Aboitiz Power unit seals 2 yr supply deal

 General
Jan 032016
 
Aboitiz Power unit seals 2 yr supply deal

MANILA, Philippines – A unit of Aboitiz Power Corp. has forged a two-year supply agreement with the Cotabato Light and Power Co. Inc.  (CLPC). In a joint application with the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC), Therma Marine Inc. (TMI) and CLPC are seeking regulatory approval of their energy supply agreement (ESA) including all the rates, fees and charges set out therein. Under the agreement, TMI will supply and deliver one megawatt to CLPC for two years not later than Dec. 25, 2017. TMI and CLPC cited the continuing tight supply in the Mindanao grid, with the latter implementing rotational brownouts. “The ESA with TMI is indispensable to immediately narrow the power supply gap that CLPC requires in order to minimize the power outages in its franchise area,” the joint application said. CLPC distributes power to the end-users in the city of Cotabato and portions of the municipalities of Sultan Kudarat and Datu Odin Sinsuat, all in the province of Maguindanao. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 The power distributor undertook competitive selection process (CSP) pending the renewal of contract for supply of electricity energy (CSEE) with the National Power Corp.  TMI was one of the power generators that bagged an ESA, along with Western Mindanao Power Corp. If approved, customers of CLPC will see an additional generation charge of P0.1988 per kilowatt-hour in their monthly bills. “The approvals sought, provisional and final, will ultimately redound to the benefit of the customers of CLPC in terms of continuous, reliable, Read More …

ERC reviewing new capacity, market share limitations

 Economy
Jan 032016
 
ERC reviewing new capacity, market share limitations

MANILA, Philippines – The Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) is reviewing new capacity and market share limitations (MSL) for generation companies to ensure competitiveness in the electric power industry. The power regulator is coming up with a new study for the updated capacity threshold, ERC chairman Jose Vicente Salazar said. The study is still ongoing. We are discussing with PEMC (Philippine Electricity Market Corp.) and GMC (Grid Management Committee),” he said. PEMC is the operator of the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market, while GMC gives advice on the country’s power grid. Salazar said PEMC and GMC would be given until the third week of January to submit reports on the market share limitations. “We’re going to impose on the second or third week of January a deadline for their reports so we can compare this two decisions and determine how we’re going to move forward,” he said. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 In December, PEMC had informed the power regulator it already has a preliminary position. Meanwhile, GMC is in the process of preparing a report. Under RA 9136 or the Electric Power Industry Reform Act of 2001 (EPIRA), the ERC is to set the MSL annually to prevent a person, company, related group or independent power producer administrator (IPPA), singly or in combination, to own, operate, or control more than 30 percent of the IGC of a grid, and/or 25 percent of the national IGC. For 2015, the ERC updated the limit to 3,917.32 megawatts from 3,612.42 Read More …

Government agencies now hold 90% of their budgets – DBM

 Economy
Jan 032016
 
Government agencies now hold 90% of their budgets – DBM

MANILA, Philippines – State agencies are now holding roughly P1.5 trillion of their respective budgets, handed out to them automatically when the 2016 national outlay took effect last Friday. “With the GAA-as-release-document, it means that 90 percent of the budget of agencies can immediately be obligated without waiting for the  DBM to issue allotments,” Budget Secretary Florencio Abad told The STAR. According to data from the Department of Budget and Management, departmental budgets under the General Appropriations Act (GAA) amounted to P1.66 trillion. Departmental budgets accounted for 55 percent of the total P3-trillion outlay signed by President Aquino last Dec. 22. Budget released means agencies are now free to incur obligations by contracting products and services. Once obligated, agencies would still need to secure notices of cash allocation (NCA) from the DBM. NCAs, in turn, are given to the Bureau of the Treasury, which issues checks to pay for government services. Once encashed and paid to contractors, the amount is deemed disbursed. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 “The introduction of the GAA-as-release-document us-hered in a budget regime in which the GAA is the primary fund release document,” Abad. “That is, agency budgets are practically released the moment the national budget is enacted,” he added. According to the GAA or RA 10717, the 10 agencies with the largest allocations were the departments of education (P437 billion), public works and highways (P400 billion), national defense (P175 billion), interior and local government (P154 billion), health (P128 billion), social welfare Read More …

To facilitate cross-border info exchange SEC bats for easing of Bank Secrecy Law

 General
Jan 012016
 
To facilitate cross-border info exchange SEC bats for easing of Bank Secrecy Law

As such, the SEC has been pushing to relax the Bank Secrecy Law which the SEC said can be done through the amendments to the Securities Regulation Code. STAR/File photo MANILA, Philippines – The Philippines needs to ease its Bank Secrecy Law to be able to fully participate in the Paris-based International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO)’s multilateral memorandum of understanding concerning consultation and cooperation and the exchange of information (MMOU), a ranking Securities and Exchange Commission official said. SEC Commissioner Ephyro Amatong attributed its non-participation in the MMOU to the Bank Secrecy Law, which prevents the SEC from fully sharing information with other securities regulators. Amatong, nevertheless, said full participation in the MMOU on information sharing is not a precondition for the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) to be able to link up with other stock markets in the region.  “The Asean Trade Link is a contractual arrangement among participating exchanges (from Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand) using technology to facilitate cross-border/cross-exchange trading. Full participating by the Philippine SEC in the IOSCO’s MMOU is not a precondition,” Amatong said. The proposal to link the local bourse with other exchanges in Southeast Asia, however, remains pending. The PSE said it is waiting for the SEC to become a member of the IOSCO, which would give the country’s corporate regulatory environment a vote of confidence and could facilitate cross-border transactions. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 The Philippines had been seeking membership to the Paris-based body since 2008. However, Amatong Read More …

YEARENDER: Stocks fail to stack up gains as foreign jitters hurt market

 Economy
Jan 012016
 
YEARENDER: Stocks fail to stack up gains as foreign jitters hurt market

As such, the benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) finished at 6,952.08 on Dec. 29, the last trading day for 2015. This was down 3.85 percent from 2014’s closing level of 7,230.57. STAR/File photo MANILA, Philippines – The Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) initially expected new listings in 2015 would reach a whopping P200 billion. After all, it did appear like an easy target with already half of the amount, or P104 billion, achieved as early as end-June. Indeed, an optimistic Hans Sicat, the president of the PSE, said the target could be reached by the end of 2015. But as in any other stock market, nothing is really certain in equities. In the end, the figure amounted to P184.6 billion, lower than the earlier estimate, but still  20.9 percent higher than 2014’s P153.08 billion. Market volatility prevailed as global uncertainties were brought about by developments mainly in Greece and China. As such, the benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) finished at 6,952.08 on Dec. 29, the last trading day for 2015. This was down 3.85 percent from 2014’s closing level of 7,230.57. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 News of renewed uncertainties from Greece started to come in the middle of the year, with the much-debated bailout package sought by the debt-ridden European country. Greece’s debt crisis started as early as 2010 and over the past five years, 344 billion euros have reportedly flowed to Greece from official creditors such as the European Central Bank and the Read More …

2015 a record-breaking year with $5-T global M&A deals

 Economy
Jan 012016
 
2015 a record-breaking year with $5-T global M&A deals

NEW YORK– Companies around the world spent a record $5.04 trillion on acquisitions in 2015, according to Dealogic, as slow worldwide economic growth and low interest rates pushed companies to combine forces. Dealogic, a financial data provider, says the value of global deals soared 37 percent in 2015. The highest price tag came in November, when Pfizer and Allergan announced the biggest pharmaceutical deal in history. Low interest rates since the Great Recession have made it cheaper for companies to borrow money to pay for acquisitions, and because the global economy only grew slowly this year, companies decided it made more sense to buy their competitors instead of trying to boost their sales on their own. Here are the 10 largest acquisitions announced during the year: Pfizer and Allergan Pfizer, the maker of cholesterol fighter Lipitor, impotence treatment Viagra and fibromyalgia drug Lyrica, agreed to buy Allergan in November. The $148.57 billion deal would be the second-largest corporate merger ever. It would give Pfizer control of Botox and move the company’s headquarters to Ireland, cutting its taxes. Pfizer would also become the world’s largest drugmaker in terms of sales. AB InBev and SABMiller The biggest beer maker in the world wants to get even larger. The company behind Budweiser, Corona and Stella Artois agreed to buy the maker of Miller Genuine Draft and Peroni for $105.56 billion in October. The move would expand AB InBev’s business in Africa, Asia and other key developing markets. As part of the deal, SABMiller Read More …

Procurements, permits process slow Yolanda housing developments

 Economy
Jan 012016
 
Procurements, permits process slow Yolanda housing developments

Last April, President Aquino transferred the coordination, monitoring, and evaluation of all disaster-related programs projects and activities (PPAs) from the Office of the Presidential Assistant for Rehabilitation and Recovery to NEDA.Marcelino Pascua/PCOO MANILA, Philippines – More than two years after the massive destruction brought by Typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan), only 13,335 housing units have been completed, with construction of 79,219 houses ongoing and scheduled for completion by December 2016. In a report released by the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA), it attributed the slow pace of building resettlement sites to policies on procurement and land acquisition and the many required permits and clearances needed to start certain projects. “NEDA is intensively coordinating efforts to address these policy and implementation issues with the concerned agencies,” Arsenio M. Balisacan, Economic Planning Secretary and NEDA director general, said. Last April, President Aquino transferred the coordination, monitoring, and evaluation of all disaster-related programs projects and activities (PPAs) from the Office of the Presidential Assistant for Rehabilitation and Recovery to NEDA. Balisacan noted that resettlement of the survivors from the danger zones remains the most challenging among the recovery efforts. “Nevertheless, the Philippine government – working closely with its development partners, the private sector and non-governmental organizations – continues to see steady progress in the Yolanda recovery and rehabilitation efforts,” he said. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 The overall weighted physical accomplishment (OWPA) of completed and ongoing Yolanda PPAs now stands at 63.2 percent – or 30.3 percent completed and 33.1 Read More …

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