expanding their output.
Jul 302013
MANILA, Philippines – Experts on political economy have warned that the wide disparity in rural and urban wages remained a roadblock to achieving inclusive, broad-based development, despite the country’s 7.8 percent growth in first quarter. This is the essence of the first in a series of roundtable discussions organized by the Angara Centre for Law and Economics, dubbed Taking the Philippine Economy to the Next Level: Promoting Inclusive Regional Development, which was held yesterday at Malcolm Hall, College of Law, University of the Philippines, Diliman, Quezon City. The event was topbilled by internationally-recognized political economist, Dr John C Nye, Frederic Bastiat chairman in Political Economy at the Mercatus Center, George Mason University, and research director at the Higher School of Economics in Moscow. Dr Nye observed that the Philippines’ overall ratio of rural-urban wage gap at 67 percent remained constant over the last decade. There are higher ratios when skilled and unskilled workers are considered separately. Areas with a high share of agriculture have the lowest relative wages, the study revealed. There is a pressing need to even out the rural-urban wage gap, which calls on the Aquino administration to take a hard look at differences in labor policies between commercial industries and rural labor. The paper pointed out that urban workers actually earn slightly less in real terms than rural workers when relative prices are considered. Despite the higher cost of living in urban centers, there are compensating factors that can explain why people flock to already-congested cities. These are Read More …
Jul 302013
MANILA, Philippines – Forum Energy Plc., a British oil and gas exploration company with focus on the Philippines, said its net loss widened to $2.75 million in the first half of the year, from $1.67 million recorded in the same period in 2012. Forum Energy, which is 60.49-percent owned by corporate taipan Manuel V. Pangilinan’s Philex Petroleum Corp., reported higher revenues during the period at $2.24 million, up from $1.35 million a year ago. “This increased revenue reflected the fact that the Galoc field operated normally throughout the period whereas it did not operate for the first four months of 2012 whilst the facilities were being refurbished,” Forum Energy said. The temporary closure of the Galoc oil field in Palawan in the early part of 2012 resulted in a decrease in production to 5,410 barrels of oil per day from 6,637 bopd in 2011, data from the company showed. Forum Energy said it is still unable to commence drilling in its main project, Service Contract 72 in the Sampaguita oil field in the disputed Recto Bank in the West Philippine Sea. Forum Energy noted that it has been granted an extension to August 2015 to complete the second sub-phase obligations of drilling wells on SC 72. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 The Department of Energy has extended the company’s work program by two years to August 2015 from the original deadline of August 2013 to allow it to complete its obligations under the service contract. Forum Read More …
Jul 302013
MANILA, Philippines – Listed miner Nickel Asia Corp.’s net income declined 49 percent to P645 million in the first semester from P1.28 billion a year ago due to lower nickel prices. For the six-month period, the company sold 5.54 million wet metric tons (WMT) from its four operating mines, slightly up from 5.02 million WMT a year ago. The price of nickel at the London Metal Exchange applicable to 1.97 million WMT of ore shipped by the mining firm in the first half averaged at $7.54 per pound as against $8.60 per pound in the same period last year. The balance of the shipments in the first half of the year was sold on a negotiated price per WMT of ore which averaged $20.14 per WMT compared to $26.41 per WMT in the same period last year. The company’s operating costs fell by 10 percent to P2.65 billion in the first half of the year against P2.96 billion last year. Production cost per WMT fell to $11.39 in the first half of 2013 compared to $13.66 in 2012. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 “Notwithstanding global economic factors affecting prices of all commodities in general, we remain optimistic that our shipment volumes will continue to increase the second half of this year,” said Nickel Asia Corp. president and CEO Gerard Brimo.
Jul 292013
THE DEVELOPMENT of the Poro Point San Fernando Airport is now a public-private partnership (PPP) project, the Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) said in a statement yesterday.
Jul 292013
THE DEPARTMENT of Transportation and Communications (DoTC) is evaluating appeals to extend the bid submission deadline for the P1.72-billion automated fare collection system (AFCS) project.
Jul 292013
THE ENERGY department issued yesterday the implementing rules and regulations (IRR) of a law to strengthen and empower the National Electrification Administration (NEA) and electric cooperatives (ECs) in the country.