THE PHILIPPINES is well-placed to become a regional hub for liquefied natural gas (LNG) though it will be competing with Singapore and some parts of China, an Asian Development Bank (ADB) official said.

TOP JAPANESE banks have expressed their interest in participating in the Philippines’ return to the yen debt market following a meeting with the Finance department in Tokyo.

PRESIDENT Rodrigo R. Duterte wants to fast-track the establishment of a new pension scheme for military personnel and have it set up before he steps down from office.

THE Department of Agriculture (DA) said it is expecting to impose a suggested retail price (SRP) scheme for basic agricultural commodities including rice and livestock products.

THE GOVERNMENT may end up funding some components of the natural gas infrastructure as the required capital may be too large for a private company to undertake, an Energy official said.

THE Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) has imposed a P11.8 million fine on Pepsi Cola Products Philippines, Inc. (PCPPI) for operating deep well pumps AT its Muntinlupa plant without permits.

Software licenses comprise a huge chunk of the annual IT costs of an organization. However, in most cases, they are also investments that are improperly managed and tracked. As a consequence, a majority of organizations fails to realize the optimum benefits from these software licenses. In fact, due to their intangible nature, software licenses are often neglected or utilized only for their basic purpose.

THE GOVERNMENT will set aside revenue generated by the redevelopment of the Mile Long property in Makati to the military modernization program, the Department of Finance (DoF) said.

ECONOMIC zone investors want to continue being exempt from local government taxes, amid plans to modify the investor incentives regime as part of the second tax reform package, a request which the government has promised to review.

FOREIGN investors said the uncertainty generated by the second package of the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) law’s second phase is behind the leveling off of foreign direct investment (FDI) forecasts for 2018.

A NEWLY appointed undersecretary said the Department of Agriculture (DA) is currently focused on improving the supply chain for farm produce to address complaints by manufacturers of inadequate raw materials, which is forcing them to resort to imports.

THE petroleum exploration industry needs to retain incentives that the tax reform law may seek to eliminate in order to encourage risk taking, and added that removing these perks will stifle investment.