Maniolas

MANILA, Philippines – Meralco has announced that the residential rate for a typical household will go down this September by around P0.0451 per kilowatthour (kWh), thereby bringing it down to P8.46 per kWh. This translates to a reduction of around P9 in the electricity bill of a household with monthly consumption of 200 kWh. The reduction is due to the downward movement in the transmission charge, which more than offset a higher generation charge.  This month’s overall rate is lower by P0.09 per kWh compared to September 2015’s P8.55 per kWh. This month, there was also an increase in the generation charge, which is P0.0879 per kWh, higher than last month’s P3.85 per kWh.  At P3.94 per kWh, the generation charge is P0.19 per kWh lower compared to September 2015’s P4.13 per kWh. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 The higher generation charge was more than offset by a decrease in the transmission charge of P0.10 per kWh, mainly due to the reduction in the ancillary charges of the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP).   Taxes and other charges also decreased by a combined amount of around P0.04 per kWh. Meralco’s distribution, supply and metering charges, meanwhile, have remained unchanged for 14 months after they registered a reduction in July 2015. Meralco reiterated that it does not earn from the pass-through charges, such as the generation and transmission charges. Payment for the generation charge goes to the power suppliers, while payment for the transmission charge Read More …

THE COUNTRY’S oil import bill in the first half fell by almost 29% to $3.39 billion as the cost of shipping of crude and petroleum products dropped, allowing oil companies to take in bigger volumes.

Data showed the net income of the central bank amounted to P10.95 billion from January to July, a complete reversal of the P3.55 billion losses booked in the first half of last year.  MANILA, Philippines – The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) recorded profits in the first seven months on the back of higher revenues, lower expenses as well as higher gains on its foreign exchange operations. Data showed the net income of the central bank amounted to P10.95 billion from January to July, a complete reversal of the P3.55 billion losses booked in the first half of last year. The central bank’s revenues jumped 45.02 percent to P45.02 billion from P34.97 billion as interest earnings rose 26 percent to P27.06 billion from P21.47 billion, while miscellaneous income coming from trading gains from domestic and foreign currency securities jumped 32.9 percent to P17.96 billion from P13.51 billion. Expenses slipped 2.7 percent to P40.57 billion in the first seven months from P41.69 billion in the same period last year. Interest expense on loans payable and other foreign currency deposits as well as cost of minting or printing of currencies declined 7.6 percent to P26.17 billion from P28.31 billion. Gains on foreign exchange fluctuations amounted to P6.5 billion from January to July as against losses amounting to P3.55 billion which was incurred in the same period last year. The BSP books gains or losses from fluctuations in foreign exchange rates on matured, sold, paid and/or exchanged or settled foreign exchange assets and Read More …

MANILA, Philippines – Interest rates of national government debt slipped to their lowest level in three months in July even as the peso weakened, data from the Bureau of the Treasury showed. The weighted average interest rate of government liabilities inched down to 5.06 percent in July from 5.07 percent in the first semester and 5.09 percent in May. It matched the level hit at the beginning of the year and was just a notch higher than April’s 5.05 percent, which was the lowest achieved so far for 2016. Earlier, Jonathan Ravelas, chief market strategist at BDO Unibank Inc. said the peso’s weakness and the impending increase in US interest rates should not be a cause for concern. “I don’t think it will have an impact on our debts. It’s not alarming since we have also decreased significantly our reliance to foreign funding,” Ravelas said in a phone interview. “The new administration will maintain the borrowing program, which is 80 percent (sourced) locally and 20 percent (abroad). There should not be any problem,” he said earlier. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 Lower interest rates allow the government to shell out less money for debt settlements and funnel them to social and economic projects. Broken down, existing external debts actually enjoyed lower rates than their local counterparts, data showed. Foreign obligations maintained their average interest rate of 4.46 percent in the first seven months. Domestic debts fetched a higher 5.39 percent, down from 5.4 percent in the Read More …

BSP Deputy Governor Diwa Guinigundo said de-risking activities coupled with the soft oil prices would likely continue to affect the normal flow of remittances.   Due to de-risking, low oil prices MANILA, Philippines – The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said soft remittance flows from overseas Filipinos could persist this year amid various de-risking activities by foreign banks and weak oil prices. BSP Deputy Governor Diwa Guinigundo said de-risking activities coupled with the soft oil prices would likely continue to affect the normal flow of remittances. “We are seeing the continuing narrative of de-risking, upsetting the otherwise normal flow of remittances. What exacerbates this is the continued weak oil prices dampening the propensity of Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates and other oil producing markets to provide jobs to our overseas workers,” he said. Guinigundo said the Arab Monetary Fund, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and The World Bank have documented various cases of de-risking in the Middle East jurisdictions. “De-risking” refers to financial institutions exiting relationships with and closing the accounts of clients considered high risk. There is an observed trend toward de-risking of money service businesses and correspondent banks resulting in account closures in the US, the United Kingdom and Australia due to rising anti-money laundering and combatting the financing of terrorism scrutiny. As early as 2014, the BSP has raised concerns on the adverse impact of de-risking with relevant international institutions including the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), Alliance for Financial Inclusion, the Global Partnership for Financial Inclusion of Read More …