SOUTH Korea’s largest importers organization is set to visit the country this week in a bid to strengthen its ties with the Philippines, the Trade department said in a statement yesterday.
Jul 152013
Jul 152013
WHY DOES a taxpayer go to court seeking value-added tax (VAT) refund when he knows he does not comply with the requisites for a tax refund?
Jul 152013
MANILA, Philippines – Small flour millers are asking the Department of Agriculture (DA) to investigate the alleged dumping of Turkish flour into the country. The Philippine Association of Flour Millers (PAFMIL) yesterday said it filed a petition before the DA in May seeking a public hearing on the issue and to coordinate with the Tariff Commission to institute safeguards against the supposed dumping of Turkish flour. “We asked the DA to look into the matter and conduct a public hearing. Afterwards, it can coordinate with the Tariff Commission to put in place the necessary safeguards,” said PAFMIL executive director Ric Pinca. “We hope to get a favorable ruling because we believe we have a strong case.” PAFMIL alleged that Turkish flour exportation to the Philippines at dumping prices violates World Trade Organization (WTO) rules. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 Dumping occurs when a country exports a commodity at prices lower than its domestic prices. “When a country exports products at dumping prices, it is engaged in unfair trade. Thus, we are up against a group of flour exporters engaging in unfair trade,” said Pinca. PAFMIL noted that in 2010, average export price of Turkish flour was $276 per metric ton while their domestic price was $600 per MT. In 2011, export price was at an average of $388 per MT against Turkish domestic price of $600 per MT. Last year, it was $340 against their domestic price of $470 per MT. PAFMIL said Turkish flour exports Read More …
Jul 152013
MANILA, Philippines – Tax collections of the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) rose 9.2 percent to P88.76 billion in June from a year ago level. However, the June collection failed to meet the BIR’s target of P100.51 million for the month. The BIR also missed its collection target in May after performing above expectations in April. Revenues from BIR operations reached P86.28 billion in May, up P7.37 billion or 9.34 percent from the same month last year. Collections from non-BIR operations went up by 1.94 percent to P2.48 billion. Non-BIR operations refer to taxes collected by the the state from government securities issued by the Bureau of Treasury. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 BIR’s Regional Offices collected P31.53 billion during the month, an increase of P3.5 billion or 12.48 percent. Collections from the large taxpayers, on the other hand, amounted to P54.75 billion, 7.61 percent more than last year’s figure. For the first half of the year, the BIR collected P593.71 billion, up 13.92 percent from a year ago. Collections from BIR operations increased 15.29 percent to P574.84 billion. Collections from non-BIR operations, on the other hand hand, fell 16.4 percent to P18.87 billion. Excise tax collections on sin products likewise saw an expansion during the six-month period, rising 46.06 percent to P38.54 billion. The bulk of the amount or P22.38 billion came from tobacco products while the balance of P16.16 billion came from alcohol. The excise tax collected from tobacco firms represents an increase of Read More …
Jul 152013
MANILA, Philippines – San Miguel Corp.’s plan to raise about $4 billion by selling power assets brings it closer to funding the Philippines’ biggest company’s expansion into industries and infrastructure. The Southeast Asian nation’s most acquisitive company plans to spend $35 billion to complete Ramon Ang’s strategy to transform SMC from a brewer and foodmaker into an investor in energy, mining, airlines and roads. San Miguel, which started making beer before the country declared independence from Spain more than 100 years ago, has made more than $5.6 billion worth of purchases since 2008, when it announced an investment in Manila Electric Co. That stake has more than tripled in value, while Ang acquired control of Petron Corp., the country’s largest refiner, and bought three of the nation’s biggest power plants. “Ang has been an opportunistic entrepreneur and he has seen better opportunities so he’s selling assets that have already paid off to fund these new ventures,” said Marvin Fausto, who oversees about $20 billion as Manila-based chief investment officer at BDO Unibank Inc. “He’s moving assets from one to the other, liquidating those where he has made money, and financing opportunities that will eventually pay off like toll roads and airlines.” Completion of Ang’s plan to sell a 32.8- percent stake in Meralco and 49 percent of SMC Global Power Holdings Corp. would bring his asset sales in the past seven years to about $10 billion, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. “If we can sell something, good,” Ang said Read More …
Jul 152013
MANILA, Philippines – State pension fund Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) is reconsidering tapping the international financial markets next year with a placement of between $300-$400 million amid improving economic prospects for the United States and Japan. In a briefing yesterday, GSIS president Robert Vergara said the plan is hinged on several domestic factors such as the stock market’s performance by the end of the year. “We haven’t definitely decided whether we’re going international. It all depends on domestic valuations, how the market performs at the end of year but I think it’s time for us to reconsider whether deploying assets externally will help dampen the volatility,” Vergara said. Volatility in emerging markets has been rising as foreign investors pull out of the world’s most expensive equities given the US Federal Reserve’s moves to scale back its massive bond-buying program. “If the market continues to correct, then why should we go outside and take foreign currency risk? At the moment investing abroad is not something in the cards, although we’ll look at it as the market progresses. It could be placements in stocks, bonds or private equity,” Vergara said. Vergara said the fund is looking to invest around $300 million to $400 million in the event it decides to go back to the overseas markets. This is roughly the same amount it shelled out for its first infrastructure project. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 “Like all things we do, we never go out there and take Read More …
Jul 152013
MANILA, Philippines – GT Capital Holdings Inc., the investment vehicle of banking tycoon George S.K. Ty, is infusing more than P1 billion of fresh capital into its property unit. The fresh funding completes the capital requirements of Federal Land Inc. for 2013, a company executive said. In a regulatory filing, GT Capital said it bought 11 million common shares worth P1.1 billion from wholly-owned subsidiary Federal Land. “The proceeds of the capital infusion will be used to fund construction of existing projects,” Jose Mari H. Banzon, executive vice-president and general manager of Federal Land, said in a text message yesterday. “Our capital requirements are fully funded for 2013,” Banzon added. Federal Land committed to spend P12 billion for its property projects this year, up from the P9 billion it spent in 2012. Of the capital spending this year, P4-5 billion will be spent for the Fort Bonifacio developments. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 “The GT Capital equity infusion of P1.1 billion is in addition to the P5-billion corporate notes that Federal Land issued in early July,” Banzon said. Early this month, the property development arm of GT Capital completed its second fundraising in the capital markets. Federal Land issued P5-billion worth of seven- and 10-year fixed-rate corporate notes to a group of institutional lenders composed of banks, insurance companies, pension funds and trust institutions. The property firm initially planned to issue P3 billion in corporate notes but robust institutional demand prompted the company to exercise the Read More …
Jul 142013
MANILA, Philippines – Energy Secretary Carlos Jericho Petilla hopes to seal a compromise deal with the Korean company that won the bidding for the Angat hydropower plant before the end of the year. “Hopefully by the end of the year, we can come up with a win-win solution,” Petilla said. Korea Water Resources Corp. (K-Water) is currently negotiating to bring down the $440.88-million price tag on the facility, citing the state of the facility as well as several changes the government put in the agreements signed by both parties. “What we’re looking for is a win-win solution for everybody and that includes all the players – PSALM (Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp.), DOF (Department of Finance), K-Water, MWSS (Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System) and DOE (Department of Energy),” Petilla said. K-Water won the bidding that PSALM conducted in 2010 for the 218-megawatt plant, which sources its power from the Angat Dam in Bulacan. In 2010, K-Water topped the bidding that PSALM conducted for the 218-megawatt plant, which is fueled by water from the Angat dam in Bulacan. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 In a recent letter to PSALM, K-Water said it wants to “achieve the same level of benefits expected” in its 2010 bid for the power plant and wants the plant’s auxiliary units four and five to be included in the takeover. The auxiliary units in question are owned by MWSS. On the back of these complex issues, K-Water wants to reduce the purchase price of the Read More …
Jul 142013
MANILA, Philippines – Metro Pacific Tollways Corp. (MPTC), a unit of infrastructure conglomerate Metro Pacific Investments Corp. (MPIC), has set a P3-billion capital expenditure program for its road construction projects this year. MPTC president and CEO Ramoncito Fernandez, in an interview with The STAR on the sidelines of the 6th NLEX (North Luzon Expressway) Tara Na sa Norte Tourism and Travel Fair, said a big chunk of the budget, or P1.7 billion, would go to the Segment 9 project which involves a 2.4-kilometer stretch from Valenzuela City to MacArthur Highway. The project is expected to be completed by the middle of next year. Fernandez said these expansion projects would promote tourism, particularly in the northern part of Luzon where most of their facilities are located. MPTC unit Manila North Tollway Corp. (MNTC) operates the 84-kilometer NLEX and was recently awarded by the state-run Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) the right to operate and maintain the 94-kilometer Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway (SCTex) for 33 years. “Our educated guess is that tourism has been playing a good part in the traffic increase in NLEX through the years,” he said. For the first half, traffic volume at NLEX rose five percent to an average 172,000 vehicles daily compared to the same period in 2012. The five percent growth is expected to be sustained by the end of the year. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 Fernandez said this is significantly higher or double the historical growth of two to four percent Read More …
Jul 142013
MANILA, Philippines – On what seemed to be a reverse of what it warned about months back, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) now wants emerging markets, such as the Philippines, to prepare for capital outflows. “In emerging market economies, the focus should be on boosting potential growth while dealing with the capital outflows, which may follow from the exit of the US from quantitative easing (QE),” IMF chief economist Olivier Blanchard said last week. “We have to accept the fact that as monetary policy normalizes in the US…some of the investors which had gone to emerging market countries in particular will want to repatriate (back their funds),” he explained. His statements were made on a press briefing held by the IMF last Tuesday to mark the release of its World Economic Update. The transcript of the briefing was posted on the IMF website. In the past, the multilateral agency had warned against capital inflows, which had seen Asian currencies rising in value to the detriment of exports as well as concerns of asset bubble formations. This time around, Blanchard said, the already slowing growth in developing nations will come under threat once the QE, the $85-billion monthly bond buying program in the US, tapers off later this year as indicated. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 Based on the IMF’s latest projections, emerging markets are projected to grow 5.4 percent this year and the next, slower than the 5.3 percent and 5.7 percent for 2013 and 2014 Read More …