Maniolas

Photo shows Nestle Philippines officials (from left) Peter Douglas Winter, technical director; Ernie Mascenon, corporate affairs director; Jacques Reber, chairman and CEO; and Sherilla Bayona, business executive manager, beverages. JOEY MENDOZA      MANILA, Philippines – Filipinos’ continued patronage of its chocolate drinks, coupled with the country’s sustained economic growth have prompted Swiss consumer goods giant Nestle to invest P2 billion to build a new Milo beverage factory in the Philippines – only the fourth of its kind in the world. Nestle Philippines chairman and CEO Jacques Reber announced yesterday the group’s latest expansion project which would be on top of the P14 billion investments it had poured into the country over the last five years. The Milo malt plant, which is being constructed on a 5,400 square meter property in Lipa, Batangas, will be Nestle’s sixth factory in the Philippines. Nestle currently has three existing malt plants globally which are located in Singapore, Nigeria and Australia. Reber said the Philippines has been selected as the site of the new malt plant because of the huge domestic demand for Milo products and the group’s strong confidence in the continued growth of the country’s  economy. The Philippines is currently Nestle’s biggest market in Southeast Asia, second biggest in Asia next to China, and eighth largest worldwide. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1  “The Philippines is a key market for us at Nestle. For over a century, we have continually affirmed our confidence in, and commitment to the Philippines through our Read More …

MANILA, Philippines – Palm Concepcion Power Corp. (PCPC) plans to start up the first unit of its 2×135-megawatt (MW) coal-fired power plant in Concepcion, Iloilo within the week after getting clearance from the power regulator. In a statement, PCPC said it was granted a provisional Certificate of Compliance (COC) by the the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) for the operation of its 135-MW power plant, which will eventually be replaced by a final COC as advised by the ERC. Securing a COC is necessary before any generation company can commence commercial operations. PCPC said the construction of the power plant is already 99.5 percent completed as of end-July, while commissioning is expected to be completed this week. The firm said the issuance of the provisional certificate signifies PCPC’s compliance with the requirements under the 2014 Revised Rules for the Issuance of Certificate of Compliance for Generation Companies/Entities with Self-Generation Facilities. “PCPC was granted the provisional COC after careful determination by ERC of the company’s compliance with the financial, technical, and environmental requirements,” PCPC senior vice president Winifredo Pangilinan said. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 The power plant will be supplying its power generation capacities to the Visayas grid, covered by an ERC-approved power supply agreement with distribution utilities in Negros, Cebu, Leyte and Panay. PCPC is seen as a critical addition to the power generation industry especially in Panay,  Negros and Cebu Islands since it will augment the growing power requirements in Iloilo, Aklan, Negros and Cebu Read More …

DTI SECRETARY MEETS FRENCH AMBASSADOR: Trade and Industry Secretary Ramon Lopez (left) recently meet with French Ambassador to the Philippines Thierry Mathou to discuss future plans and programs in strengthening the two countries’ economic ties. France, as the third largest economy in the European Union is among the countries which support the Philippines’ advocacy on developing small and medium enterprises especially in the creative services and startup sector. MANILA, Philippines – The Philippines is seeking ways to boost bilateral ties with France, a country seen to help strengthen the government’s thrust towards the development of micro, small and medium enterprises. Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Secretary Ramon Lopez met last week with French Ambassador Thierry Mathou to discuss programs in strengthening the two countries’ economic ties. “France, as the third largest economy in the European Union, is among the countries which support the Philippines’ advocacy on developing small and medium enterprises especially in the creative services and startup sector,” the DTI chief said. Philippine exports to France last year increased 25.41 percent to $415.89 million from $331.64 million in 2014. Top exported products include parts of electronic integrated circuits and micro assemblies. Bilateral trade between the two countries, meanwhile, was expected to finish lower last year from the $2.3 billion recorded in 2014. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 France, however, has consistently been one of the country’s biggest markets for import and export merchandise trade and has risen to become the Philippines’ second largest trading Read More …

Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III said the government would continue on filing tax evasion cases against erring taxpayers. Philstar.com/File photo MANILA, Philippines – Unlike with suspected drug lords, the government vowed to be nice to taxpayers, dropping the possibility of a name-and-shame campaign and relying on voluntary compliance to raise more revenues. “Those are different things. In our particular case, collecting tax is a little more complex than getting people to surrender for drugs,” Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III told reporters on Tuesday. “It’s going to be aggressive, but I don’t know if it will be as aggressive as that one,” he said. The Duterte administration has come out strong on running after suspected drug offenders even in the face of criticisms that it sometimes violates human rights. President Rodrigo Duterte himself had named five police generals allegedly protecting drug syndicates. They all denied any wrongdoing. For erring taxpayers however, Dominguez said the government would just continue on filing tax evasion cases and pursuing existing ones, prioritizing those it believes are “winnable.” Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 There were 635 tax evasion and smuggling cases worth P103 billion left by the previous administration under its Run After Tax Evaders and Run After The Smugglers programs. Aside from that, the past government also relied on its Tax Watch project that publicizes company and individual names found to have low tax payments related to their transactions and income. Dominguez, for his part, said he expects more voluntary compliance with planned lower Read More …