PILIPINAS Shell Petroleum Corp. said it is awaiting clarity on the government’s energy mix policy before it moves forward with plans to build a liquefied natural gas (LNG) import terminal.
Nov 062014
Nov 062014
Satisfy your food cravings at the newest restaurants on Bonifacio High Street.
Nov 062014
Catch Piolo Pascual, Xian Lim and Sam Milby this holiday season at Ayala Malls.
Nov 062014
MANILA, Philippines – Infrastructure giant Metro Pacific Investments Corp. (MPIC) expects a 29- percent increase in its capital expenditures next year with the start of the P65-billion project to extend the Light Rail Transit line 1 (LRT-1) all the way to the province of Cavite. MPIC president Jose Maria K. Lim said in an interview with reporters that the budget for capital expenditures of the conglomerate could reach P45 billion next year from P35 billion this year. Lim said MPIC has earmarked P10 billion next year for the LRT-1 extension project. Without the budget for LRT-1, he pointed out that MPIC would spend P35 billion for its capital expenditures next year. This year, MPIC has earmarked P35 billion for its capital expenditures of which P18 billion would go to water or Maynilad, P11 billion for electricity through Manila Electric Co. (Meralco), P3 billion for toll roads via the Metro Pacific Tollways Corp. (MPTC), and P2 billion for the hospital group. “If we start LRT-1, that is another chunk. It (capex) would be closer to P50 billion for MPIC Group next year, including the LRT-1 extension project,” he added. According to him, the Light Rail Manila Consortium is looking at taking over the mass transit system as early as June next year instead of the original target of October next year under the concession agreement signed with the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) as well as Light Rail Transit Authority (LRTA) last Oct. 2. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: Read More …
Nov 062014
MANILA, Philippines – The Philippines is looking to enhance its cooperation in terms of trade and investments with South Korea to take advantage of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations’ (Asean) move towards economic integration. Speaking at the Asean-Korea Forum, Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario said it is in the interest of the Philippines to pursue a strategic relationship with South Korea. He said the Philippines sees trade and investments as an area of focus in pursuing stronger ties with South Korea. “We offer the Philippines as a gateway to Korea’s engagement to Asean,” he said. He noted that South Korea was among the Philippines’ biggest trading partners last year, accounting for seven percent of total trade. South Korea was also one of the biggest sources of investments to the Philippines, having poured in P8.5 billion last year with 7.2 percent earmarked for manufacturing. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 Park Bun Soon, a professor from Hongik University, said in his presentation in the same event that while economic integration is seen to provide gains for Asean members, there is a need for the Philippines to work with South Korea for it to benefit from such and contribute to the further development of the region. At present, Park noted that the Philippines is the least benefitting from trade and investment cooperation in the Asean. The Philippines trade with other countries in the Asean accounts for only 19.1 percent of its total trade, among the lowest in Read More …
Nov 062014
MANILA, Philippines – Universal and commercial banks have been able to increase their capitalization in the second quarter despite the stricter requirements under the Basel 3, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas reported yesterday. Big banks’ capital adequacy ratio settled at 15.94 percent on a solo basis as of end-June and at 16.66 percent on a consolidated basis. Both figures are higher than the end-March ratios of 15.45 percent on solo basis and 16.35 percent on consolidated basis. The latest numbers are also well-above the BSP’s required 10-percent CAR for big banks. These numbers are already computed against Basel 3, an updated set of reforms meant to strengthen the regulation, supervision and risk management of banks. The BSP has mandated big banks to implement new capital requirements during the start of the year, while other Basel 3 measures including leverage ratio, liquidity standards, and framework for domestic systemically important banks have yet to be carried out. “The strengthening of the industry’s capital base remains driven by Common Equity Tier (CET) 1 which represents the highest quality of bank capital,” the BSP said. The CET1 ratios of the big banks stood at 13.74 percent of risk-weighted assets on solo basis and 14.48 percent on consolidated basis. Their Tier 1 ratios, meanwhile, reached 13.96 percent on solo basis and 14.65 percent on consolidated basis. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 These levels surpass the BSP’s requirement for banks to maintain a minimum Tier 1 capital of 7.5 percent, a minimum Read More …
Nov 062014
MANILA, Philippines – Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Governor Amando Tetangco Jr. wants to widen the minimum public float for universal banks to ensure increased transparency and accountability. Under the listing rules of the Philippine Stock Exchange, a company that goes public must sell an initial 10 percent of its initial outstanding capital. “I personally think that the 10 percent minimum public ownership requirement is on the low side. Public ownership of a financial institution must be expanded. This should help improve their operations,” Tetangco said. When asked by how much the minimum public float requirement should be increased, Tetangco said: “It is something that we need to study.” A check on the PSE website showed that UnionBank had the lowest public float among the listed banks at 19 percent, which is almost double the exchange’s 10 percent requirement. Security Bank had the largest public float at 73 percent. Public float or free float represents the shares of a corporation that are in the hands of public investors as opposed to locked-in stock held by company officers, controlling-interest investors, or government. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 Universal banks are mandated by law to go public three years after acquiring their universal banking licenses. Being publicly-listed will make bank operations more transparent to the public as companies listed on the local bourse are required to submit regular disclosures which include financial statements and other transactions that have a material impact on its shareholders. Universal banks represent the largest Read More …
Nov 062014
MANILA, Philippines – Ethanol production in the country remains scarce, leaving oil firms no choice but to import overseas to comply with the government’s E10 requirement for gasoline, according to a study by a United Nations arm. An official from the Department of Energy (DOE) said even with additional ethanol plants, local production remains insufficient. “Even with new ethanol plants onstream by next year, our local production remains insufficient. We need more investments,” said Mario Marasigan, OIC director of the Renewable Energy Management Bureau. In its latest study, the United Nations Conference on Trade Development (UNCTAD) said the country sources around 70 percent of its ethanol requirement abroad. In 2012, for instance, according to UNCTAD, the country produced only 85 million liters of ethanol. This represents 30 percent of total local demand.
Nov 062014
MANILA, Philippines – The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) is allowing operating mines to expand their contract areas provided that these have viable economic reserves. The DENR, through the recommendation of the Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) has issued Administrative Order (AO) 2014-06 which states that the expansion of areas of existing mines with viable economic deposits would be allowed subject to validation by the Mining Industry Coordinating Council (MICC) through its Technical Working Group on Environmental Protection of which the MGB is part of. Applications for expansion would also be subjected to certain conditions. MGB director Leo Jasareno said the new order was issued in consideration of a number of operating mines in the country that need to expand in existing contract areas to sustain operations. As such, operations of existing mines with dwindling resources could be expanded provided that the expansion area applied for is adjacent to the contract area or is situated within the immediate vicinity or a municipality. Jasareno said a declaration of mining project pre-feasibility (DMPF) should be submitted for the expansion areas to prove the economic viability of deposits. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 The new regulation applies to existing contract areas covered by mineral production and sharing agreements (MPSA), as well as Financial and Technical Assistance Agreements (FTAA). As the new mining policy bans the issuance of new mining contracts pending the legislation of a new taxation scheme for the extractive industry, the new mining areas would Read More …
Nov 052014
IMPORTS of a food sweetener has been tagged in the Finance Department’s latest Tax Watch advertisement, after regulators noted price differences in the declared prices of the top importing companies.