BSP ready to face withdrawal of stimulus measures abroad

 Economy
May 242013
 
BSP ready to face withdrawal of stimulus measures abroad

MANILA, Philippines – The Philippines stands ready to respond should the planned withdrawal of stimulus measures abroad results into capital outflows. “While there may be a possible effect of an exit strategy, I think investors will still look at the fundamentals, the prospects of individual countries. So it does not mean that suddenly they will just exit,” BSP Governor Amando Tetangco Jr. told reporters yesterday. Should it be necessary, the central bank “have the tools” to respond to possible inflow of capital to the US once it decides to scale down or stop its quantitative easing (QE) program. On Wednesday, US Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke told a Senate inquiry that QE — which involves the buying of $85 billion worth of securities every month — is “providing benefits” to US economy still reeling from the effects of the 2007 financial crisis. While he warned against “premature tightening,” minutes of the meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee — the Fed’s policymaking body — showed that some members wanted to  “adjust the flow of purchases downward.” This has disgruntled Asian financial markets, causing investors to fly back to safe haven assets such as the dollar. The peso plunged to 41.69 versus the greenback on Thursday, its weakest level in almost eight months. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 In the long run though, Tetangco said it should be expected that QE will stop as the US economy recovers and that Asian nations, such as the Philippines, should Read More …

Travel Chronicles – Part 3

 Economy
May 242013
 
Travel Chronicles – Part 3

We spent four days in beautiful sun-kissed Greece, toured the Acropolis and Delphi ruins and visited the Delphi Museum with our second tour guide Electra Toya from the Greek Ministry of Culture who guided us through Delphi so knowledgeably and patiently. We also spent about half a day in the quaint island of Hydra where no cars or motorcycles are allowed and the locals and tourists alike still travel only on bicycles, mules and donkeys or taxi boats. Small wonder that close to 17 million tourists descend upon this lovely country every year, with more tourists than locals even, because Greece has so much to offer, from antiquity via their world-famous archaeological sites to leisure through their scenic islands. It was time for our next stop: Istanbul in Turkey. We breezed through the short one hour-20 minute trip comfortably, enjoyed the light meal on board our chosen airline Qatar Airways, and so soon we landed smoothly at the Istanbul Ataturk International Terminal. The airport, vast and modern, was literally a sea of people, the line to the immigration counters snaking several long loops, and we inched our way through like everyone else, sweating from the sheer volume of people in the airport for at least an hour before reaching the counter where several booths were efficiently manned– that is how many tourists arrive daily in Turkey. Airport transfer cost us TL170, and we soon realized why —our hotel, Asia Artemis, was about two hours away from the airport. At $160/night Read More …

Busy is the new lazy

 Economy
May 242013
 
Busy is the new lazy

This is very interesting. Have you ever met people who keep on telling you they’re busy? I knew a group of people who always said they’re busy, yet people see them wandering in the malls and watching movies all the time. When confronted as to why they have the time to watch movies while they don’t have the time to help people, they reasoned with conviction that they’re “doing research.” The funny thing is the same group of people would never dare tell me to my face that “they’re busy” when they know for a fact that I load my days with trainings, talks and seminars, but would rarely say, “I’m busy.” “I’m working.” “I have engagements.” Those are words I’d use, but rarely would I use “I am busy.” Fast Company came up with a very interesting article entitled “Busy is the New Lazy”. Let me share parts of it. “Going on about how busy you are isn’t conversation and doesn’t lead anywhere,” wrote iDoneThis CCO Janet Choi on her company blog, “Except making your conversation partner bored, or worse, peeved.” Choi observed that people who are “legitimately occupied” with work or family rarely play the “too busy” card. Choi supplied some translations: I’m busy = I’m important. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 Being busy gives people a sense they’re needed and significant, and it could well be someone’s ego trip. I’m busy = I’m giving you an excuse. Saying that you’re busy is a handy Read More …

Index down anew on negative external news

 Economy
May 242013
 
Index down anew on negative external news

MANILA, Philippines – External weaknesses dampened investor sentiment yesterday, pushing the main index back to the 7,200 level. The Philippine Stock Exchange index declined 0.62 percent or 45.47 points to settle at 7,268.91, marking the second straight day the bellwether index ended in the red. “Investors found little reason to take aggressive positions in the market following Thursday’s surprise 70-point slump leaving the floor to the bears,” said Justino Calaycay Jr., analyst at Accord Capital Securities. “The rush of negative news in the last two days, and a tepid movements in US stocks overnight, have kept investors opting for safety,” Calaycay said. Wall Street and Asian stocks were again in the negative territory, still reeling from the weak Chinese manufacturing data and potential cut in US Federal Reserve’s stimulus program. The Dow Jones industrial average shed 0.08 percent or 12.67 points to 15,294.50 while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index dropped 0.29 percent or 4.84 points to 1,650.51. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 All counters in the local bourse were in the red, paced by industrial firms that shed 0.7 percent or 76.80 points to 10,855.16. Investor participation eased, with value of shares traded sank to P7.13 billion from P12.14 billion on Thursday. Decliners again outpaced advancers, 95 to 57, while 56 stocks did not change. Top-traded stocks were also in the red, led by property giant Ayala Land Inc. (-0.57 percent), Universal Robina Corp. (-2.0 percent) and Bank of the Philippine Islands (-2.03 percent).

SMC unit allots $1.5 B for 2 power plants

 Economy
May 212013
 
SMC unit allots $1.5 B for 2 power plants

MANILA, Philippines – SMC Global Power Holdings Corp., the power generation unit of diversified conglomerate San Miguel Corp., is investing $1.5 billion for the construction of two new power plants, its top official said yesterday. In a briefing with reporters on the sidelines of Petron Corp.’s annual stockholders’ meeting, SMC president Ramon Ang said the energy unit is spending about $1 billion for the construction of a 600-megawatt coal fired-plant in Bataan in northern Luzon and $500 million for another plant in Davao. Construction for the two plants has already started, he said. He said SMC Global may construct more power plants, depending on the viability and business climate. “We’re supposed to do more. We’re still evaluating the best option,” he said. The two plants should start operating in the middle of 2015, Ang said. He said there are no plans to borrow for the funding requirements for both projects. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 “The (funding) will be in-house. Madami kaming cash,” Ang said. He also confirmed plans to revive the initial public offering (IPO) of SMC Global, possibly within the year. He said there is an interested investor who wants to come in. “There’s really a very hot buyer who wants to invest in that business,” he noted. He said SMC Global may sell as much as 49 percent, equivalent to $500 to $800 million. In 2011, SMC Global filed an IPO application before corporate regulators. The power generation firm earlier planned to raise Read More …

Lucio Tan holding firm hikes Q1 profit to P3.8B

 Economy
May 212013
 
Lucio Tan holding firm hikes Q1 profit to P3.8B

MANILA, Philippines – The investment holding firm of taipan Lucio Tan grew its profits to nearly P4 billion in the first quarter, driven by its banking and property units. In a regulatory filing, LT Group said its net income climbed 36 percent to P3.8 billion. Consolidated earnings surged 53 percent to P5.8 billion “on the back of the strong performance of the conglomerate’s banking and property segments,” the company said. Revenues picked up 14 percent to P17.7 billion “due to higher revenues from banking, distilled spirits and property development, which offset the revenue drop in the beverage and tobacco sectors,” LT Group said. Specifically, Philippine National Bank (PNB) doubled its profits to P3.7 billion in the first quarter from P1.8 billion a year ago. Revenues of PNB, which merged with Allied Bank to create the country’s fourth largest bank in February, jumped 22 percent to P10.3 billion. Real estate unit Eton Properties Philippines Inc.’s profits surged to P127.5 million from P19 million last year as revenues almost doubled to P1.16 billion from P560 million. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 “The increase in revenues is mainly attributed to higher percentage of completion of Eton’s residential and condominium units as well as higher leasing revenues from commercial projects,” LT Group said.

Globe taps Irish firm to improve network

 Economy
May 212013
 
Globe taps Irish firm to improve network

MANILA, Philippines – Ayala-led Globe Telecom Inc. has tapped Dublin-based Nasc Technologies (Nasctech) to optimize and enhance the efficiency of its recently completed $790 million upgraded and transformed network. Robert Tan, chief technical adviser of Globe, said in a statement that the global provider of field operation support system would help further improve network quality, enhance efficiency in its field operations and improve customer experience. Under the partnership, Globe would utilize Nasctech’s Streamline solution to allow for a stronger degree of visibility and control over the management of its field operation resulting in reduced operating expenses. “We selected Streamline to transform our field operations due to the uniqueness of the platform and the willingness of Nasctech to customize to our needs. They have demonstrated their commitment by deploying all necessary resources to deliver the project against aggressive timelines,” Tan stressed. He pointed out that the move to tap Nasctech is in step with Globe’s transformation program covering the recently completed $700 million network modernization and the ongoing $90 million IT upgrade project. Nasctech was incorporated in March 2010 in Dublin and develops innovative enterprise grade field operating expenses management solutions, targeted at the mobile telecoms sector.

 Older Entries  Newer Entries