PhilWeb implements retrenchment

 Economy
Oct 042016
 
PhilWeb implements retrenchment

MANILA, Philippines – PhilWeb Corp. is implementing a retrenchment program following the non-renewal of its license by the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. The company disclosed yesterday that vice president Antonio Jose Garcia would serve in the corporation only until Nov. 4 due to retrenchment. Businessman and former trade minister Roberto Ongpin was the first to resign from the company after President Duterte singled him out as an oligarch who must be destroyed. Ongpin is divesting his entire holdings equivalent to 771.6 million PhilWeb shares or 53.76 percent of the company. He is in talks with investment bankers on how best to go about his divestment including selling this in the open market or through a private placement. Following Ongpin’s resignation, businessman Gregorio Ma. Araneta III, chairman and CEO of Araneta Properties Inc. and the son-in-law of the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos, has been elected as chairman. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1  Araneta is the second largest shareholder of PhilWeb and has been a director of the company for a number of years. He also has other business interests in property development and energy aside from his investment in the company. PhilWeb is on temporary shutdown after Pagcor refused to renew its gaming license which expired on Aug.10. The company used to provide technology for some internet cafes exclusively dedicated to casino games. PhilWeb is also studying the viability of participating in the Duterte administration’s plan to roll out offshore gaming, which will target foreign players.

Philippine sets meeting with climate vulnerable countries

 Economy
Oct 042016
 
Philippine sets meeting with climate vulnerable countries

MANILA, Philippines – The Philippines will meet for the first time this week with more than 40 other climate vulnerable countries under the Duterte administration, which vowed not to ratify a global climate change accord. Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez will attend the ministerial dialogue of his counterparts in the Vulnerable 20 (V20) Group of Nations at Washington D.C. on Thursday. “The event will present updates on key initiatives launched by the V20, including the Global Preparedness Partnership (GPP). It will also facilitate the sharing of presentations from members on national experiences of climate finance,” the group said on its website. It will also mark the turnover of the group’s chairmanship from the Philippines to Ethiopia. V20 has expanded to cover 43 countries. On their last meeting in March, V20 nations expressed support to a new climate change deal made in Paris that aimed to limit global warming. This was, however, before President Duterte said he would not honor the agreement, which he said could limit the country’s industrialization effort. As a result, the Senate did not ratify the deal. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 When asked what will be discussed before the V20, Dominguez only said in an e-mail: “Abangan! (Wait for it).” Aside from V20, the Finance chief will fly to the US to attend the annual meetings of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) from Oct. 7 to 10. He will be joined by Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Ernesto Pernia and central Read More …

Dominguez to appoint finance attaché to China

 Economy
Oct 042016
 
Dominguez to appoint finance attaché to China

MANILA, Philippines – The Philippines will name a finance attaché to China to help resolve discrepancies in trade data between the two countries which resulted in billions of pesos in revenue losses. “I will appoint a finance attaché to China to talk and go over the exporters there so we can solve this,” Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez told a budget hearing at the Senate yesterday. “We would like our attaché in China to work very closely with our BOC (Bureau of Customs) here and the BOC in China,” he said. According to Finance data, there exists an “alarming” discrepancy worth P1.8 trillion in trade data between the Philippines and its trading partners in 2014. As a result, the government lost P231 billion in revenues that year, equivalent to two percent of gross domestic product. Dominguez said around 30 percent of the P1.8 trillion came from China, which is the country’s fourth biggest export destination and top source of imports in July, latest figures showed. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 Specifically, China cornered 11.3 percent of exports and 11.2 percent of imports during the period. “The differential is about 50 percent (from what is reported here and there) so with that, we hope the attaché can assist the BOC to correct them,” Dominguez said. Appointing a finance attaché is consistent with Department of Finance Order 105-2015 issued during the previous administration that mandated a two-year stint for every person deployed overseas. They are appointed by the President Read More …

Proposed tax reforms: for better or for worse?

 Economy
Oct 032016
 

The Department of Finance submitted to Congress last week the first package of proposed tax reforms. The proposals include the restructuring of the personal income tax (PIT) system; expanding the value-added tax (VAT) base by reducing the coverage of its exemptions; adjusting excise taxes imposed on petroleum products; and, restructuring the excise tax on automobiles except for buses, trucks, cargo vans, jeeps, jeepney substitutes and special purpose vehicles. These proposed tax reforms, however, received varying reactions from stakeholders.

Online job hiring up 4% in August

 Economy
Oct 032016
 
Online job hiring up 4% in August

MANILA, Philippines – Online job hiring in the Philippines sustained its upward trend, rising by four percent in August on positive economic outlook in the country, an online research firm said. According to the Monster.com, the country’s job market has seen substantial improvement in the past months and is likely to continue its momentum until the end of the year. “The growth is in part due to the recent effective policies rolled out following the elections, as well as the increase in infrastructure projects, creating more job opportunities across the country,” said Sanjay Modi, managing director for Asia-Pacific and Middle East at Monster.com. In particular, the education sector recorded its fourth consecutive double-digit growth as it spiked 27 percent year-on-year in online hiring, the top growth among all job sectors. Purchase, logistics and supply chain roles also registered a 23 percent increase while information technology and telecoms recorded a four percent decline. Customer service saw the most notable decline, falling 23 percent as against the 18 percent growth reported between July 2015 and 2016. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 The MEI is a monthly gauge of online job posting activity based on a real-time review of millions of employer job opportunities culled from a large representative selection of career websites and online job listings across the Philippines.

Disaster communications critical in saving lives

 Economy
Oct 032016
 
Disaster communications critical in saving lives

Luxembourg City, Luxembourg — We took a three-and-a-half hour drive from Paris to the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, a small nation that happens to be one of the richest in the world. It has an estimated population of 582,291, according to the CIA World Factbook, with a GDP per capita of $99,000 — the highest in the Eurozone and the second highest globally. Its capital city is truly dynamic — a study in contrasts with diverse cultures blending together in harmony. One of its famous landmarks is the Place de la Constitution that has the “Gelle Fra” (Golden Lady) monument in remembrance of those who perished during World War I, and right below the Constitution Square is an impressively tended national park (shown in photo). The Luxembourg Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs arranged several meetings during my visit, among them with director general Carlo Thelen of the Luxembourg Chamber of Commerce which recently celebrated its 175th year, and Tom Baumert of the House of Entrepreneurship created only this April to serve as a one-stop shop to help new businesses get started and avoid “administrative barriers” in putting up a business. Focus is on developing new digital hubs and companies that “create synergies between finance and information and communication technologies” or fintech. Director general Thelen has been with the Chamber of Commerce for about two decades, and he has seen the economic and political changes that have been happening. Businessmen face a new set of challenges to which they must Read More …

ERC commissions study on system loss charges

 Economy
Oct 032016
 
ERC commissions study on system loss charges

The power regulator commissioned a third party to study and make reconmmendations on the system loss charges aimed to benefit consumers, ERC spokesperson Floresinda Digal said after Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian asked for updates on the reduction of system loss charges during a Senate hearing yesterday. MANILA, Philippines – The Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) has tapped a third party consultant to do a review on the system loss charges aimed to reduce the pass-on burden to consumers. The power regulator commissioned a third party to study and make reconmmendations on the system loss charges aimed to benefit consumers, ERC spokesperson Floresinda Digal said after Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian asked for updates on the reduction of system loss charges during a Senate hearing yesterday. System loss refers to unbilled power caused by pilferage and physical loss of energy when electricity passes through distribution lines, which can be passed on to consumers as stated under Republic Act 7832, or Anti-Electricity and Electric Transmission Lines/Materials Pilferage Act of 1994. The ERC awarded last month the contract to conduct the system loss review to local consultancy firm PowerSolv Inc., Digal said. Under the terms of reference (TOR), PowerSolv will review how the components of the system loss charge can be segregated into technical and non-technical items as well as study updating the system loss cap, she said. “The first part of the TOR will be a study on how system loss can be segregated to technical and non-technical, including what levels of technical and non-technical, if Read More …

BOl assures EU companies on Philippine business prospects

 Economy
Oct 032016
 
BOl assures EU companies on Philippine business prospects

MANILA, Philippines – The industry development and investments promotion arm of the Department of Trade and Industry has assured top European multinational companies of continued healthy relationship between the Philippines and the European Union (EU) despite President Duterte’s previous outbursts against the 28-member economic bloc. The Board of Investments (BOI) said it received recently an 18-member delegation from Europe-ASEAN Business Alliance (EABA), a group composed of leading European multinational firms with major business interests in Southeast Asia. During the meeting, BOI managing head Ceferino Rodolfo assured the delegates economic ties between the Philippines and European countries would be strengthened further through the government’s initiatives and policies that aim to foster a better business environment. He cited the EU GSP+, Philippines-EU free trade agreement (FTA) and Philippines-European Free Trade Association (EFTA) agreement as huge areas of opportunities EU companies investing in the Philippines may take advantage of. The BOI said this year’s 18-member EABA delegation is twice the size from the 2014 EABA mission’s nine delegates. Rodolfo said the increased number of delegates represents the strong interest of European companies to do business in the Philippines.  Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 He said this year’s EABA delegation consists of high-profile companies operating in the areas of automotive, high-value agro technology, health services, dairy food production, innovation, power and automation, and banking and finance.  The Philippines is EU’s sixth largest trading partner in the region and 44th worldwide. The EU, on the other hand, is the Philippines’ fourth Read More …

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