Calata declares dividend

 Economy
Apr 172013
 
Calata declares dividend

MANILA, Philippines – Listed agritechnology firm Calata Corp. is  declaring cash dividends as it posts a year-on-year growth in revenues and a slight increase in its net income. In a filing,  the company announced that it has approved cash dividends of  P0.25 per share on common shares as of May 17, 2013. The company will announce the date of distribution. As a result of its continued business growth, this is the third consecutive year that the company has declared a cash dividend. Calata declared a net income of P110.375 million in 2012 from P100.173 million in 2011. The firm attributed its higher income to increased tie ups with foreign agritechnology companies and exclusive long term supply agreements in 2012. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 It posted revenues of P2.2 billion in 2012 from P2 billion in 2011. Towards the close of 2012, the company established a retail chain of farm input products through its acquisition of Agri Phil Corp. Agri Phil Corp. owns 116 stores located in various parts of Luzon. “This is expected to further improve the revenue and income of the company in the years to come, thereby increasing shareholder value as well as providing an attractive investment prospect to the investing public,” the company said. Early this month, the company announced that it has entered into an agreement with Argentina-based Agroservicios Humboldt S.A for the exclusive distribution of its animal nutrition products in the Philippines. The company was granted the exclusive right to Read More …

BIR: Kris Aquino, Smart top taxpayers

 Economy
Apr 152013
 
BIR: Kris Aquino, Smart top taxpayers

In this file photo, talk show host and multiple product endorser Kris Aquino gives away prizes to prizes to a contestant in her show Kris TV aired over ABS-CBN network. MANILA, Philippines – President Benigno Aquino III’s celebrity sister, Kris Aquino, is the country’s top taxpayer, based on the list of the top 500 individual taxpayers released by the Bureau of Internal Revenue on Monday. According to the BIR report, the “Queen of All Media” paid a total of P49,871,657.37 during the taxable year 2011. Tesla Motors executive Gregory Reichow followed Aquino as the second biggest taxpayer, having paid over P38.1 million, while senior diplomat and former Ambassador Lauro Baja Jr. landed in third place with the payment of over P34.2 million taxes. Broadband and mobile group Smart Communications, Inc., meanwhile, was the top among corporate taxpayers charged with P10.2 billion by the government. The Manila Electric Company (Meralco) paid P8.3 billion in taxes while oil giant Shell Philippine Exploration retained its 2010 third-place ranking with P6.26 billion worth of taxes. Top 10 taxpayers: Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 Kris Aquino (media) – P49,871,657.37 Gregory Reichow (Tesla Motors executive) – P38,196,685.00 Lauro Baja, Jr. (senior diplomat) – P34,257,368.88 Manuel V. Pangilinan (mining and telecommunications businessman) – P25,992,131.86 Aurelio Montinola III (Bank of the Philippine Islands president) – P24,472,645.10 Gerardo Ablaza, Jr. (Manila Water, Co. chief) – P22,645,262.00 Philippe Jones Lhuillier (Cebuana Lhuillier pawnshop chain chief) – P21,645,000.00 Victor Manguerra Angeles – P21,202,815.34 Roberto Panlilio (Investment banking Read More …

BSP: Remittances grew by 6% in February

 Economy
Apr 152013
 
BSP: Remittances grew by 6% in February

MANILA, Philippines – Money sent home by Filipinos abroad grew by 6 percent in February to $1.682 billion from $1.587 billion a year ago, the central bank reported on Monday. The amount represented cash coursed through banks. It brought the two-month tally to $3.363 billion, an improvement of seven percent from last year. The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) projects a 5-percent expansion in cash remittances for 2013. A separate gauge called personal remittances- which included hand-carry transfers– rose by a faster 6.9 percent last month and 7.6 percent for the first two months of the year. “The steady deployment of overseas Filipino workers remained a primary contributory factor to the growth in remittances flows,” BSP said in a statement. More than three-fourths of cash remittances were sent by land-based workers, while about a quarter were sent by seafarers, figures showed. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 The United States remained the top source of remittances, accounting for 41.5 percent of the total. It was followed by Canada (9.8 percent), Saudi Arabia (7.9 percent), the United Kingdom (5.3 percent), the United Arab Emirates (4.5 percent), Singapore (4.1 percent) and Japan (3.5 percent). The BSP said remittances are poised to increase further in the coming months as indicated by the Department of Labor and Employment. “[O]pportunities for migrant workers through infrastructure projects in Hong Kong and increased minimum wage for monthly paid workers in Taiwan, could support further the sustained inflows of remittances to the country in the Read More …

Lawmakers mixed on BOC abolition

 Economy
Apr 142013
 
Lawmakers mixed on BOC abolition

MANILA, Philippines – Lawmakers are backing a proposal to replace the Bureau of Customs (BoC) with a “professional” institution run by private officials and employees in a bid to stamp out smuggling and cleanse the bureau. Rep. Winston Castelo (2nd District, Quezon City) said he always believes in the privatization of certain government functions for reasons of efficiency and transparency. “This is a proposal that requires thorough studies and careful evaluation. It can turn custom functions upside down but is worth exploring. We have to keep an open mind,” Castelo said. On the other hand, Rep. Luzviminda Ilagan (Party-list, Gabriela) said that by just abolishing the BoC and replacing it with another agency may not solve the real problem. “The corruption in the customs is already an urban legend. It is systemic,” Ilagan said. Ilagan said the best solution to curb corruption in the bureau is to uproot the oldies, cleanse the agency and get committed workers. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 Ilagan also underscored that President Benigno S. Aquino III should get down to work if he really wants to see the fulfillment of his tuwid na daan theme. “If he continues to see no evil, hear no evil or speak no evil about this agency, he should stop mouthing his tuwid na daan and get down to work,” Ilagan said. The Bureau of Customs has been under fire in recent days, with reports on rampant smuggling of oil through special economic zones and agricultural Read More …

US tax law changes: View from the cliff

 Economy
Apr 142013
 

First of three parts JUST AS THE US Congress was about to take US taxpayers over the cliff, standing by and allowing massive tax increases and across-the-board budget cuts to kick in under previous legislation, cooler heads prevailed. The parties agreed to a limited package of tax increases, revisions, and extensions of key provisions that were about to “sunset,” and that avoided the so-called “Fiscal Cliff.”

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