Tourist influx grows 11% in H1

 Economy
Jul 312013
 
Tourist influx grows 11% in H1

MANILA, Philippines – The influx of international tourists continues to improve growing 11 percent in the first half of 2013 to 2.4 million, Tourism Secretary Ramon Jimenez Jr. told The STAR. The arrival figure, he said, makes up 45 percent of the projected 5.5-million arrivals for the year. He said the sustained growth in foreign tourist arrivals signals the country’s robust efforts to improve its tourism industry. Jimenez said while data from United Nations World Travel Organization (UNWTO) showed the Philippines lagging behind its neighboring countries in attracting foreign tourists, this may not reflect the actual picture. “The Philippines is not part of a contiguous land mass unlike our neighbors. We are in the middle of the ocean,” he said. “What the UNWTO data may have counted are the number of tourists visiting each country in Southeast Asia, even those crossing borders and/or making frequent visits by land. For example, citizens of Malaysia, Thailand and Singapore..crossing borders every day and being counted as tourists. We have no way of doing that here,” he pointed out. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 “What we only have are air arrivals data which the UN data does not show. About 98 percent of our visitors arrive here by plane. Even the tourists from our neighbors would have to travel by plane just to visit here. Just imagine, a Malaysian tourist could visit Thailand and Singapore by land. The same with Vietnam, where its citizens can just cross borders from Laos Read More …

In Vietnam, a Cuban rat poison finds new market

 News
May 312013
 
In Vietnam, a Cuban rat poison finds new market

Associated Press 3:18 pm | Friday, May 31st, 2013 A Vietnamese salesman displays several grains of salmonella-based rat poison on his tongue in Hanoi,Vietnam. AP HANOI, Vietnam—His wares banned in much of the world, the Vietnamese salesman hawking a rat poison laced with salmonella sought to prove the bait was as safe as claimed. He sliced open a packet with a pair of rusty scissors, dipped his finger into the sticky, bad-smelling rice, brought out a few grains and then chewed them gingerly. “It tastes a little bitter, that’s all,” said Nong Minh Suu. He chose not to swallow the unhulled grains, instead spitting them out after a few seconds before lighting a cigarette. “When rats eat this, 100 percent of them will be killed. It is absolutely safe to human health.” Rat poisons normally come with warnings against human consumption and medical directions about what to do if accidentally eaten. Not so “Biorat,” a bait produced in Vietnam by a Cuban-state owned company that earns foreign exchange for the Castro government. The company claims the salmonella strain it includes is “harmless” to everything — humans, the environment, pets and other animal species — apart from rats. That is disputed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, a US federal government agency, and other international health institutions including the World Health Organization. Biorat’s production and sale in Vietnam is a legacy of the cozy ties between Cuba and Vietnam, two nations on opposite sides of the world but whose Read More …

Manila Water to finish P6.1-B sewage treatment plant by Sept

 Economy
May 092013
 
Manila Water to finish P6.1-B sewage treatment plant by Sept

MANILA, Philippines –  East Zone water concessionaire Manila Water Co. Inc.  expects to finish the construction of its P6.1-billion sewage treatment plant in Taguig City in September. The wastewater treatment plant located at Liwasan ng Kagitingan at Kalikasan will service 350,000 residents of Barangay Western Bicutan. Manila Water Project Delivery Group OIC director Estelita Orodio said the Taguig North Sewage Treatment Plant (STP) is a crucial component of the company’s Wastewater Master Plan which aims to reduce the pollution load in Metro Manila’s river systems especially the Pasig River which flows into the Manila Bay.   “Environmental protection is a major advocacy of Manila Water.  We have pioneered a number of initiatives to promote this cause and the construction of more STPs like this is part of our major contribution in the drive to clean-up Manila Bay,” Orodio said. The Taguig wastewater treatment plant is an underground facility that a can process  75 million liters per day. The land above the plant would developed into a public recreational park. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 Upon completion of the plant, Manila Water would have 37 sewage treatment plants and two septage treatment facilities in its network. These facilities would process a total of 500 million liters per day. Manila Water services 6.2 million residents of portions of Quezon City and Manila, Marikina, Pasig, San Juan, Mandaluyong, Pateros, Makati, Taguig and several towns in Rizal Province. The company recently reported a flat growth in net income for the first Read More …

Philippines to buy 187,000 tons of rice from Vietnam

 Economy
Apr 302013
 
Philippines to buy 187,000 tons of rice from Vietnam

MANILA, Philippines (Xinhua) – The Philippine government announced today that it had decided to  import 187,000 tons of milled rice from Vietnam to beef up stocks before the onset of the typhoon season in July. State-run National Food Authority (NFA) said Vietnam had given the “best offer” for the supply of 187,000 tons of 25 percent broken rice grade. NFA administrator Orlan A. Calayag said Vietnam’s Southern Food Corp. offered the best bid at $459.75 per ton. Vietnam and Thailand submitted bids for the right to supply the volume during a government-to-government tender held on April 3.   The Philippines may no longer need to import more rice as it expects another record harvest this year. For 2013, Philippine paddy rice output is projected to go up by 11 percent on year to 20 million tons. 

Aquino: PHL gets ASEAN support on maritime dispute with China

 News
Apr 252013
 
Aquino: PHL gets ASEAN support on maritime dispute with China

President Benigno Aquino III on Thursday expressed confidence that the Philippines got the support of the Association on Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) on the way it is handling its maritime dispute with China. In his speech upon arrival from the ASEAN summit in Brunei, Aquino said he was able to voice out the Philippines’ call for a legally binding code of conduct that will govern the South China Sea during the annual meeting of Southeast Asian leaders. “Batid ng lahat ng pinuno ng ASEAN: ang maigting nating paninindigan ukol sa West Philippine Sea, ay nakatuon, hindi lamang sa pansariling interes ng kanya-kanyang bansa, kundi para rin sa mas aktibong kalakalan, at malawakang kaunlaran sa bahaging ito ng daigdig,” he said. Aquino added that ASEAN leaders also agreed to fully implement the Declaration of the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea. The Philippines refers to maritime areas on the western side of the country as the “West Philippine Sea.” These include the Kalayaan Island Group, which is part of the disputed Spratly Island, and the Panatag Shoal, which was the site of standoff between Philippine and Chinese vessels last year. The ASEAN is a regional organization composed of the Philippines, Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Cambodia, Singapore, Myanmar, Laos and Vietnam. The Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia and Brunei, as well as Taiwan and China, have overlapping territorial claims on parts of the South China Sea. China claims ownership of the whole South China Sea. ‘Two-step approach’ At a separate press briefing Read More …

MPTC mulls expansion in Cebu, Asean countries

 Economy
Feb 052013
 
MPTC mulls expansion in Cebu, Asean countries

SINGAPORE – Metro Pacific Tollways Corp. (MPTC), the largest toll road management firm in the Philippines, is settings its sights on Cebu and countries like Vietnam and Indonesia for expansion. The tollway management unit of Pangilinan-led Metro Pacific Investments Corp. (MPIC) will pursue almost 120 kilometers of toll roads in the two Southeast Asian countries as it conducts a study for a P26-billion toll bridge in Cebu, company officials said. In a briefing, MPTC executives outlined the company’s expansion plans specifically in emerging Vietnam and Indonesia that, like the Philippines, need more infrastructures to help sustain robust economic growth. MPTC president Ramoncito S. Fernandez said the company has identified the Becakayu toll road project in Indonesia as an investment opportunity. “The project is envisioned to connect Jakarta to the eastern part of Bbekasi City,” he said. It will be divided into two sections: the 10.167-kilometer Casablanca to Jaka Sampura and the 10.875-km Jaka Sampura to Marga segment. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 PT. Kresna Kusuma Dyandra Marga, which holds the 45-year concession of the expressway, earlier discussed the project with Citra Marga Nusaphala Persada (CMNP) but the latter found the entry at the high side. There are plans to discuss with industrial firm Bouygues Group “for a potential partnership to include CMNP,” MPTC said. In Vietnam, MPTC is looking at the six-lane, 98.7-km Dau Giay Phan Thiet Expressway project. Key bid parameter is the viability gap financing amount requested by the bidder,” MPTC said. The first Read More …

Good and bad news on rice in 2012

 Economy
Feb 042013
 
Good and bad news on rice in 2012

A good summary of the rice and palay situation of the country in 2012 is aptly conveyed by our reader, Manuel Bondad, in the following letter he sent recently. Please read on. “Reports that the 2012 palay production reached 18 million metric tons (MMT) is good news. For the first time, the highest ever attained output of 16.8 MMT in 2008 was bested as well. “The milled rice equivalent of the record palay tonnage is sufficient to cope with the country’s annual consumption of 10.9 MMT and a 21-day buffer stock based on the government’s assumed per capita consumption of two sacks and 15 kilos a year. “The feat may allay critics’ unwavering stand that the road to rice self-sufficiency is a dream never to be attained in our lifetime. On this score, the impact of population growth on rice self-sufficiency was not considered by the critics. “A perusal of the Food and Agriculture (FAO) published statistics shows that while the hike in combined population of the four most populated countries outside the Philippines in the ASEAN, i.e., Indonesia, Myanmar, Thailand, and Vietnam, reached 9.8 percent in 2010 from 2001, the country’s growth of 18 percent – the highest – when halved to nine percent could have made the country self-sufficient with consumption correspondingly reduced to 10 MMT against the milled rice equivalent of 11.5 MMT of the 2012 palay output of 18 MMT. “On palay productivity, the Philippine yield per hectare of 3.62 tons, or equivalent to 80 cavans Read More …

Steady hike in tollroad traffic seen

 Economy
Feb 032013
 
Steady hike in tollroad traffic seen

SINGAPORE – Metro Pacific Tollways Corp. (MPTC), a subsidiary of infrastructure conglomerate Metro Pacific Investments Corp., expects a single digit growth in traffic volume for its toll roads this year, an official said. MPTC president Ramoncito S. Fernandez said in an interview that the toll road firm expects continuous traffic volume growth in its portfolio. “The election season results in mobility,” Fernandez said. For instance, a seven percent growth in the traffic volume is projected in the 94-kilometer Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway (SCTEx), four to five percent for the 84-kilometer North Luzon Expressway (NLEx), three percent for the 14-kilometer Manila-Cavite Expressway (CAVITEX), and as much as eight percent for the Kawit portion of CAVITEx, Fernandez said. MPTC reported that its core income, which strips out currency and derivatives-related items, grew three percent to P1.52 billion last year. Total revenues rose five percent to P6.88 billion “benefiting from higher growth in Class 2 and 3 vehicles or those of higher value,” Fernandez said. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 Class 2 vehicles like buses and Class 3 vehicles like cargo trucks and trailers are charged higher rates compared with Class 1 vehicles like jeepneys, pick-up vans and cars. CAVITEx and SCTEx have pending requests for rate hikes before the Toll Regulatory Board. Average daily traffic hit 163,400 vehicles last year, up four percent from 2011, MPTC said. Fernandez said the contract to maintain and operate the SCTEx is under renegotiation, with average traffic volume at 25,000, which is below the expected 30,000. Read More …

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