THE “readiness” of projects as well as their contribution to the creation of high-quality jobs are among the criteria that the National Economic and Development Authority (Neda) will use to parse the long list of infrastructure projects eyed for inclusion in the administration’s own “flagship” projects.
PASSING the National Land Use Act (Nalua) would allow the country to make headway in right-of-way issues that need to be resolved to undertake infrastructure projects, according to the National Economic and Development Authority (Neda).
THE shift to mobile and digital banking boosted the performance of the Union Bank of the Philippines (UBP) in 2022.
THE Ayala-led Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) raised its bond offer to four times their initial target due to high demand.
Sexually abusive relationships between teenage women and older partners as well as unprotected sex among the youth make teen pregnancy persist in the country, according to the Commission on Population and Development (Popcom).
Small businesses need better access to credit to strengthen global supply chains and prevent them from being vulnerable to disruptions, according to an expert from the Asian Development Bank (ADB).
THE Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) has announced that 40.87 million national identification cards (PhilIDs) and its electronic version (ePhilIDs) have already been delivered and issued to registered persons nationwide.
THE Philippine economy may have breached P20 trillion for the first time, but per capita incomes of Filipinos are not yet back to what they were before the pandemic.
THE country’s lackluster external trade performance in December 2022 left exports and imports posting slower full-year growth compared to last year, according to data released by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).
THE Philippine government has secured a new loan from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) worth $500 million to address the impact of the pandemic on jobs and livelihoods.
DESPITE posting outflows in half the year, “hot money” still managed to end the year on a positive note, according to the latest data released by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP).
The administration of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. is expected to release a list of Build Better More (BBM) projects, according to the National Economic and Development Authority (Neda).
The economy posted a growth of 7.6 percent in 2022, according to the latest data released by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).
DESPITE upward adjustments made on the growth of certain sectors such as real estate and the financial sectors, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) maintained GDP growth at 7.6 percent in the third quarter of 2022.
IF Filipinos will be able to chart the troubled waters of 2023, Ibon Foundation Inc. said the national government would have to increase social protection to households and micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) nationwide this year.
Adult Filipinos who believed their quality of life improved in the past 12 months increased, but the growth was still nowhere near pre-pandemic levels, according to the Social Weather Stations (SWS).
The Covid-19 virus that crippled the global economy and shuttered many businesses in the process has also continued to cause the death of thousands of Filipinos as of September 2022, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).
NORTHERN Mindanao and Davao Region account for the largest percentage of teen girls aged 15 to 19 who were ever pregnant, based on the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).
WHILE the price of onion is expected to decrease, Filipinos will still be facing a number of challenges this year including new taxes, more borrowings, and less ayuda, according to Ibon Foundation Inc.
THE Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development (DHSUD) disclosed that no membership fees are needed in order to be listed in the government’s housing program.
THE Philippines ended 2022 with its widest overall balance of payments (BOP) deficit in over five decades, according to data released by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP).
METRO Manila last year saw the highest increase in construction material retail prices in 14 years, according to data released by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).
THE war in Ukraine, China’s reopening and climate change will continue making commodities expensive this year, according to London-based think tank the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU)
THE number of families experiencing hunger in Metro Manila and Mindanao were on the decline but their numbers in Balance Luzon and the Visayas were on the rise even if the country was already in the thick of Christmas preparations, according to the latest Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey.
PHILIPPINE banks and the government may need to make additional investments to guard against possible cyberattacks, according to experts.
In its latest Global Cybersecurity Outlook 2023, the World Economic Forum (WEF) warned that geopolitical instability could pave the way for a “catastrophic cyberattack” in two years.
WHILE the proposal to tax luxury items is desirable, it is not a good substitute for a wealth tax on the country’s billionaires, according to nongovernment Ibon Foundation Inc.
THE rise in prices of food and other commodities may be more pronounced in regions outside Metro Manila making it necessary to monitor these conditions for the country’s price and financial stability, according to the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP).
AS millions of Filipinos struggle to find jobs in a tight economy, LinkedIn’s Jobs on the Rise List showed that positions in high demand are those that encourage workers to be lifelong learners.
THE Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) partially awarded Term Deposit Facilities (TDFs) as investors preferred shorter tenors during the auction on Wednesday.
THE bill allowing long weekends to boost tourism and domestic consumption warrants careful study, according to the National Economic and Development Authority (Neda).
A FRUIT vendors and other wet market sellers in Bohol province were recently able to exchange unfit banknotes and coins with digital cash, according to the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP).
CASH remittances from overseas Filipinos only reached $2.644 billion in November 2022, the lowest in five months, according to data released by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP).
THE Supreme Court of the State of New York, the first instance trial court, affirmed that it has jurisdiction over the case filed by the Bangladesh Bank against RCBC and its current and previous employees.
THE recent increase in employment may not be enough to ensure higher incomes for Filipinos and guarantee the country’s recovery, according to the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP).
THE Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) expressed concern that with the country’s energy sector’s dependence on imported refined oil, the Philippines is more vulnerable to refining margins in China, South Korea and Singapore than rising crude prices.
THE newly sworn-in Commission on Population and Development (Popcom) Executive Director intends to focus on the commission’s development aims.
THE country’s foreign direct investments (FDIs) contracted 8.3 percent in the January-October 2022 period, according to data released by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP).
HOUSEHOLD consumption as well as infrastructure projects are expected to boost economic growth this year to 6 percent, according to First Metro Investment Corporation-University of Asia & the Pacific Capital Markets Research.
THE Philippine peso is not expected to continue strengthening this year and the recent performance of the currency is only temporary, according to a local think tank.
FERTILIZER prices have already eased from the peak levels recorded in 2022 but prices remain high due to disruptions and restrictions that make it more expensive, according to World Bank economists.
LOCAL economists are proposing a number of measures, including going after smugglers and hoarders as well as raising real wages, to rein in inflation and stimulate the economy this year.
Preparations for the holidays boosted the country’s employment numbers and brought down unemployment to its lowest level in nearly two decades, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).
Expensive food items caused inflation to post its highest rate in December since the Global Financial Crisis, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).
THE Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) has instructed the Ayala-led Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) to submit a timeline and updates regarding reversals on the double debit transaction incidents last Wednesday.
THE national government intends to raise public infrastructure spending to 6 percent of GDP by 2028, according to the Philippine Development Plan (PDP).
The government aims to decrease stunting to below 20 percent in the medium term as part of its efforts to address the triple burden of malnutrition, according to the Philippine Development Plan (PDP).
THE “huge wage differential” and the high demand for healthcare workers (HCW) due to aging populations could cost the Philippines more of its healthcare professionals in the medium term, according to the Philippine Development Plan (PDP).
The Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development (DHSUD) expects to start the construction of various housing projects under the Pambansang Pabahay Para sa Pilipino Program in the first semester of the year.
THE Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) has partnered with the Bankers Association of the Philippines (BAP) and the Bank Marketing Association of the Philippines (BMAP) to fight cybercrime through the “Check-Protect-Report” (CPR) information drive to foster cyber hygiene among Filipinos.
THE Philippine eco-nomy is in for a slow start this year, especially with China recovering and increasing their demand for oil in 2023, according to local economists.
THE national government aims to bring down unemployment to below 5 percent starting in 2024, according to the recently released Philippine Development Plan (PDP).
THE national government aims to explore the option to include nuclear energy in the country’s energy mix in the medium term, according to the recently crafted Philippine Development Plan (PDP).
THE government intends to increase and improve social protection (SP) coverage in the country to include Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs), seniors, and more poor households, according to the Philippine Development Plan (PDP).
THE Marcos administration aims to expand tax coverage in the medium term, according to the recently released 2023-2028 Philippine Development Plan (PDP).
THE traffic jams and Christmas decorations are among the few indicators that GDP growth in the fourth quarter will be robust, according to the National Economic and Development Authority (Neda).
THE Marcos administration aims to create an “omnibus” public-private partnership law that will push for the consolidation of all infrastructure undertakings between the government and the private sector.
WHICH is more challenging? To have a fertility rate declining below replacement rate and be confronted with providing for an aging population, or see a fertility boom that makes poverty reduction harder?
WITH less than a week until Christmas, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) is encouraging Filipinos to bring the yuletide cheer to loved ones through electronic aguinaldos (e-aguinaldos).
THE Monetary Board’s decision to raise the country’s benchmark rates by 50 basis points (bps) on Thursday would likely have an impact on the country’s growth rate in the next two years.
THE Philippine economy’s performance, especially in the third quarter, “shattered” the expectations of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) prompting the Manila-based multilateral development bank to raise its forecast for the country’s GDP growth this year.
The Philippine economy has a “big chance” of escaping a recession next year, thanks to strong domestic consumption, but growth remains fragile as threats remain, according to a local economist.
THE Asian Development Bank (ADB) is extending $12.9 billion worth of loans and grants to the Philippines in the next three years under its new assistance framework for 2023 to 2025. The amount is equivalent to P718.659 billion at current exchange rates.
THE country’s prospects of seeing export earnings rise to $100 billion are dim, with local economists highlighting the global economic slowdown and issues surrounding the local manufacturing industry among the biggest challenges for attaining this.
THE use of the Gross International Reserves (GIR) and lowering the reserve requirement of banks to finance the Maharlika Investment Fund (MIF) may limit the tools at the disposal of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) during times when inflation is high.
DIGITAL trade integration will positively impact its emerging digital services trade and become a key driver in the post-pandemic economic recovery, according to researchers from the Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS).
PASSING legislations such as the pending bill allowing adolescents to access reproductive health services will help maximize the 10-year old Responsible Parenthood and Reproductive Health Law, according to the Commission on Population and Development (Popcom).
SHIPMENTS of electronic products boosted the country’s export earnings to its highest growth in over a year, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).
FOREIGN investments received by the country posted a double-digit decline in the first three quarters of the year, according to data released by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP).
THE Monetary Board is expected to hike interest rates by as much as 50 basis points in its meeting this week, according to Moody’s Analytics.
INFLATION is high in the Philippines not because of importation but because of the country’s failure to increase competition in the market and encourage greater productivity in the agriculture sector, according to a former Socioeconomic Planning Secretary.
BORROWINGS made by Philippine residents and non-residents or external debt in the January to September period this year has already exceeded the full-year amount recorded in 2021, according to the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP).
GOVERNMENTS across the world should focus on protecting the purchasing power of citizens as the La Niña weather phenomenon is expected to further increase inflation in 2023, according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
OVER a thousand births by adolescent Filipinas were sired by fathers who were more than 20 years older than them in 2020, according to data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).
THE Philippines is still one of the worst performers in Asia and the Pacific despite a three-notch improvement in its Institute for Management Development’s (IMD) World Talent Ranking (WTR) for 2022.
THE country’s Gross International Reserves (GIR) stood at $93.95 billion as of the end of November 2022, according to the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP).
TODAY’S hard times make it difficult for Filipino workers to “lose” or change their jobs, no matter if they are of poor quality, and this may have led to an increase in employment and a decline in unemployment in October, according to local economists.
THE country’s manufacturing output posted its fifth consecutive month of positive growth in October, according to the latest Monthly Integrated Survey of Selected Industries (MISSI) of the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).
EFFORTS to reduce debts should be implemented even among middle-income countries like the Philippines as external debt levels have significantly risen during and after the pandemic, according to the World Bank.
A local infrastructure firm was able to secure a $40 million worth loan from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) to improve digital connectivity in Visayas and Mindanao.
AYALA-led Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) intends to raise P5 billion from its peso fixed rate bonds to help finance or refinance the business requirements of eligible Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs).
The country’s employment situation improved with the jobless rate reaching 4.5 percent in October, the lowest in 17 years, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).
CHINA’S spiking Covid-19 cases and zero Covid policy are among the identified headwinds that may significantly affect the country’s economic performance next year, according to the National Economic and Development Authority (Neda).
CREATING a sovereign wealth fund (SWF) even if the Philippines does not yet have an aging society would still be a good move, considering that it will ensure future generations could still enjoy the country’s current wealth in the years to come, according to the National Economic and Development Authority (Neda).
HIGH inflation and weak external demand will cast a dark cloud over the country’s economic growth prospects until the second quarter of next year, according to Oxford Economics.
IF the government is looking for a way to raise much-needed revenues, Ibon Foundation Inc. said creating the Maharlika Investment Fund (MIF) would not be the best way to do it.
OVER a million users of the e-wallet app of Asia United Bank (AUB) Corp. can now make cross-border payments as the lender tapped the use of the Alipay-Plus system owned by Hangzhou, China-headquartered Ant Group Co. Ltd.
THE preference for cash as the holidays approach, as well as the recent policy rate hike implemented by the Monetary Board caused the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Term Deposit Facility (TDF) to be undersubscribed.
On Tuesday, the BSP accepted P232.469 billion of the P233.469 billion tenders it received for the TDFs. The BSP awarded P110.737 billion from P111.737 billion bids in the 8-day tenor and accepted all bids received in the 15-day tenor amounting to P121.732 billion.
The total offer volume was allocated between the 8-day and 15-day tenors at P180 billion from P200 billion and P150 billion from P160 billion, respectively.
“The results of the TDF auction continue to reflect the pass-through of the recent BSP policy rate hike. In addition, the undersubscriptions could be attributed to eligible counterparties’ increased preference for cash in preparation for the holidays,” BSP Deputy Governor Francisco Dakila Jr. said.
“Going forward, the BSP’s monetary operations will remain guided by its assessment of the latest liquidity conditions and market developments,” he added.
The resulting weighted average interest rates (WAIR) for the awarded bids in both tenors continued to rise from last week.
The WAIR for the 8-day TDF increased by 25.9370 basis points (bps) to 5.7514 percent, while that for the 15-day TDF rose by 20.2688 bps to 5.8662 percent.
The yields accepted likewise shifted higher, but narrowed to a range of 5.4900-6.0250 percent in the 8-day tenor and 5.6000-6.1750 percent in the 15-day tenor.
Earlier, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) decision to hike interest rates due to the recent policy action of the US Federal Reserve may temper the country’s growth prospects, according to the National Economic and Development Authority (Neda) and local economists.
The recent decision of the Monetary Board to raise interest rates by 75 basis points increased the BSP’s overnight repurchase facility rate to 5 percent from 4.25 percent.
BSP Governor Felipe M. Medalla said in light of the 75 basis points (bps) increase in US interest rates, the Monetary Board will match the policy action of the US Federal Reserve in its upcoming policy rate setting on November 17. (Full story: https://businessmirror.com.ph/2022/11/03/bsp-to-increase-interest-rates-by-75bps/).###
MAJORITY of young Filipinos do not want to leave the country to find work, according to the YouthLed 2021 National Youth Survey.
SUBSIDIES extended by the national government (NG) to government-owned and -controlled corporations (GOCCs) and government financial institutions (GFIs) inched up 2.09 percent in the January to October period this year, according to the Bureau of the Treasury (BTr).
THE Department of Finance (DOF) said the government’s fiscal indicators are improving as the increase in the deficit to GDP ratio slowed and revenue generating agencies hit double-digit growth in their collections.
NEARLY half or 44 million of the Philippine population are considered economically secure but the country remains one of the most unequal in the world, according to the World Bank.
THE national government aims to raise P135 billion from the auction of debt papers in December, according to the Bureau of the Treasury (BTr).
CIMB Bank Philippines Inc. expects to double the amount of loans it extends to Filipinos next year on the back of the encouraging performance of its loan portfolio this year.
Housing in the country remain expensive for most Filipinos as wage increases are just enough to cover for rising commodity prices, according to the Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS).
THE Philippines needs to fast-track efforts to create jobs for 69.4 million working age Filipinos, according to the Commission on Population and Development (Popcom).
Southeast Asian economies such as the Philippines and Indonesia still have sufficient buffers preventing them from tapping the Chiang Mai Initiative Multilateralization (CMIM), according to the Asean+3 Macroeconomic Research Office (AMRO).
THE recent policy rate setting may have had a “partial pass-through” on the recent auction of interest-bearing term deposits, the central bank said.
YUCHENGCO-led Rizal MicroBank Inc. (RMB) introduced a loan facility targeting the underbanked agricultural sector.
THE government may have lost over half a billion pesos in tariff collections due to Executive Order 171 which reduced tariffs on imports of various commodities, according to the Federation of Free Farmers (FFF).
