ECONOMIC GROWTH in the second quarter could recover from the slowdown seen in the first three months of 2015 on the back of easing inflation, a pickup in public spending and gains in the labor market, First Metro Investments Corp. (FMIC) and the University of Asia and the Pacific (UA&P) said in a new report.
MORE investment in clean energy and energy efficiency is necessary to meet rising Asian demand while containing the impact of climate change, officials said yesterday.
THE PHILIPPINES is being groomed as the hub in Asia for integrated circuit (IC) design, as local and foreign institutions team up to establish a competitive digital niche in the region.
Cavendish bananas from Mindanao. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO ROME—The United Nations warned on Monday of the potential “massive destruction” of the world’s $5.0-billion (3.6-billion euro) a year banana crop as a plant disease spreads from Asia to Africa and the Middle East. The Rome-based Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said the TR4 strain of Panama disease, which has already hit tens of thousands of hectares in Southeast Asia, had been reported in Jordan and Mozambique. The disease is “posing a serious threat to production and export” of bananas, the fourth-most important food crop for the world’s least developed countries and a key revenue source for poor farmers, FAO said in a report. There is no cure for TR4, which particularly affects the Cavendish variety that accounts for 47 percent of world banana production—by far the biggest. The disease affects the trees but not the bananas themselves and the only solution is to cut down the trees, dig trenches between trees to prevent its spread and impose strict quarantine measures. Top producers in Latin America, including the world’s main producer Ecuador, have so far not been affected but FAO warned there was a “potential” risk. “I think it’s sheer luck. It’s not a question of whether it will arrive but when. There’s no prevention,” said Gert Kema, director of the banana research programme at Wageningen University in the Netherlands who manages the site panamadisease.org. Kema said the availability of bananas in Europe and the United States had not been affected by the Read More …
Cotabato Archbishop Orlando Quevedo. Photo courtesy of CBCP News VATICAN CITY—Pope Francis will create his first batch of cardinals on Saturday, with nine of the 19 coming from South America, Africa and Asia, including the Philippines’ Archbishop of Cotabato Orlando Quevedo. The new “princes of the Church” will be presented with scarlet-red birettas and gold rings at a grandiose ceremony in St. Peter’s Basilica that Vatican observers say should help correct a perceived bias towards European cardinals. Sixteen of the 19 cardinals are under the age of 80 and can therefore take part in the secretive conclave that elects new popes from among their ranks. In an indication of the importance of the developing world for the Argentine pope — a fierce critic of economic inequality — half are non-Europeans, including five cardinals from North America, two Africans and two Asians. “Becoming a cardinal is not a promotion, nor an honor or a decoration; it is simply a service which requires a broadening of the gaze and a widening of the heart,” Francis said in a letter to each new cardinal-to-be, according to La Stampa daily. Francis is keen to nourish faith in developing countries, to combat the decline of practicing believers in Europe, the Church’s traditional power base. The first non-European pope in nearly 1,300 years will bestow the honor of the red cap on the archbishops of Buenos Aires in Argentina, Rio de Janeiro in Brazil, Santiago in Chile, Managua in Nicaragua and Les Cayes in Haiti. Aurelio Read More …
By Mynardo Macaraig President Benigno S. Aquino III leads the ceremonial laying of the San Gabriel Power Plant Project time capsule in Brgy. Sta Rita, Batangas City January 14 that include Batangas Governor-turned actress Vilma Santos, among the many manifestations of continued economic growth in the Philippines. (MNS Photo) MANILA (AFP) – The Philippine economy was one of the fastest-growing in Asia last year after shrugging off devastating natural disasters and expanding at a “remarkable” pace in the final quarter, the government said Thursday. The economy grew by 6.5 percent in the last three months of the year even as a super typhoon claimed thousands of lives and an earthquake struck popular tourist islands, Economic Planning Secretary Arsenio Balisacan told reporters. “This is a remarkable turnout,” Balisacan said, as he emphasised the final quarter expansion was expected to be the fastest in the Asia-Pacific after China, which recorded annual GDP growth of 7.7 percent last year. Growth for all of 2013 was 7.2 percent, the fastest since President Benigno Aquino came to power in 2010 and exceeding the government target of 6.0-7.0 percent. The government said the main drivers of growth were in the manufacturing, trade, real estate and finance sectors, while hailing the performance as further proof of Aquino’s economic stewardship. The Philippines endures relentless natural disasters because it is located along a typhoon belt and the so-called Ring of Fire, a vast Pacific Ocean region where many of Earth’s quakes and volcanic eruptions occur. However the final quarter Read More …
NET inflows of foreign direct investments to Southeast Asia picked up last year as developing Asia as a whole remained the world’s top FDI destination, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) reported yesterday.
MANILA, Philippines – SM Prime Holdings Inc. is completing its retail portfolio as it introduces upscale global brands in its existing shopping malls. The consolidated property group of the SM mall and banking conglomerate is investing P36 billion this year, mostly to expand its shopping malls that will include more upscale brands, company officials said. The Mega Fashion Hall at SM Megamall opened yesterday its doors, offering a premier shopping, dining and lifestyle destination. “This is a new concept we are really trying to introduce, its the aspirational side,” said SM Prime president Hans T. Sy. “The market really asks for it. The market really demands it so we’re just answering,” Steven Tan, vice-president for SM Supermalls’ Premier Division, told reporters. The 86,000-square meter new wing of SM Megamall is home to flagship stores of the world’s most popular fashion brands Uniqlo and Zara. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 Many new global brands will likewise be opening their first store’s in the Philippines at the new wing, including Switzerland’s H&M, Denmark’s Vero Moda, Spain’s Pull & Bear and Uno de 50, LA-based Joe’s Jeans, London’s Savile Row and Burton, French shoe brand Nao de Brasil and US skincare label Philosophy. SM Prime chief finance officer Jeffrey Lim said the company is investing P36 billion this year to expand its presence in the country’s shopping mall and residential sector. Several shopping malls will have a separate area for high-end shops, Sy said. Tan said H&M is also Read More …
MANILA, Philippines – Global human resources (HR) solutions provider SilkRoad has established a new office in the Philippines as it seeks to grow its operations in the country and in Asia. In a statement, SilkRoad chief operating officer and co-founder Brian Platz said the company decided to set-up an office in the country as it sees an important market given the fast pace at which the economy is growing. “We believe the Philippines not only presents a unique opportunity for us to help local companies strengthen their talent acquisition and management programs and build their bottom line; our presence on the ground will also act as a strategic hub, helping us grow our operations all over Asia,” he said. In an increasingly competitive environment, he said companies have to take their business to new levels and differentiate themselves in the market. “SilkRoad helps companies manage their talent pool to keep things efficient,” he said. SilkRoad provides a full suite of HR software solutions to small and medium businesses that enable them to find, attract, develop and retain the best talent possible. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 As a solutions provider, SilkRoad leverages the potential of the Philippines as a hub of talent in software development. The company’s clients can also use a range of technologies to determine influence among their employees. “By learning more about their most influential employees, organizations can better understand how they contribute to the company and leverage their influence to help drive Read More …
MANILA, Philippines – Most Japanese companies with operations in Asia and Oceania including the Philippines intend to expand their business in the next two years, according to the Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO). The JETRO’s survey of Japanese-affiliated companies in Asia and Oceania for December 2013 showed that 58.1 percent of 148 Japanese firms based in the Philippines plan to expand their business in the next two years. Meanwhile, 38.5 percent want to maintain the existing level of business and 3.4 percent will reduce their operations here. For the whole of Asia and Oceania, the survey showed that 59.8 percent of the 4,536 Japanese firms are planning to expand in the next two years, while 36.3 percent will maintain current level of business and 3.9 percent will cut their operations. “The most commonly cited reason for business expansion was a ‘sales increase’ at 85.4 percent, followed by ‘high growth potential’ at 46.8 percent,” JETRO said. In the Philippines, it noted that the proportion of firms responding “easy to secure labor force” as a reason for the planned expansion, was relatively high at 12.8 percent. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 In terms of sales outlook, Japanese companies with operations in the Philippines are more optimistic of growth in profits in 2014 than this year. The survey noted that 46.7 percent of Japanese firms in the Philippines expect their profits to rise this year compared to 2012, while 51 percent see their income growing next year over 2013. Read More …