Peso breaks 50:$1 barrier

 Economy
Nov 242016
 
Peso breaks 50:$1 barrier

The local currency shed 12 centavos to close at 49.98 from Wednesday’s 49.86 to $1. This was the weakest level since the peso closed at 49.99 to $1 on Nov. 20, 2008 or during the height of the global financial crisis. MANILA, Philippines – The peso briefly breached the 50 to $1 level yesterday, echoing the weakening of the regional currencies amid the release of minutes from a US Fed meeting indicating the agency is poised to raise interest rates next month. The peso opened weak at 49.86 before hitting an intra-day low of 50 to $1. The local currency shed 12 centavos to close at 49.98 from Wednesday’s 49.86 to $1. This was the weakest level since the peso closed at 49.99 to $1 on Nov. 20, 2008 or during the height of the global financial crisis. Trading volume increased 21.4 percent to $437.6 million from Wednesday’s $360.5 million due to strong demand. Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez said the peso’s downtrend trajectory is an expected reaction of the local currency to the anticipated early rate increase by the US Fed, with other Asian currencies also moving in the same direction. “We are watching the currency movements very closely. We seem to be moving in the same direction as the other currencies. We just want to avoid abrupt changes in the exchange rates,” Dominguez said. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 But he added the country’s rock solid macroeconomic fundamentals would enable the domestic economy to survive Read More …

Shakey’s IPO a go, says PSE

 Economy
Nov 242016
 
Shakey’s IPO a go, says PSE

Po Sr. MANILA, Philippines – It’s all systems go for the stock market debut of pizza chain Shakey’s Philippines after the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) approved this week the company’s planned initial public offering (IPO), the final requirement for the listing scheduled on Dec. 15. “We already approved it,” PSE president Hans Sicat said yesterday. Earlier, Shakey’s Pizza Asia Ventures Inc (SPAVI), the leading full-service restaurant in the country owned by the Po family, also secured the approval of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the corporate regulator. SPAVI seeks to raise up to P5.5 billion from the IPO to be used for debt repayment, capital requirements and strategic acquisitions. According to the prospectus filed with the SEC, the company will sell up to 352 million primary and secondary shares, including an over allotment of 46 million shares to cater for extra demand. SPAVI has set a maximum price of P15.58 each with the final price setting date scheduled on Nov. 28. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 The offer period will run from Dec. 2 to 8, according to underwriter BDO Capital & Investment Corp. Filipino-Chinese businessman Ricardo Po Sr., the family patriarch, has said the company is proceeding with the listing on Dec. 15 despite the perceived market volatility. “We will proceed with the listing as scheduled. The investors are all interested,” Po told The STAR. SPAVI is majority owned by the Po Family’s Century Pacific Group Inc (CPGI), parent company of Philippine listed Century Read More …

ADB hikes Philippine growth forecasts

 Economy
Nov 242016
 
ADB hikes Philippine growth forecasts

In a briefing yesterday during the Businessworld and Philippine Airlines Asean Regional Forum, ADB country economist Aekopol Chongvilaivan said the reason for the upward revision is the country’s better-than-expected economic growth in the third quarter of the year. MANILA, Philippines – The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has revised upward anew its economic growth projection for the Philippines to 6.8 percent for 2016 and 6.4 percent for 2017. This is ADB’s third revision after a revised 6.4 percent and 6.2 percent economic growth forecast for 2016 and 2017, respectively. The original forecast was six percent for 2016 and 6.1 percent for 2017. In a briefing yesterday during the Businessworld and Philippine Airlines Asean Regional Forum, ADB country economist Aekopol Chongvilaivan said the reason for the upward revision is the country’s better-than-expected economic growth in the third quarter of the year. “Basically, it’s because of the third quarter (performance). Growth is much higher than expected and export performance is much better than expected and this is supported by a weaker peso,” Chongvilaivan said. Exports rose to $5.211 billion in September from $4.960 billion a year ago, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA). On the other hand, Chongvilaivan said fourth quarter GDP may go down slightly due to the uncertain global economy. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 “We expect to be slightly going down due to the uncertain global economy so we expect fourth quarter to slow down from the third quarter,” Chongvilaivan said. The Philippine economy grew Read More …

Dutch man nabbed for illegal gun, ammo

 News
Nov 232016
 
Dutch man nabbed for illegal gun, ammo

INQUIRER FILE PHOTO MANILA — A 67-year-old Dutch man was arrested in Caloocan for alleged illegal possession of firearms and ammunition, the Northern Police District said. Cornelis Kok was allegedly in possession of a .45-gun, a Colt MK IV, with a magazine loaded with six rounds of live ammunition. He has been staying at Bustos, Bulacan with wife Rina Kok, Supt. Ferdinand del Rosario, the deputy for administration of Caloocan police, reported on Wednesday. As part of protocol, Caloocan police said they informed the Ministry of Netherlands through Richard Van Kooj about Kok’s arrest. A complaint for illegal possession of firearms will be filed against him before the city prosecutor. Kok was at a bus terminal on Second Avenue and about to go home when security guard Jerry Silva noticed the firearm. Police are still determining why he brought the guns in a public place. Kok presented documents to prove there was nothing illegal about the gun but police said the papers “bore visible marks of being spurious.”  SFM TAGS: .45-gun, Caloocan City, Caloocan City Police, Colt MK IV, Cornelis Kok, Crime, Ferdinand del Rosario, Foreign Nationals, illegal possession of firearms, Law enforcement, police investigation, Rina Kok For feedback, complaints, or inquiries, contact us.

Financing business made easier

 Economy
Nov 232016
 

The earliest set of rules governing the establishment and operation of a financing company in the Philippines — Republic Act No. 5980, otherwise known as “The Financing Company Act” — dates back to the ’70s. Since then, the law, including its rules and regulations, went through several amendments in a span of almost five decades. The first instance occurred during the late ’70s through Presidential Decree (PD) No. 1454 and the second was during the early ’80s via PD No. 1793. The two decrees amended only a single provision, which is Section 5 of the law. PD No. 1454 replaced the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) with the Central Bank’s Monetary Board (CB-MB) as the government agency empowered to prescribe the maximum rate of purchase discounts, fees, service and other charges of a financing company, while PD No. 1793 expanded such power by authorizing the CB-MB to eliminate, grant exemptions from or suspend the effectivity of prevailing rates whenever warranted by economic or social conditions.

No talks with Abu Sayyaf for German hostage

 News
Nov 232016
 
No talks with Abu Sayyaf for German hostage

SUMISIP, BASILAN—Various factions of the Abu Sayyaf group have demanded ransom money for German captive Juegen Kantner, who has been held captive since early this month, making it difficult for the military to pinpoint his exact location,  a ranking military official said on Wednesday. Kantner and his wife, Sabine Merz, were sailing in Malaysian waters when kidnapped on Nov. 5. Merz was killed after she allegedly tried to shoot the attackers. Lt. Gen. Mayoralgo de la Cruz, the commander of the military’s Western Mindanao Command, said the military has not pinpointed which Abu Sayyaf faction was really holding the German captive. “There’s a lot of them asking for ransom. There was Alhabshi Misaya (who is under Radulan Sahiron) and there is Muammar Askali, who is also asking for ransom,” De la Cruz said. Askali, a self-proclaimed Abu Sayyaf spokesperson, was the latest Abu Sayyaf figure who had asked for ransom for Kantner. Askali said they wanted P500 million—not P5 million as earlier reported—for the foreigner’s freedom. “We are demanding P500 million in ransom, not P5 million, and we will issue an ultimatum soon,” Askali said, without directly saying what the bandit group planned to do with Kantner if no ransom was received. It was also Askali who announced the beheading of Canadian captives Robert Hall and John Ridsdel earlier this year after Canada refused to fork over ransom for the two victims. Unwanted But De la Cruz said the Abu Sayyaf might not get what it wanted for Kantner, describing Read More …

NZ foreign minister ‘charmed’ by Duterte

 News
Nov 232016
 
NZ foreign minister ‘charmed’ by Duterte

President Rodrigo Duterte “charmed” New Zealand Foreign Affairs Minister Murray McCully on Tuesday as he justified the Philippine government’s controversial war on illegal drugs. Mr. Duterte also commiserated with the country over the strong earthquake that struck its South Island earlier this month. Mr. Duterte discussed a wide range of topics with McCully, including cooperation between the two countries against terrorism in the Asia Pacific region and the need to maintain peace and stability in the region, Presidential Communications Secretary Martin Andanar said. The two leaders conveyed their desire to boost bilateral cooperation between their countries, particularly through improved trade and investment in key areas such as the dairy industry, said Andanar. The President made a brief stop in Auckland on his way home from Peru, where he attended the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Summit with other world leaders. He also met with and posed for pictures with Filipinos in Auckland, many of whom even mimicked his signature clenched fist pose. “[The President] highlighted the importance of the Philippines’ fight against criminality particularly against illegal drugs, emphasizing its vital importance in the Philippines and the region, and warned of its dire consequences if unchecked,” Andanar said. McCully for his part said he discussed the disputed South China Sea with the “charming” Philippine leader. McCully said the pair had a wide-ranging discussion late on Tuesday but declined to comment on whether Duterte’s controversial drugs crackdown was discussed. “He’s a tough guy but he was warm, courteous and actually quite charming,” McCully told Read More …

Abu Sayyaf snitches get cash rewards

 News
Nov 232016
 
Abu Sayyaf snitches get cash rewards

The Armed Forces of the Philippines on Wednesday awarded a total of P5.9-million cash reward to two informants who provided intelligence information to the military that led to the “neutralization” of two top Abu Sayyaf members involved in large-scale kidnap-for-ransom activities in Mindanao. In the awarding ceremony held in Camp Aguinaldo, AFP chief Gen. Ricardo Visaya turned over P5.3 million to Informant X, whose face was covered with a hood to hide his identity. He led joint elements of the military and police to the killing of Abu Sayyaf sub-leader Sihatra Muallam Asmad, alias Latip, in Sulu province in November 2014. Asmad was involved in the kidnapping of foreign guests and workers of the Sipadan Beach Resort in Sabah, Malaysia, in April 2000, as well as members of the Jehovah’s Witnesses in Patikul, Sulu in August 2000. Asmad, who was wanted for six counts of kidnapping and illegal detention, had a bounty of P5.3 million. On the other hand, Informant Y received P600,000 for providing the information that led to the arrest of Yakan, who was wanted for the kidnappings and serious illegal detention of 15 and killings of two residents of Golden Harvest Plantation on June 11, 2001 in Barangay Tairan in Lantawan town, Basilan province. Yakan was captured by the military on May 23, 2014. He carried a reward of P600,000. Cooperation Visaya said he was pleased with the cooperation shown by the people in the military campaign to neutralize the terrorist group. “The information provided by the Read More …

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