Maniolas

MANILA, Philippines – Moody’s Investors Service said Philippine economic growth this year may not reach the government’s “ambitious” goal without an enhanced budget implementation. The government’s ambitious growth target may be difficult to achieve in the absence of more effective budget execution,” Moody’s said in a report published yesterday. The domestic economy expanded by 6.1 percent last year, slower than the  7.2 percent growth in 2013 and short of the government’s 6.5 to 7.5 percent target. Following the surprise 6.9 percent growth in the last quarter of 2014, the government vowed to accelerate public spending, which has dragged down growth especially in the third quarter. The government hopes to grow the economy by seven to eight percent this year and the next. “While slower public spending weighed on overall real GDP (gross domestic product) growth in 2014, the private sector has maintained a relatively rapid pace of growth,” Moody’s said. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1  “In particular, the resilience of private investment portends the sustainability of higher growth relative to peers over the next two years,” the debt watcher said. Moody’s sees Philippine economic growth to settle at 6.5 percent this year, below the government’s goal. The Philippines enjoys a Baa2 rating with a stable outlook from the debt watcher. “The Philippines’ institutional strength — as indicated by cross-country surveys of institutional quality — has improved in recent years. Moreover, the central bank has continued to bolster its track record of inflation management and financial stability,” Read More …

Signature Club: Located at the lobby of Crown Towers, exclusive members-only Signature Club presents a lavish private gaming experience with its very own private salons and more unparalleled privileges for the favored few. Manila (Philippines) –  AFP (Joel GUINTO) A new mega-casino opened in the Philippines Monday as the fast-growing southeast Asian nation ups its bid to become a world gaming destination. Manila aims to rival Macau and Las Vegas in terms of gaming revenues, and the ‘City of Dreams’ is the latest in a string of casinos that have opened in recent years. The new casino is an imposing structure on Manila Bay with six gleaming golden towers surrounding a giant egg-shaped dome, and industry and government leaders hope that it will attract cashed-up tourists from other parts of Asia. The casino is a joint venture between the country’s richest man Henry Sy, Australian billionaire James Packer and Lawrence Ho, son of Macau casino mogul Stanley Ho. “The goal is to find the best (sites) in Asia… The Philippines is one of the fastest growing economies anywhere in the world. We’ve seen the market really pick up,” Ho told reporters. Ho also acknowledged the huge cost of building the resort. The Philippine government requires a minimum $1 billion investment for new casinos built in the area. Packer said jokingly that the resort was inspired by Hollywood movies “Casino” and “Oceans Eleven”, and Robert de Niro, Martin Scorsese and Leonardo DiCaprio have appeared on giant billboards and TV commercials to Read More …

RIVALS ABS-CBN Corp. and GMA Network Inc. both claimed to be ahead in television ratings last January, as each asserted their dominance in the coverage of important events like the visit of Pope Francis. The TV networks use different companies to track their performance. ABS-CBN, which uses Kantar Media, said it was still the “most watched” TV network with an average national audience share of 42 percent, against GMA’s 36 percent. Citing data from Nielsen TV Audience Measurement, GMA claimed it cornered 34.9 percent of the so-called national urban television audience measurement, which was higher than ABS-CBN’s 32.8 percent. Ranked third was TV5, with 11.2 percent, GMA said. According to ABS-CBN, it continues its lead in key territories such as Balance Luzon (all areas in Luzon outside Mega Manila) where it got an average total day audience share of 45 percent. In the Visayas, it received 56 percent, while in Mindanao, it got 48 percent. ABS-CBN’s Kantar data showed that GMA cornered 36 percent, 26 percent, and 31 percent, in the respective areas. ABS-CBN said it continued to hold sway in the primetime (6 p.m. to midnight) block, with an average audience share of 47 percent—higher than GMA’s 33 percent. The primetime block is the most important part of a broadcaster’s day when most Filipinos watch TV and advertisers put a larger chunk of their investment in to reach more consumers effectively. GMA said it led in the morning block, where it scored 34.2 percent, ahead of ABS-CBN’s 29.9 percent. Read More …

THE inflation rate in Davao Region is seen to go down to three percent this year brought about by the continuing reduction in the prices of gasoline, an official from National Economic and Development Authority (Neda)-Davao said Tuesday. In a press briefing at the Philippine Information Agency (PIA)-Davao office, Neda-Davao Director Maria Lourdes Lim said the oil price adjustments in the world market, which triggered local gas prices to go down, will favor mostly the importers who will pay less for the transport cost of goods. Last year, Davao Region noted 3.7 percent inflation rate, higher by .5 percentage point as compared to 3.2 percent registered in 2013. The region’s inflation rate has remained lower than 4.2 percent in 2014 recorded on a national level. “There are sectors that are favored, such as importers who will pay less, and (consumers who) can utilize more of (products and services) because of lower prices,” she said. Also, Lim sees the players engaged in the logistics to benefit from the reducing oil prices as well as the transport sector. In her presentation, the official reported that the region posted a total of US$1.768 billion worth of exports as of third quarter in 2014, as compared to US$1.535 billion in 2013. Exports, meanwhile, took a leap from US$767 million in 2013 to a whopping $US1.168 billion. On the region’s top export crops, all but two recorded an increase in the production volume last year. Among these crops, corn reported the highest production increase at Read More …

A new mega-casino opened in the Philippines Monday as the fast-growing southeast Asian nation ups its bid to become a world gaming destination. Manila aims to rival Macau and Las Vegas in terms of gaming revenues, and the “City of Dreams” is the latest in a string of casinos that have opened in recent years. The new casino is an imposing structure on Manila Bay with six gleaming golden towers surrounding a giant egg-shaped dome, and industry and government leaders hope that it will attract cashed-up tourists from other parts of Asia. The casino is a joint venture between the country’s richest man Henry Sy, Australian billionaire James Packer and Lawrence Ho, son of Macau casino mogul Stanley Ho. “The goal is to find the best (sites) in Asia… The Philippines is one of the fastest growing economies anywhere in the world. We’ve seen the market really pick up,” Ho told reporters. Ho also acknowledged the huge cost of building the resort. The Philippine government requires a minimum $1 billion investment for new casinos built in the area. Packer said jokingly that the resort was inspired by Hollywood movies “Casino” and “Oceans Eleven”, and Robert de Niro, Martin Scorsese and Leonardo DiCaprio have appeared on giant billboards and TV commercials to promote the casino. The 6.2-hectare (15-acre) complex is the second of four mega resorts to open on reclaimed portions of the bay, just a few hundred meters from the city’s slum communities. The City of Dreams’ golden dome, called Read More …