Maniolas

MANILA, Philippines – The local equities market needs stronger support from domestic investors, particularly in retail and institutional, to help cushion the impact of sharp swings during volatile times, according to BPI Capital Corp. During the Annual Private Equity & Venture Forum recently,  BPI Capital co-head for investment banking Reginaldo Cariaso said the  Philippine equity market was still dominated by foreign institutions, making it vulnerable when foreign funds come and go. “The market dries up when foreign funds go,” he said. At present, more than 50 percent of the liquidity in the market comes from foreign investors. “Majority of the liquidity is really foreign driven. It’s more than 50 percent so when foreign fund flows out, it has a big impact on the overall liquidity of the market,” Cariaso said. Cariaso said that while foreign funds were necessary to keep the market healthy, the ideal situation would be for domestic investors to account for a bigger share. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 “What we should strive for is to really have a market that is strongly supported by the domestic market, both retail and institutional. It’s not to say we don’t want the foreign markets to be there in fact we need them but I want the domestic market to grow much bigger and faster than the foreign markets,” he explained. A situation like this would pave the way for a market that is more conducive to investment deals. “It allows deals to be done even Read More …

The divestment comes four years after Ayala and Ho Chi Minh agreed to jointly invest in Vinaphil, a corporation established under Vietnam law to invest in infrastructure projects in Vietnam.  MANILA, Philippines – Ayala Corp., the country’s oldest conglomerate, has approved the divestment of its 100 percent interest in Vinaphil Technical Infrastructure Investment JSC. The company said its board of directors approved the sale of its entire stake in Vinaphil to Ho Chi Minh City Infrastructure Investment JSC. The divestment comes four years after Ayala and Ho Chi Minh agreed to jointly invest in Vinaphil, a corporation established under Vietnam law to invest in infrastructure projects in Vietnam. No immediate reason was given for the divestment. During yesterday’s meeting, Ayala’s board also approved the creation of a new subsidiary, HCX Technology Partners Inc.,  for the acquisition of the human resource outsourcing assets from HR Mall Inc. HR Mall provides strategic value for the Ayala Group’s HR requirements. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1  The board likewise ratified the appointment of former Cabinet Secretary Jose Rene Almendras as president and CEO of AC Infrastructure Holdings Corp. and managing director of Ayala Corp. Almendras replaced John Eric Francia who continues to serve as president and CEO of AC Energy Holdings Inc. and a member of Ayala’s management committee.  He served as Energy secretary and Secretary to the Cabinet of the Aquino administration. Francia’s appointment as full-time CEO of the company’s energy unit was in line with the group’s efforts Read More …

MANILA, Philippines – The Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) has cleared the construction of a critical substation which would connect incoming power plants in Quezon province with a total capacity of 2,720 megawatts (MW) to the Luzon grid. The power regulator approved the petition of the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP) to construct the Pagbilao EHV Substation aimed to address the overloading of the Tayabas 500/230 kv transformers and the fault level issue at Tayabas 230 kv Substation. Estimated to cost P3.6 billion, the facility will connect four incoming new capacities to the Luzon grid, namely the 420-MW Pagbilao Coal-Fired Power Plant (CFPP) expansion, the 500-MW San Buenaventura Power Ltd. Co. (SBPL), the 3×200-MW Energy World Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) Power Plant and the 1,200-MW Atimonan Coal-Fired Power Plant. ERC chairman and CEO Jose Vicente Salazar said the Pagbilao EHV Substation will be beneficial in terms of ensuring the quality, reliability and integrity of the Luzon Grid. “The approval of the NGCP’s Pagbilao EHV Substation will enable it to adequately serve the needs and demands of generation companies, distribution utilities and suppliers requiring transmission service and ancillary services through the transmission system,” he said. The ERC said the project shall be subject to optimization based on its actual need and/or implementation under the performance based rate (PBR) system to determine the extent of the value that will be included in the rate base of NGCP. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 The power regulator also directed Read More …

The Bureau of Internal Revenue is the government’s main revenue agency. Philstar.com/File photo MANILA, Philippines – Only about two months in office, Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) Commissioner Caesar Dulay has gone on leave for medical reasons. This was bared during House ways and means committee heating on pending tax reform bills on Tuesday. “May I ask where is the commissioner?” said Nueva Ecija Rep. Estrelita Suansing. To which, BIR Deputy Commissioner Nestor Valeroso replied: “He is currently on medical leave but we understand he will return by the end of the month.” “He underwent an operation but he is already recuperating,” he added. Suansing called the committee’s attention on Dulay’s apparent persistent absence on congressional hearings. Dulay was also absent on last week’s organization meeting of the committee. Suansing then went on to ask what the operation was for, to which Valeroso responded that it might be “personal” in nature. After prodding, the BIR official then said that Dulay had a hip operation. Aside from Valeroso, Dulay was represented by deputy commissioners Jesus Clint Aranas, Celia King and Lanee David on Tuesday’s hearing. BIR, which accounts for about 80 percent of tax revenues, is the government’s main revenue agency. It collected P117.4 billion in July, the first month of the Duterte administration, down one percent year-on-year. It marked the first time in seven months that collections dipped, data showed. For the first seven months however, BIR already raised P900.9 billion, up nine percent from last year.

THE WORLD BANK has offered to provide technical assistance in the implementation of the tax reforms proposed by economic advisers of the administration, according to the Department of Finance (DoF).