Unknown disease prompts BFAR to ban shrimp imports

 Economy
Apr 302013
 
Unknown disease prompts BFAR to ban shrimp imports

MANILA, Philippines – The Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic resources indefinitely suspended the importation of live shrimp and crustaceans to prevent an unknown disease from spreading in Philippine waters. “We are dealing with a disease unknown to us, all the more that measures must be undertaken,” BFAR Director Asis G. Perez said last week in a shrimp industry meeting with the operators and importers. The state agency instructed its Fish Health Officers, Quarantine Officers and the Law Enforcement Quick Response Team to implement monitoring, control and surveillance protocols at the ports of entry, airports and seaports in the country.  BFAR said the measure is meant to prevent the spread Early Mortality Syndrome (EMS), characterized by massive shrimp deaths during the first 30 days. Infected samples exhibit slow growth, corkscrew swimming and pale color. Currently, no known pathogen has been found causing the disease, the state agency said. The order came after the recommendation of Dr. Donald Lightner, a shrimp disease expert. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 “The Philippines remains EMS-free as of the moment and BFAR is exhausting all efforts to remain so,” Perez said, adding that the country is well-positioned as this opens the opportunity for the Philippines to expand its shrimp exports. 

A reminder to heed the call

 Economy
Apr 292013
 

APRIL 15 marks the end of another taxable year for many companies. This is the time when annual income tax returns are filed to report the company’s performance during the year. For the tax authority, however, this marks the beginning of another audit quest. A taxpayer will know if it is under audit when it receives an electronic letter of authority (eLA). This is a written notice that signals the start of the tax authority’s audit process. Attached to the eLA is a request for submission, within a specific time frame, of documents like books of accounts, tax returns, and alphalists.

AboitizPower to build 2 more hydro plants

 Economy
Apr 252013
 
AboitizPower to build 2 more hydro plants

MANILA, Philippines – AboitizPower subsidiary Hedcor is adding two more hydropower plants in its portfolio, a move seen to help curb the ongoing power crunch in Mindanao. The company yesterday announced that it would be building two cascading plants in Bukidnon, which would be tapping power from the Amusig, Guihean and Tanaon rivers. The first plant, the Manolo Fortich Hydro 1 will have a capacity of 35.2 megawatts while the second plant, the Manolo Fortich Hydro 2 will generate 16.4 MW. The two plants combined can produce a total of almost 300 million kWh a year, Hedcor said. The projects have received support from the local government of Impasug-ong and the barangay chairman of Guihean, which are both in Bukidnon. The local officials called on local residents to support the hydro investor in their community during the official signing of the Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) among the local officials and the AboitizPower subsidiary, Hedcor on the project. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 “Hedcor needs the full support of the community, we have to ensure the safety of our investors against any unfavorable incident. The project will help ease the power crisis in Mindanao,” said Impasug-ong Mayor Mario Okinlay said. He said the community needs Hedcor’s additional capacity to reduce the brownouts they currently experience in their area. Hedcor vice president for business development Boy Jabonillo said the company strives to bring inclusive growth to the host communities by helping them with sustainable social development programs. Other Read More …

Honda Phl to sell hybrid cars this yr

 Economy
Apr 252013
 
Honda Phl to sell hybrid cars this yr

MANILA, Philippines – Honda Cars Philippines Inc. (HCPI) will start selling hybrid vehicles in the country with the introduction of the CR-Z sport hybrid coupe this year. In a statement yesterday, HCPI president and general manager Tatsuya Natsume said the firm decided to introduce the CR-Z this year following inquiries about the sale of the vehicle model after it was displayed at the 4th Philippine International Motor Show held last year. “Even after that, we are still getting inquiries online, at our dealer showrooms and various display events. This scenario gives us the confidence that the Philippine market will warmly welcome the all new CR-Z when it arrives in August, exactly a year after its concept was shown,” he said. He declined to say how many units the firm aims to sell per month. “This is the first time that we will be introducing this model in the Philippines so we have no data to compare it with as of the moment,” Natsume said in an email. The CR-Z which stands for “Compact Renaissance Zero” was developed to fuse two ideas: sport and ecology. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 The vehicle uses a 1.5-liter i-VTEC engine as the main source of power with an electric motor, Honda’s Integrated Motor Assist (IMA) which enables drivers to have a responsive driving experience as well as achieve fuel efficiency. The CR-Z, which would come in both manual transmission and continuously variable transmission with paddle shifters, would be available in Read More …

Japan QE has neutral impact on Phl

 Economy
Apr 252013
 
Japan QE has neutral impact on Phl

MANILA, Philippines – The Philippines has a “neutral” exposure to Japan and the continued monetary easing on the world’s third largest economy would not likely result into excessive capital flows, the Bank of America-Merrill Lynch (BofA-ML) said in a report released yesterday. Quantitative easing (QE) from Japan may impact on Asia through exchange rates, reflation and portfolio inflows or hot money, BofA-ML. “Japan’s QE impact is more neutral for China, India, Indonesia and the Philippines,” the investment bank said. Japan is trying to boost its economy by embarking on a multi-billion yen asset purchase program known as QE to swamp the economy with money and in the process boost consumer spending to achieve inflation and growth. On the flipside though, lower rates tend to shun investors who then flock to other markets for better yields. This results into more capital inflows and, among others, more exchange rate pressures. In the Philippines, the effect is seen “neutral,” with BofA-ML noting that only 2.8 percent of total investments to bonds and equities in the country came from Japan for the past seven years. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 Japanese foreign direct investments (FDI) in the Philippines accounted for only 0.3 percent of the total, the bank pointed out. The figures were lower compared with other Asian countries in BofA-ML radar. Singapore, with 30.8 percent of hot money coming from Japan, would likely experience a flood of bond and equity inflows. Vietnam, on the other hand, would likely benefit Read More …

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