Maniolas

MANILA, Philippines – With a growth trajectory that has been uninterrupted for 17 years and a robust economic growth average in the past six years, the Philippines has gotten out of the boom-and-bust cycle and is now traversing a “higher growth path,” said Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Ernesto Pernia. In a presentation during the general membership meeting of the Chamber of Thrift Banks on Thursday, Pernia said the average growth rate of 6.2 percent in the last six years has been the highest since the 1970s. “In earlier years, the Philippine economy was known to go through a boom-and-bust growth cycle. However, in recent years, the country has proven to get out of this cycle as we have been experiencing sustained high growth,” he said. In the second quarter of 2016, the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) accelerated to seven percent, faster than the previous quarter’s growth rate of 6.8 percent and 5.9 percent in the second quarter of 2015. With the first semester growth rate of 6.9 percent, the economy only needs to grow by 5.1 percent in the second semester to reach the lower end of the government’s growth target of 6.7 percent for 2016. Pernia said the low inflation in recent years fueled the expansion of the economy. In 2015, headline inflation rose by only 1.4 percent on the average. This was mainly due to the deceleration of non-food commodity prices such us housing, water, electricity and gas. Year-to-date headline inflation averaged 1.4 percent ending in July. Business Read More …

MANILA, Philippines – Listed boutique property developer Arthaland Corp. formally filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission its application for a preferred share offering amounting to as much as P3 billion. Proceeds would be used to finance the development of the Cebu Exchange (P53.6 million),  Biñan Laguna project (P458.8 million), Makati Residential (P371.6 million) and South of Metro Manila project (P822.4 million). Preferred shares are cumulative, non-voting, non-participating, non-convertible and peso-denominated. The company filed a three-year shelf registration for 30 million preferred shares. It intends to sell the peso-denominated preferred shares with a par value of P1 for P100 a piece. Based on its filing, Arthaland intends to initially offer P1 billion worth of preferred shares with an oversubscription option of another P1 billion. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 The net proceeds will be used to partially finance the acquisition and development of the company’s real estate projects, repayment of loans and general corporate purposes. The Cebu Exchange project is a commercial development located within the Cebu IT Park in Barangay, Lahug, Cebu City.  The land was acquired by Arthaland subsidiary Cebu Lavana Land Corp. last year. The company expects to launch the project in the third or the fourth quarter of the year. Construction is expected to start in the second quarter of 2017. For the Biñan Laguna Project, Arthaland unit Cazneau will develop an 8.2-hectare residential community project in the province. It will the first campus-type residential community project and will feature a mix Read More …

MANILA, Philippines – The government is being urged to review and revoke clearances to build coal projects as the Philippine Movement for Climate Justice (PMCJ) highlighted the dangers and worsening conditions in communities with coal-fired power plants. The PMCJ said it would raise the issues and sentiments of affected communities before the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR). The group previously called for a moratorium on the issuance of Environmental Compliance Certificates (ECCs) to coal projects.  “More than a moratorium, we urge the DENR to review the ECCs issued to coal projects and revoke upon finding of serious breach compromising the health and environment of host communities,” said Aaron Pedrosa, PMCJ’s head of energy working group. Pedrosa said there is a clear and present danger arising from continued reliance in coal projects for the country’s energy requirements, enough reasons to abandon coal developments. “Coal-burning has been identified as the single largest source of greenhouse gas emissions that is causing climate change. For a country identified as vulnerable to climate change impacts, promoting coal borders on the criminal as it would surely undermine the resiliency of communities to address climate change impacts from extreme weather events such as Yolanda to slow onset impacts like extreme El Niño,” he said. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 In Luzon, eight coal fired power plants with 16 boiler units are already in the pipeline in Bataan, Quezon and Batangas, on top of the existing 22 plants. Citing a Harvard University Read More …