FILIPINO BUSINESSES feel the government is not taxing enough entities and are not including more people into the tax base, an international survey showed.
May 302013
May 302013
THE NATIONAL Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP) reduced the frequency of its transmission line trippings last year, as it continued to improve its facilities.
May 302013
MANILA, Philippines – The Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) is set to look into the appeal filed by diversified conglomerate San Miguel Corp. (SMC) and Lamco Consortium that were disqualified from the bidding of the P1.72 billion automated and contactless single ticketing system for the Metro Rail Transit (MRT) and Light Rail Transit (LRT). Michael Arthur Sagcal, spokesperson of DOTC, said SMC and Lamco paid the appeal fee amounting to P8.6 million each as stated under the implementing rules and regulations of the Build Operate Transfer (BOT) law. The non-refundable appeal fee is equivalent to 0.5 percent of the total project cost as provided under the BOT law. Sagcal said Lamco paid the appeal fee last May 27 while SMC settled the amount last May 28. The DOTC has issued Special Bid Bulletin 05-2013 giving disqualified bidders of the Automated Fare Collection System (AFCS) project 15 days from the receipt of the notice of disqualification that were issued last May 7 to file an appeal and pay the non-refundable fee of P8.6 million. Another losing bidder, the MTD-PRLM consortium, failed to pay the appeal fee. The Mega Lucky United Consortium was also disqualified by the DOTC. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 SMC submitted qualification documents to the DOTC last April 12 through San Miguel Transport Solutions Consortium composed of Optimal Infrastructure Development Inc., Catchweight Holdings Inc., Deltacrest Holdings Inc., and Allcard Plastics Philippines Inc. to bid for the project. Its partners include Petron Corp., Philippine Read More …
May 302013
MANILA, Philippines – Massive selldown by fund managers, surprisingly following the announcement of robust first quarter Philippine economic growth, weighed down heavily on the main index, which recorded its largest single-day loss in history. The benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) suffered a bloodbath yesterday, plunging 3.81 percent or 275.22 points to 6,953.35. It is the largest single-day loss in the bellwether index, eclipsing the 263.84-point drop on Feb. 28, 2007. “Concerns about US Federal Reserve scaling back its quantitative easing overshadowed the surprising gross domestic product (GDP) data,” Freya Natividad, analyst at online brokerage firm 2TradeAsia.com, said in a phone interview. Philippine GDP surged a higher-than-expected 7.8 percent in the first quarter, driven by the construction and manufacturing industries. “A string of negative leads sent global stocks on yet another tailspin only a day after it posted a strong comeback off a four-session slump,” said Justino Calaycay Jr., analyst at Accord Capital Securities. He said there were also questions over European and China’s growth, adding to the gloomy sentiments. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 In the US, Wall St. succumbed to worries that the Fed will pull out its stimulus program given an economic recovery. The Dow Jones industrial average declined 0.69 percent or 106.59 points to 15,302.80 while the broader Standard & Poor’s 500 index slipped 0.7 percent or 11.70 points to 1,648.36. Asian stocks such as Japan’s Nikkei 225 that sank 5.15 percent or 737.43 points to 13,589.03 were also sold down by Read More …
May 302013
MANILA, Philippines – The peso recovered yesterday from its 11-month slump against the dollar as investors cheered the better-than-expected first quarter economic growth rate. The local unit closed 42.32 against the dollar, 12 centavos stronger than the previous day’s 42.44, which was the weakest since June 2012. Dollars traded reached $1.112 billion, up from Wednesday’s $1.057 billion. “Basically, the strength was due to local story of a strong GDP (gross domestic product) growth that was well above market expectations,” a trader at a local bank said in a phone interview. Driven by consumption and investments, the economy grew by a surprising 7.8 percent for the first three months, the fastest in three years, and beating market consensus of just about six percent. The result was also well-above the official six to seven-percent growth goal for the year. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 Emilio Neri Jr., an economist at the Bank of the Philippine Islands, said investors would likely continue purchasing the peso, thereby boosting its strength versus the US dollar, “in the near-term.” “The Philippine peso may see some appreciation pressure in the near-term after its sharp slide in the past week as dealers were likely surprised by the strong GDP print,” Neri said in a research note. The peso, Asia’s second best performer last year, has lost more than three percent since the end of last year. This was the second straight day it traded at 42-level versus the greenback this year. While good news Read More …
May 302013
MANILA, Philippines – The Philippines saw its competitiveness ranking move up by five places to reach the 38th spot in this year’s IMD (International Institute for Management Development) World Competitiveness Report from the 43rd place last year due to improvements in terms of its economic performance, government efficiency and business efficiency. Citing the IMD World Competitiveness Report which covered 60 countries, the National Competitiveness Council (NCC) said the Philippines’ improved ranking was due to gains seen in three out of four major factors being monitored by the report. In particular, the Philippines made improvements in terms of economic performance (from 42nd to 31st), government efficiency (from 32nd to 31st), and business efficiency (from 26th to 19th). The report noted that the improvement in economic performance could be attributed to big gains in real Gross Domestic Product growth, expansion in export of goods and international trade. In terms of government efficiency, gains in fiscal policy and institutional framework were noted. While the Philippines showed progress in its rankings in three factors, its place in the infrastructure factor dropped to the 57th spot this year from last year’s 55th spot. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 Despite the drop in the ranking for the infrastructure sector, the NCC said the government’s move to implement infrastructure projects is expected to result in an improvement in the ranking moving forward. “Increased infrastructure rollouts and improved efficiency in the PPP (public private partnership) rollouts are expected to improve performance in infrastructure,” it Read More …
May 302013
MANILA, Philippines – The country’s oldest conglomerate Ayala Corp. (AC) took advantage of liquidity in the equity market to raise P3.3 billion in fresh capital for its power and infrastructure projects. In a regulatory filing, AC said it completed the sale of 5.18 million common shares held in its treasury. “This raised cash proceeds of approximately P3.3 billion, which AC intends to use to fund existing and potential sizable projects in the infrastructure and power sectors,” AC said. “This new funding will further strengthen our balance sheet to build up our portfolio in these two sectors,” said AC president and chief operating officer Fernando Zobel de Ayala. At P647 per share, AC’s shares were sold at a three percent discount compared with the previous closing price of P667. The conglomerate earlier announced that is looking to invest up to $1 billion over the next five years for the capital intensive but high-yielding power and infrastructure sectors. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 “We hope to be able to contribute in some measure to the development of these sectors and at the same time create future sources of earnings and value for the group,” Zobel said. In the last two years, AC has committed more than $300 million of equity on power projects with roughly 900 megawatts (MW) of gross generating capacity. “It is looking to increase its equity commitment to $500 million to $600 million in the next 12 to 18 months,” AC said. Given its bullishness Read More …
May 302013
MANILA, Philippines – A unit of the Lopez Group has secured tax perks for its three renewable energy (RE) projects worth P11.96 billion. “The BOI (Board of Investments) approved this month First Gen Mindanao Hydro Power Corp. (FGMHPC) as RE developer of hydropower energy resources for its three projects in Mindanao worth P11.96 billion with a total energy capacity 62.75 megawatts (MW),” the agency said in a statement yesterday. With the approval of the registration of the three projects, FGMHPC can enjoy incentives such as income tax holidays and duty-free importation of equipment for seven years as provided by the Renewable Energy Act of 2008. RE is listed as a mandatory activity in the 2012 Investment Priorities Plan. The government provides incentives to encourage firms to invest in priority activities or sectors. The first of the three projects is the 23 MW Bubunawan hydropower project worth P5.07 billion, which will be located in Bukidnon. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 The project, which will have two units of turbine-generator sets, is estimated to produce an annual average of about 138 gigawatt hours (GWH) of electrical energy with a maximum annual generation capability of about 201 GWH of clean and renewable energy. The project is expected to provide jobs to up to 45 personnel. The second project worth P1.803 billion will be situated within the Cabadbaran town of Agusan del Norte. The project, which will involve the construction and installation of up to three units of 3.25 MW Read More …
May 302013
MANILA, Philippines – The government is “on track” to meeting its debt and revenue goals, the Department of Finance (DOF) said, despite the first-quarter data showing new figures were actually lower than their previous year’s levels. Revenue and debt ratios – which are important gauges for credit raters – were released yesterday, following the economic performance report that showed growth hitting 7.8 percent as of March. For the first quarter, state revenues already accounted for 13.7 percent of economic output, lower than the 14.9 percent posted in the same period last year. The target has been set at 14.7 percent. Of these, tax collections were equivalent to 11.92 percent, down from 12.5 percent, but on track to meeting the 13.5-percent target for the year. Revenue and tax efforts gauge how much the government has collected as the economy expanded. Fast economic growth should mean higher revenues – and ratios – and vice-versa. Finance Assistant Secretary Ma. Teresa Habitan, in an interview, downplayed the year-on-year decrease in figures. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 “It is too early to tell how our tax effort would turn out for the year based on just one quarter,” Habitan told The STAR. “We are hopeful tax collections would eventually catch up with a buoyant economy,” she added. By way of comparison, the economy grew 7.8 percent during the first quarter, while total revenues only inched up 0.9 percent. Last Monday, the government said it attained a “record-high” budget surplus of P36.803 Read More …
May 302013
MANILA, Philippines – Retail tycoon Lucio Co has completed a P74-billion share swap that finalized the infusion of his retail, petroleum and real estate assets into listed holding firm Cosco Capital Inc. Cosco Capital will raise fresh funding by selling two billion shares to institutional investors, the company said in a disclosure. In the transaction, Cosco Capital issued 4.98 billion shares in exchange for 1.51 billion common shares of Lucio Co Group of Companies (LCGC). “The total value of the swap transaction is P74.8 billion,” said Cosco Capital. LGCG is composed of Puregold Price Club Inc; Premier Wine & Spirits Inc; Meritus Prime Distributions Inc; Montosco Inc; Pure Petroleum Corp; Ellimac Prime Holdings Inc; and Nation Realty Inc. Following the share swap, Cosco Capital will have a total issued capital of 6.26 billion shares. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 The holding firm yesterday implemented a voluntary trading halt for its shares. Cosco Capital said principal shareholders Lucio and Susan Co will also conduct a special block sale of up to two billion common shares to qualified institutional buyers in the Philippines and abroad. Under the “top-up” equity placement, the major shareholders will then subscribe to the same number of shares sold to institutional investors. Cosco Capital earlier planned to conduct a $500-million sale of existing and new shares that will increase its public float and beef up liquidity. The company tapped Deutsche Bank and JPMorgan for the deal. Cosco Capital, formerly Alcorn Gold Resources Corp., earlier Read More …