Philippines State

Napocor seeks automatic rate adjustments

Economy

Nov 252013

MANILA, Philippines – State-run National Power Corp. (Napocor) applying for an automatic tariff rate adjustment mechanism before the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC), to sustain its financial viability, its top official said.

The application for automatic tariff and universal charges for missionary electrification (UCME) adjustment mechanism is part of the power firm’s plans and projects to improve the delivery of electricity in so-called missionary areas, said Napocor president Ma. Glady Cruz-Sta. Rita. Sta. Rita said another of their project involves a massive re-fleeting and retirement program to replace oil and high-fuel consuming and unreliable diesel generator sets in the different missionary areas.

UCME refers to the cost of service not covered by the subsidized approved generation rate. It is approved by the ERC and is collected from all end-users subsidizing the cost of electricity service in the island grid.

Napocor’s UCME is at a prevailing rate of P0.0709 per kilowatt-hour. It intended to raise its UCME to P0.2262 per kwh by 2013 and P0.3179 per kwh for 2014.

These missionary areas are scattered all over the country. They are far-flung villages and remote barangays that are not connected to the main power grid.

Sta. Rita said a Napocor study showed that the break-even for recovery of capital cost vis-a-vis fuel savings ranges from 12 to 20 months.

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As such, Napocor would be pursuing procurement of new diesel generator sets to replace the rented ones and supplement the needed capacity of the first 14 large SPUG (Small Power Utility Group) areas where there is a projected power supply deficiency brought by difficulties in attracting private sector or the new power providers (NPPs).

Napocor will also be developing a renewable energy (RE) program for off-grids and push the adoption of appropriate RE technologies in missionary areas.

“Initial implementation of solar hybrids in areas requiring increased operating hours or those where fuel is difficult and expensive to deliver,” Sta. Rita said.

Furthermore, Napocor said it would also establish a reasonable graduation program for mission areas from the UCME subsidy in coordination with the Department of Energy and the National Electrification Administration (NEA).

Sta. Rita said Napocor would also phase out Napocor’s generation function in private areas that are fully taken over by NPPs and transfer deployment of existing diesel generating units to other areas.

Another project is the accelerated implementation of needed transmission line and substation expansions that are designed to reduce system loss and UCME requirements.

Toward this end, Napocor would implement redeployment and termination of manpower and resources from areas fully taken over by NPPs.

The company is on track to meeting its P1-billion profit target this year, Sta. Rita earlier said.

In 2011, the company posted a net loss of P18.87 million, significantly narrower than the P2.78 billion net loss incurred in 2010.

DBP to redeem of P6.5B notes

Economy

Aug 242013

MANILA, Philippines – State-run Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) will exercise the call option on its unsecured subordinated notes qualifying as Tier 2 capital amounting to P6.5 billion as it prepares for the implementation of Basel 3. The bank said the early notes redemption would lead to interest savings as it implements stricter capital standards and discipline by removing from its qualifying capital notes issued prior to the implementation of Basel 3, a global regulatory framework for more resilient banks and banking systems. The notes were issued on Sept. 1, 2008 with coupon rate of 7.75 percent. The call option date is on Sept. 2, 2013. As of the first six months of 2013, DBP’s capital adequacy ratio rose to 23.9 percent from 21.6 percent. DBP said the call option amount will be the face value of the notes plus unpaid and accrued interest based on the initial interest up to but excluding the call option date. “There shall be no more secondary trading of the notes or modifications in the accounts after the book closure date,” the bank said. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 DBP is currently the seventh-largest bank in the country in terms of assets, and is the second-largest government-owned bank, next only to the Land Bank of the Philippines. It is also one of the largest government-owned and controlled corporations (GOCCs) in the Philippines.

DBP income nearly doubles to P1.52 B in Q1

Economy

Apr 232013

DBP income nearly doubles to P1.52 B in Q1

MANILA, Philippines – State-run Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) said its net income nearly doubled to P1.52 billion in the first quarter from P720 million in the same period last year. In a statement, DBP attributed the jump in earnings to the country’s strong economic performance and favorable market conditions which contributed to the growth in its loan portfolio and deposit base. While gains from securities trading remained a major revenue contributor, DBP said its net income was likewise boosted by its gross loan portfolio that grew 20.42 percent to P143.77 billion, from the previous P119.39 billion. A major depository of national and local government agencies, DBP hiked its deposits to P148.41 billion, up 16.52 percent from last year’s P127.37 billion. The bank’s total assets reached P327.7 billion, an increase of 8.25 percent from the previous year’s P302.73 billion. Capital adequacy ratio remained well above the central bank’s minimum requirement of 10 percent at 23.06 percent, an improvement from last year’s level of 20.11 percent. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 The bank remains consistent in its efforts to support the government’s national development thrusts, channelling much-needed financial facilities to strategic sectors such as infrastructure and logistics, environment protection, social services involving health care, education, housing and community development, and micro, small and medium enterprises. Just recently, DBP launched its P2-billion Higher Education Loan Program for Students (HELPS) for lending to qualified schools and other educational institutions, for re-lending to poor but deserving students. The program Read More …

Phl think tank among world's best

Economy

Jan 312013

MANILA, Philippines – State think tank Philippine Institute of Development Studies ranked among the best in the world in a report published by the University of Pennsylvania. “In the 2012 Global Go To Think Tanks Report and Policy Advice of the Think Tanks and Civil Societies Program of the University of Pennsylvania, PIDS ranked 40th and 79th on the list of the world`s best social policy think tanks and development think tanks, respectively,” the state agency said. The Go To Think Tank index ranks 6,603 think tanks in 182 countries according to region and specialization. For 2012, more than 1,100 individuals from 120 countries participated in the nominations and rankings process, the report said. “We are pleased with the continued international recognition for our quality of policy research,” PIDS President Josef T. Yap said. “Still, we feel that no formulaic rankings can fully capture the distinctiveness of any think tank. The Global Go-To Think Tank is just one measure of a think tank’s performance and impact, and should be used in conjunction with other metrics. PIDS continues to be the authority in Philippine economic and social development policy research and is one the most influential, most quoted, and most trusted think tanks in the country and in the region,” he added. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 Established in 1977, PIDS has been engaged in conducting long-term, evidence-based research used for the formulation of socioeconomic policies in the country.