THE NATIONAL government’s outstanding debt is projected at P11.982 trillion by the end of 2021 with more borrowing in the works next year to fund enlarged spending commitments due to the pandemic, though the rate of expansion will not match this year’s pace.

ACTING SOCIOECONOMIC Planning Secretary Karl Kendrick T. Chua said demand for agricultural products will sustain the rural poor, while their urban counterparts will suffer disproportionately because of the pandemic-induced slowdown in business.

As the world continues to grapple with the pandemic, cross-border transactions are not spared from the impact of restrictions on human mobility. For tax purposes, such travel restrictions could result in the inadvertent creation of a taxable presence for a foreign employer or principal, or what is called a permanent establishment (PE) in treaty parlance.

THE Philippine recovery is expected to be V-shaped as the economy reopens in the second half of the year, after a record gross domestic product (GDP) contraction at the height of the lockdown, J.P. Morgan said.

THE Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved a $125-million (P6 billion) loan to the Philippines for the procurement of medical equipment and personal protective equipment (PPE).

DEVELOPING COUNTRIES like the Philippines should look into sovereign wealth funds or “diaspora bond” issues to offset possible declines in remittances when major crises disrupt the overseas labor market, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) said.

FINANCE SECRETARY Carlos G. Dominguez III said the government’s various cash aid initiatives can follow the lead of the Small Business Wage Subsidy (SBWS) program in adopting electronic fund transfers, which he said reduces opportunities for corruption.

THE Philippines is a potential beneficiary of shifting supply chains after the pandemic, but it needs to look beyond its infrastructure focus and leverage its strong fiscal position to develop its human capital, Moody’s Investors Service said.

THE Philippines must pick up the pace of its transition to clean power if it wants to make unacceptably risky for developers to build facilities running on fossil fuel, according to energy industry experts.

RICE farmers’ incomes and yields are rising as a result of programs supported by the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund (RCEF), according to a survey conducted by the Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice).

THE Trade department’s export marketing group is encouraging exporters to take advantage of preferential tariffs to sell to Russia.

THE PHILIPPINES and Indonesia will discuss cooperation between their copper and textile industries, sharing best practices to better attract manufacturing investment and technology transfer.