CONSIDERING taxpayers’ never-ending obligation to pay taxes, it behooves them to keep pace with the different regulations issued by the Office of the Commissioner of Internal Revenue, and more essentially, to properly understand and fully recognize the correct interpretation of these regulations.
MANILA, Philippines – The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) may implement stricter guidelines on banks’ exposure to the real estate sector as the country’s property market continues to boom. “Our prudential focus here is to monitor and determine whether acceptable credit standards are maintained by banks with respect to their exposures to real estate,” BSP Governor Amando M. Tetangco Jr., said in an e-mail yesterday. “We can do this, for example, through the reforms in Contract to Sell financing, a review of existing concentration limits, forms of exposure haircuts or a further review of the risk weights applicable to different types of exposures,” he said. The central bank monitors credit conditions including those extended for real estate activities to ensure these remain in line with the BSP’s price and financial stability mandates. The BSP in 2012 introduced tougher regulations on monitoring banks’ exposure to the real estate sector. The expanded reporting now covers loans to developers of socialized and low-cost housing, and to individuals, and credit supported by non-risk collaterals or Home Guarantee Corp. guarantee. At the same time, banks were required to report investments in debt and equity securities that finance real estate activities. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 “Our concern for any sector – including real estate – is part of our prudential oversight of bank exposures,” Tetangco said. “Issues such as concentration risk, credit quality, underwriting practices and interconnectedness will always be recurring concerns for prudential reasons,” he added. Latest central bank data Read More …
MANILA, Philippines – This year’s Travel Tour Expo (TTE) of the Philippine Travel Agencies Association (PTAA) will have Philippine Airlines’ (PAL) biggest-ever participation at any trade fair – at 1,100 square meters – to accommodate the volume of customers availing of PAL’s low-priced tickets that can only be bought at the TTE from Feb. 14 to 16, 2014. The huge PAL booth at the second floor of the SMX Convention Center, Pasay City, will have more than 50 ticket counters and various amenities to keep customers entertained while waiting to be served. Dedicated counters will also make queuing less stressful for Elite and Premium Elite Mabuhay Miles members. Rock-bottom tickets that entitle passengers to full-service amenities annually attract overflow crowds to the PAL booth that will be manned by more than 50 ticketing agents from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. to handle all types of transactions. PAL is a platinum sponsors and official airline of this year’s 21st TTE, having been a regular participant since its inception by PTAA in 1994. Last year, TTE had approximately 76,000 visitors to the more than 500 booths that were used by 235 exhibitors. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1
Retired business tycoon Eduardo “Danding” Cojuangco Jr. or ECJ is recovering very well from the kidney transplant he underwent, with the procedure performed locally at the St. Luke’s Medical Center in Bonifacio Global City early in December last year. The 78-year-old businessman told us he gained a few pounds but he says he hopes to lose it just as quickly. ECJ has been advised by his doctors to keep himself in isolation for the next six months to avoid getting infected by people with coughs or colds. He has been receiving a steady stream of visitors, mostly close personal friends and relatives who regularly drop by and chat with him through an enclosed glass living room. Visitors are received in the dining area with a glass divider through which they can see ECJ and talk to him through a microphone. The San Miguel chairman keeps himself busy watching DVDs, getting updated with current events through news reports on television and going over some papers – exactly what a retired business tycoon does. ECJ has left everything including major decisions to his lieutenant (Ramon Ang) who runs San Miguel Corporation and all the other businesses under the SMC Group. Once he is fully recovered, the founder of the Nationalist People’s Coalition party plans to travel around the country to see how and where he can help fellow Filipinos improve their lives. He told us he will also continue providing scholarships to students through the Eduardo Cojuangco Foundation, with scholars provided with Read More …
MANILA, Philippines – As the world welcomes the “Year of the Horse,” Pinoy netizens will find it useful to download the Malayan Insurance mobile application either at the Google Play store or at the Apple App store. Malayan’s pioneering insurance mobile app is equipped with a “Feng Shui Advisor” which provides users with a handy fortune calculator, every week. “We made sure our mobile application features a Feng Shui advisor because Filipinos love to have some fun using digital applications. Also this Feng Shui advisor is one of Malayan’s trademark features in its annual planner, reflecting our Filipino-Chinese roots and advertising message of insuring for various life events,” said Aldous Anacion, Malayan’s digital marketing head. “You will not find this anywhere in the world,” he added, noting the uniqueness of the application to the Philippines. He said the company’s Feng Shui planner which the company gives to its clients and agents, has been available since 1981. “Our mobile app also comes with a horoscope to guide that users may consult regarding their lifestyle or even about money matters,” he added. Malayan’s mobile app is equipped with a personality calculator. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 Users will find this useful as it suggests to them the most appropriate insurance product which they can avail based on his or her answers to the mobile app personality quiz. Through the Malayan Insurance mobile app, users will also receive live twitter feeds from various government information gateways such as MMDA, Read More …
MANILA, Philippines – The Philippine Dealing and Exchange Corp. (PDEx) has given dominant carrier Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT) the green light to list P15 billion worth of fixed-rate bonds this week. Ma. Lourdes Rausa-Chan, PLDT corporate secretary, informed the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) that the seven and 10-year fixed rate bonds would be listed on PDEx on Feb. 6. “We wish to advise that the application of the company to list its P15-billion fixed rate bonds due 2021 and 2024 has been approved by PDEx effective Feb. 6,” she said. New York-based Moody’s Investors Service earlier said the fund raising activity of PLDT was credit positive as this would improve the debt profile by reducing foreign exchange risks. Moody’s assistant vice president Yoshio Takahashi said the proposed bonds would help PLDT to further term out its debt maturity profile despite the moderate increase in its total outstanding debt. “While the debt offering could modestly increase total debt outstanding in the near term, it will help PLDT to term out its debt maturity profile and reduce foreign exchange rate risk,” Takahashi said. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 Of the total P110 billion outstanding debt of PLDT as of end-September, about 16 percent or P17.7 billion were due between the fourth quarter of last year and this year. About P4 billion were due in the fourth quarter of last year and another P13.7 billion this year. PLDT intends to use the proceeds of the seven and Read More …
MANILA, Philippines – Realty entrepreneur, college teacher and multi-awarded columnist Wilson Lee Flores will address the officers and staff of American Standard tomorrow at the Makati Shangri-La Hotel, Makati City. He has been invited to speak on the topic “How to have a winning attitude”. Flores has won three Palanca literary awards and a record 11 Catholic Mass Media Awards (CMMA), including two CMMA Hall of Fame Awards. Aside from real estate, he has also invested in and turned around several businesses including the Caltex gas station in Iba-Malhacan Road of Meycauayan Exit in Bulacan and the unique 75-year-old Kamuning Bakery in Quezon City where he has retained the old owners as his business partners to continue old tastes and traditions. The 130-year-old multinational American Standard is a Fortune 500 company, a leader in bathroom and kitchen fixtures.
MANILA, Philippines – Nido Petroleum an Australia-listed oil and gas company, is banking on favorable prospects for its projects this year, including an exploration venture in the Philippines. In its 2014 outlook published yesterday, Nido managing director Phil Byrne said the company is looking forward to positive results for its projects in Indonesia and the Philippines. “We are very excited about 2014. We have underlying production from the Galoc field produce of about over $50-million net free cash flow which will underpin our work program through 2014,” he said. He said the focus is four well drillings, which will form Nido’s cornerstone of activities for 2014. “We got three wells in Indonesia and one well in Philippines,” he said, referring to Service Contract 63 in Northwest Palawan. He said Nido hopes to start the drilling program for the four wells within this month. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 For SC 63, Nido has signed a farm-in agreement with Dragon Oil, a United Arab Emirates (UAE)-based company. Under the agreement signed last month, Dragon Oil will acquire a 40-percent participating interest in SC 63 from Nido’s current 50-percent participating interest in the service contract. To earn its 40-percent interest from Nido, Dragon Oil will pay on behalf of Nido, 56 percent of the cost of the Baragatan-1 exploration well based on a $25- million cost cap. For the second stage of the farm-out agreement, Nido will seek to secure an additional 10-percent participating interest in SC 63 Read More …
THAILAND has now fully complied with a World Trade Organization (WTO) cigarette tax ruling, a Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) official said, but a new development there is preventing the issue from being put to rest.
POWER Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp. (PSALM) plans to conduct another auction for the privatization of the 153.1-megawatt (MW) Naga power plant complex in Cebu this month, its top official said on Friday last week.