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Focus on key industries could double FDI — AmCham

INVESTORS from the United States see the potential for the Philippines to outperform its more than $10-billion record for foreign direct investment (FDI) as long as it focuses on key growth areas.
American Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines, Inc. (AmCham) Senior Advisor John D. Forbes said US businesses are “always optimistic that the Philippines can achieve its potential and receive as much FDI as Malaysia, Thailand, and Vietnam.”
He cited the Joint Foreign Chambers study released in 2010 which identified the so-called “Seven Big Winner Sectors” of agribusiness, business process outsourcing, creative industries, infrastructure, manufacturing and logistics, mining, and tourism, including medical tourism and retirement.
“If all seven of these sectors were made competitive and open to foreign investment, we are confident FDI can reach between $15 and $20 billion a year,” Mr. Forbes added in an e-mail.
The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas revised its 2018 FDI forecast to $9.2 billion from $8.2 billion previously, though its estimate falls below the 2017 record of $10.05 billion.
Citing estimates by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, Mr. Forbes said Philippine FDI exceeded Malaysia’s $9.6 billion and Thailand’s $7.5 billion last year, though it lagged Vietnam’s $14 billion.
“In Vietnam the cost of production in manufacturing are significantly lower,” he added.
He said 89 factories in Vietnam with staffing of about 390,000 make export products for Nike, Inc. He added that Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.’s exports from Vietnam are “worth almost as much as all the electronic exports of the Philippines.”
Aside from the United States, the country’s biggest FDI flows last year came from the Netherlands, Singapore, Hong Kong, Japan and Taiwan. — Janina C. Lim

LNG hub to face competition from Singapore, China

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.
“Many countries want to become a hub [for LNG]. I think the Philippines has an advantage [because] you already have gas utilization, [you] use gas. Gas consumption is important here. To become a hub you need to have an internal consumption so that there is anchor demand and you have geographic location that can reach from here to other places,” said Yongping Zhai, the ADB’s energy sector group chief, in an interview on Tuesday.
“I think the Philippines is well-placed but so other countries as well, like Singapore, and some cities in China,” he said.
He said he expects “healthy competition” in providing the better facility to become an LNG hub.
“I think market forces work in favor of the Philippines if we do all the infrastructure,” he said.
Mr. Zhai is part of the ADB team that is advising the Philippine National Oil Co. (PNOC) on the viability of putting up an LNG import terminal in the country. PNOC, the commercial arm of the Department of Energy (DoE), has been receiving partnership offers from foreign and local companies to build the terminal.
PNOC has said that it has a property to build the terminal as well as “banked gas” that it could offer as equity in the project.
In June 2017, Energy Secretary Alfonso G. Cusi said his department was looking at the construction of LNG receiving and distribution infrastructure, which he said could make the country an LNG hub for Southeast Asia.
He said the facility, which is targeted to be completed by 2020, would cost around P100 billion. The timeline should give the country enough lead time and safeguard supply ahead of the anticipated depletion of the Malampaya gas find starting in 2024.
The facility will have a power plant component with an initial 200-megawatt (MW) capacity, he said, adding that its output is expected to serve the country’s economic zones.
Separately on Thursday, Senator Sherwin T. Gatchalian, who chairs the Senate’s energy committee, said he was looking at crafting a comprehensive legislation to develop the local natural gas industry ahead of Malampaya’s depletion.
To date, natural gas from the Malampaya gas field off the coast of Palawan fuels five gas-fired power plants in Batangas province with a combined capacity of 3,211 MW.
Asked about the scope and status of ADB’s advisory services to PNOC, Mr. Zhai said: “We are in the stage of assessing the offers from companies and we gather information from inside the country. What would be the demand? Also, [we] assess the international market. What will [be] the price of LNG, whether we buy on long-term contracts, short-term contracts, spot — what will be the cost implications?” he said.
“We need to gather all this information [and] provide advice to government so that a decision can be made [on] how to move forward with the LNG project,” he added.
He said PNOC has some lead time to complete the project ahead of the expected depletion of the Malampaya field.
“In fact, preparations for LNG imports have started,” he said.
Mr. Zhai said that when he joined ADB in 2000, his assignment was to look into the viability of the Philippines in importing LNG. The bank provided grant money for that purpose, he added.
“I think it’s time. We’re much closer to a time that LNG becomes [a] real energy import for the Philippines. So I’m very optimistic because I’ve seen the process — 18 years of preparing, thinking and comparing different options. And today, considering the world energy market, is the best time,” he said. — Victor V. Saulon

The Trump (and Duterte) derangement syndrome

It was Charles Krauthammer who coined the phrase “Bush Derangement Syndrome” or “BDS.” It is defined as the “acute onset of paranoia in otherwise normal people in reaction to the policies, the presidency — nay — the very existence of George W. Bush.”
The same could very likely be said of progressives as far as Donald Trump is concerned.
Seriously, it’s been only a few weeks since Trump’s historic summit with Kim Jong Un and yet not a day goes by without his critics from the Left, particularly the media, pontificating on how its conclusion was the worst thing ever.
Christiane Amanpour made sure that her disgust at the US-South Korea military exercises cancellation was apparent to viewers. Don Lemon, ignoring any possibility that nuclear war tensions being eased for the better, whined openly at how “expensive” he thinks the Trump-Kim lunch was.
But perhaps the fact that Trump is stoking these people up could only mean he’s on to something good.
Steve Hilton read the situation best: “When I think of all these people piling on President Trump for daring to question their worldview, the pithy phrase of author Nassim Taleb comes to mind: ‘IYI – Intellectual Yet Idiot.’”
Take globalization and international trade.
For decades, the Left has railed against the supposed inequalities that globalization breeds, alleging that trade victimizes the poor relentlessly.
Then comes Trump who seems to see it their way, that indeed there is unfairness in the global trading system, and sought to put the brakes and determine a better way moving forward.
Exactly the demand of the protectionist Left (including many here in the Philippines).
Then, suddenly, everyone is now a passionate free trader.
Again, Hilton: “In country after country, the old order made the rich richer and working people poorer as incomes went down and jobs went away. It ripped apart the social fabric, helping to destroy local communities and break apart families. It undermined faith in government and democracy, as citizens saw that it didn’t matter who they voted for in actual elections — the same, elite-serving policies would be pursued regardless.”
“So yes, when President Trump confronts the failures of the ‘rules-based international order’ directly, after decades of pusillanimous acquiescence by his predecessors, you could describe that as ‘unprecedented.’” And yet “the elites throw around that word ‘unprecedented’ as a criticism. Nothing could be more revealing of their true beliefs: they actually loved the old order because they and their rich friends benefited from it.”
Trump may actually be doing good (albeit inadvertently) for poorer countries like the Philippines.
Donald Trump Rodrigo Duterte
Speaking of the rich countries protectionist agriculture policy, Ross Clark points out that the “developed world seems to have agreed a policy which is deeply hypocritical and which will ultimately prove unsustainable. We preach free trade, to the point of twisting the arms of developing countries to open their markets to our manufactured goods — yet at the same time we erect high barriers against imports of agricultural goods.”
The Singapore Summit with Kim is another example.
For years, people had been worrying about the biggest, most immediate threat to world peace. But it wasn’t China or Russia or even Islamic terrorists (Trump had decimated ISIS, at least in Syria) however. It was North Korea.
Trump’s machinations had made relations with Kim a bit more manageable. Yet, all of a sudden, that wasn’t enough.
Why didn’t Trump go for complete and utter denuclearization and subservience of North Korea on that very day? They might as well have thrown in a unified Korea as the standard for a successful summit.
As far as the military exercises with South Korea is concerned, nothing is stopping the US from holding such again anytime it chooses.
As The Diplomat’s Damen Cook puts it: “The United States could decisively defeat the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea in a military conflict. This is not really in dispute amongst military analysts.” However, the “highest priority interest on the peninsula is preventing a nuclear war.”
All others, including Kim’s horrendous human rights record, could be addressed later. What’s the point of demanding human rights if all the humans have been obliterated anyway?
Like it or not, Trump is like some sort of badly needed jolt to the system.
Rodrigo Duterte is doing the same, albeit for the Philippines. He has made people realize that international law needs to be backed up by sovereign strength, and that the rule of law, democracy, human rights, values, and the separation of powers are not mere words.
Blake Hounshell declares that Trump is “making diplomacy great again.”
Perhaps.
Certainly both Trump and Duterte are making international relations and domestic politics something all people can join in.
Whereas before ordinary citizens were made to feel excluded, they now feel comfortable questioning journalists, academics, and policy makers who’ve always assumed they know better.
If only for that, then the derangement that Trump (and Duterte) is causing the elite is worth it.
 
Jemy Gatdula is a Senior Fellow of the Philippine Council for Foreign Relations and a Philippine Judicial Academy law lecturer for constitutional philosophy and jurisprudence.
jemygatdula@yahoo.com
www.jemygatdula.blogspot.com
facebook.com/jemy.gatdula
Twitter @jemygatdula

Anti-reason of Duterte’s anti-tambay order

“I have no reason to suppose that he, who would take away my Liberty, would not when he had me in his Power, take away everything else.”

— John Locke
(1632-1704, British philosopher)

Recently, President Rodrigo Duterte ordered the Philippine National Police (PNP) to arrest people who are out on the streets at night and seem to be idle or out making “tambay.” His speech to the PNP last June 14, 2018, which effectively became a directive was,
“My directive is ’pag mag-istambay-istambay sabihin niyo, ‘Umuwi kayo. ’Pag ’di kayo umuwi, ihatid ko kayo don sa opisina ni ano don, Pasig.’ Ako na ang bahala, ilagay mo lang diyan. Talian mo ’yung kamay pati bin[ti]–ihulog mo diyan sa ano. Do not — you be strict. Part of confronting people just idling around. They are potential trouble for the public.”
That directive has no details and since then, thousands have been rounded up by the PNP and brought to jails. Loitering or vagrancy has been decriminalized by RA 10158 in 2012 or under the previous administration.
I shared on Facebook a video uploaded by Ariel Morco last June 20. In that video, he went out of his small house, shirtless, when a police car and motorcycle passed by.
After he was accosted by an officer on a motorcycle, he went back inside but the officer pulled him out and was brought to the police van.
Mr. Morco wrote this note in his video,
“Ang tindi nio mga kumag na pulis. Andito lng ako sa bahay eh hinuli nio parin ako. Kahit wala ako damit pang itaas di naman ako nakatambay at wala ako sa kalye kita na naman sa video pumasok na eko eh hinila pa ako at pinilit na sumama. Mga walang utak na pulis. Kau na lng humusga.”
That video with 10,454 views the last time I checked it, was later removed with a note by Facebook, “Page could not be found.”
I suspect that some influential people have asked Mr. Morco to take it down otherwise, some ugly incidents might happen to him or his family.
Mr. Morco obviously is poor.
As seen in the video, his house is small and since it lacks air circulation, its residents occasionally remove their shirts while indoors to keep themselves cool. Occasionally, some of them go out, shirtless.
And when some PNP officers pass by, they think they have the “right” to penalize and prosecute these poor people, based on what the president said.
The World Justice Project (WJP) produces an annual study, the “Rule of Law Index” (RoLI) and score countries based on their performance on 8 factors and 44 sub-factors. The RoLI 2017-2018 Report involves more than 110,000 households as respondents and 3,000 expert surveyors in 113 countries and jurisdictions.
I checked the Philippines’ score in relation to our East Asian neighbors on two of eight factors: Factor 4 on “Fundamental Rights,” and Factor 8 on “Criminal Justice.” Not included in the report are Brunei and Laos.
In particular, I checked these four sub-factors:

4.2 The right to life and security of the person is effectively guaranteed.

4.3 Due process of law and rights of the accused.

8.1 Criminal investigation system is effective.

8.4 Criminal system is impartial.

The result for the Philippines indeed, is ugly.
Rule of Law Index 2017-18
These four sub-factors are among the “downers” or those that pulled down the Philippines’ overall score and global rank.
I was wondering, if Mr. Morco resisted being dragged to the police van, could he been considered as “nanlaban kasi” [resisted] and perhaps shot later?
The PNP should be ashamed of incidence like this.
If the leadership is serious in fighting abuses and extortion by their men, they should name those officers and announce their suspension, publicly. Otherwise, those officers will do it again, preferably in poor neighborhood with no CCTV.
We pay more tax-tax-tax under this administration that partly raise the salaries and perks of personnel in government including the PNP. One reason why crime can be high is because the PNP are busy with mundane concerns like going after ordinary, innocent, unarmed citizens.
 
Bienvenido S. Oplas, Jr. is President of Minimal Government Thinkers, a member-institute of Economic Freedom Network (EFN) Asia.
minimalgovernment@gmail.com.

A matter of time

The killing of three priests over the last six months — of Fr. Marcelito Paez last December, 2017, Fr. Mark Ventura in April, and Fr. Richmond Nilo this June — has provoked both outrage as well as fears that it is part of the Duterte regime’s campaign to silence its critics.
Priests have been murdered in this country and in the rest of the world for years. Among dozens of others in Latin America, while saying mass in 1980, El Salvador’s Archbishop Oscar Romero was assassinated by a death squad for his opposition to dictatorship, injustice, and torture. In the Philippines, 32 clergymen and church workers, 16 of whom were Catholic priests, have been killed since the Marcos regime (1965-1986).
The online news site MindaNews lists 13 priests killed from 1971, when Marcos was in his second term, to 2011 during the Benigno S. C. Aquino III administration.
Fr. Nelson Javellana was ambushed in Maguindanao in 1971, Fr. Godofredo Alingal killed in Bukidnon in 1981, and Fr. Tullio Favali in North Cotabato in 1985.
Anti-illegal logging activist Fr. Mario Estorba was killed in Agusan del Sur in 1988, followed by Fr. Dionisio Malalay who was slain in Zamboanga del Sur in 1989, and Fr. Nerylito Satur in 1991. All three killings happened during the Corazon Aquino post-martial law administration.
Bishop Benjamin de Jesus was killed in 1997 during the Fidel Ramos term, and Fr. Rhoel Gallardo of Basilan and Fr. Benjamin Inocencio of Jolo in 2000 during the brief presidency of Joseph Estrada.
Two priests were killed during the nine years that Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo was president: Fr. Rufus Haley in 2001, and Fr. Reynaldo Roda in 2008. One priest, Fr. Fausto Tentorio, was killed in 2011 during the Benigno S. C. Aquino III administration.
These 13 plus the three killed during the present regime add up to 16 priests murdered in the last 47 years. Only the killers of Fr. Favali in 1985 have been punished: together with his men, the leader of the paramilitary group responsible was tried, convicted, and sentenced to life imprisonment, but was pardoned after 23 years in prison.
The Duterte regime can very well argue that the killing of priests is not a phenomenon unique to it, and that rather than part of a policy to intimidate the Church, the killings do not reveal any pattern but are likely to have been due to any number of motives.
But all the priests killed did have something in common: their being political and social activists, and their commitment to the defense of the poor and powerless. All were human rights defenders. Some were fighting for indigenous people’s rights, others for the environment, for a just and lasting peace, for equality and social justice, and against militarization and peasant and worker exploitation.
The killings suggest that they were carried out by those groups and forces hostile to those advocacies. The economic, social, and political issues and problems the slain priests were addressing are still with us, and continue to demand the engagement of everyone, including the clergy, who sincerely care for this country and its people.
All post-Marcos administrations up to Benigno S. C. Aquino III’s at least paid lip service to the need for justice for the slain priests, and none of them ever suggested that the killings were justifiable. The Philippine National Police as of this writing has announced the arrest of a suspect in the killing of Fr. Nilo.
But President Rodrigo Duterte’s most recent statements have laid the blame on the fatalities themselves, thereby suggesting that the killings can be blithely explained away, or even justified. And only Mr. Duterte’s subordinates have issued the usual assurances about going after the killers.
During the 2016 presidential campaign, Mr. Duterte blamed the journalists who have been killed in this country for their own murders because they were all supposedly corrupt. He is similarly blaming the slain today by claiming that despite their vows of celibacy, priests are no different from him in that they too have had affairs with women. He followed this up, prior to the murder of Fr. Nilo, with attacks on the Catholic Church and even on God Himself.
Neither corruption nor immorality justifies anyone’s being killed, whether judicially or extrajudicially. If they did, every other government official would deserve a lethal injection, or a bullet in the head from the usual police and motorcycle-riding assassins. But the current President of the Philippines seems to think that these failings, like the use of illegal drugs, are capital offenses.
His tirades and profanities against Catholic priests and the Church itself, just like his justifying the killing of journalists — like Benigno S. C. Aquino III’s own verbal attacks on the press and media during his term — are also likely to encourage more killings.
But this is to assume that it would be merely incidental and unintentional, and there is no regime policy to do away with its critics in the clergy and other “troublesome” sectors like the independent press.
Such a policy would after all be in direct contradiction with the government responsibility of protecting its citizens. But the context in which the killing of progressive and activist priests is happening nevertheless invites the conclusion that such a policy does exist.
In apparent fear of being ousted from power — he has even announced that China will protect him if there are ever such attempts — Mr. Duterte has attacked independent journalists on the assumption that the truth-telling responsibility of a free press is likely to help remove him from office. He and his police and military bureaucrats may be entertaining the same thoughts about the activist clergy and even the Catholic Church itself.
He may not be entirely mistaken. The institutional Catholic Church has always been conservative. But there are nevertheless individuals within it who believe in seeking justice though the heavens fall — who defend human rights, who fight for social change, peace and independence, and who, in the process, have themselves become the targets of State repression.
Even prior to the EDSA 1 civilian-military mutiny, progressive clergymen and women were already in the broad resistance against the dictatorship, and helped commit the Catholic Church to the overthrow of the Marcos terror regime. The free press and media were similarly pivotal in that historic enterprise. The crucial roles of the press and the clergy in the political upheaval of 1986 may help explain the Duterte regime’s antipathy for both.
The irony is that Mr. Duterte’s attacks on the Catholic Church and priesthood are fueling the simmering outrage against his regime that he fears can lead to his overthrow, just as his assault on independent journalists and their organizations has convinced responsible practitioners of the need for critical attention to his regime’s acts and policies.
Neither all the clergy and the entire Church, nor all journalists and their organizations, have as yet forged the unity resistance to autocratic rule demands.
But thanks to Mr. Duterte’s own doing, among them his enshrinement of killing and police and military impunity as State policy, today as in the months, weeks and days before EDSA 1, it may only be a matter of time before it is achieved together with the workers, farmers, students, academics, urban poor, women, and indigenous and Moro people who believe that an alternative to the reign of assassins is both necessary and possible.
 
Luis V. Teodoro is on Facebook and Twitter (@luisteodoro). The views expressed in Vantage Point are his own and do not represent the views of the Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility.
www.luisteodoro.com

Get ready, America. Trade war’s coming for your hip pocket

By David Fickling
“A WISE GENERAL makes a point of foraging on the enemy,” according to the Chinese general Sun Tzu. “One cartload of the enemy’s provisions is equivalent to 20 of one’s own.”
The lesson of that maxim — that leaders need to pay close attention to the economics of conflict, and make sure that costs are imposed more on the enemy than the home front — holds as true today as it did two and a half millennia ago. Washington doesn’t appear to be listening.
The White House’s promise to impose 10% tariffs on $200 billion of Chinese goods on top of the existing $50 billion issued this week — with an option to add a further $200 billion on top of that — would put almost the entirety of the US’ $526 billion of imports from China in jeopardy.
That may look like a strong move.
China, with only $155 billion or so of imports from the US, simply doesn’t have enough trade to respond in kind. In truth, however, the big numbers conceal some deep weaknesses.
To see why, consider Sun Tzu.
The initial lists put out by US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer have been surgical in targeting only goods that can avoid a widespread popular backlash against President Donald Trump’s trade policies. Most of the 1,102 products on the latest tally are intermediate goods such as storage heaters and lubricating oils, whose raised costs are unlikely ever to directly hit consumers’ hip pockets.
The exceptions threatened to date have tended to be rarely purchased durable goods (such as the washing machines that have risen 17% in price since tariffs were imposed in a separate move in January), or products such as flat-screen televisions that have become dramatically cheaper over the past decade.
In both cases, the products are ones where average Americans might be expected to initially miss the pain of rising costs — and even flat-screen TVs were removed from Lighthizer’s most recent list after consultation with industry.
In other words, Lighthizer has been ensuring that his trade armies forage on the enemy. The tariffs will hurt the revenues of Chinese exporters, as higher prices damp demand while US wholesalers switch to other countries wherever substitution is possible. By avoiding swathes of consumer products, meanwhile, he’s limited the risk of popular discontent.
The problem is that the US is at a strategic disadvantage on this front. As we’ve written before, China’s exports to the US tend to be consumer goods, while trade in the opposite direction is weighted toward raw materials and intermediate parts. That means Lighthizer is already close to or past the limit where he can raise prices on Chinese products without American voters noticing.
What are the next major categories of goods where the US can impose further tariffs? Mobile phones, with $73 billion of imports from China in 2017, would be next on the list, followed by computers and accessories; furniture and mattresses; toys and games; clothing and shoes; and televisions. The six categories together amount to another $273 billion.
Such action would smack Middle America between the eyes, and Washington could be expected to do its utmost to avoid it. But the wiggle room is limited, as the Council on Foreign Relations’ Brad Setser has pointed out. While it’s possible in theory to compile the next $200 billion hit list by imposing levies on almost every traded item other than those big six consumer categories, there’s no way to reach Trump’s final total without doing so.
Look at how the two commanders-in-chief are arraying their armies and you should be concerned about America’s ability to withstand attack.
The careful curation of Lighthizer’s existing lists suggests a general aware of his weaknesses on the home front who is following orders from a commander oblivious to the risks. Should the trade war begin in earnest, Washington had better be ready with an explanation for the rising cost of living and decline in farm exports ahead of November’s midterm elections.
Meanwhile, China’s domestic industrial machine — which managed to offset the wrenching export declines from the 2008 financial crisis without pushing economic growth below 6% — is roaring in readiness.
Steel production in May rose 12% from a year earlier, the fastest pace in five years, while thermal electricity output climbed 10%. That stimulus may worsen China’s economic imbalances and harm the global climate, but — combined with the relative immunity from popular anger you’d expect in an authoritarian state — should keep the nation strong as the trade battle heats up.
It may well be that the White House’s latest threat is no more than a gambit. America’s consumers had better hope so. If not, the front line of this conflict is coming to their hip pockets.
 
BLOOMBERG

Peso edges higher after BSP rate increase

THE PESO strengthened by a tad against the dollar on Thursday following the central bank’s decision to raise interest rates.
The local unit closed Thursday’s session at P53.46 against the greenback, two centavos stronger than the P53.48-per-dollar finish on Wednesday.
The peso immediately traded stronger Thursday, June 21, opening the session at P53.39 per dollar. Its intraday high stood at P53.35 versus the US unit, while its worst showing was at P53.50.
Dollars traded soared to $860.95 million from the $650 million that switched hands the previous day.
A trader said the peso traded the same as Wednesday as investors “bought heavily given the very strong dollar against most currencies.”
“However, we also saw heavy selling near P53.50, so the level of resistance was put on hold,” the trader said.
Ruben Carlo O. Asuncion, chief economist at UnionBank of the Philippines, said: “[The peso] was pretty strong throughout the day and this may be because of the rate hike.”
The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas raised its policy rates by another 25 basis points during their fourth review for the year. Rates now stand at a 3-4% range.
The rate-setting Monetary Board decided to hike benchmark yields as “inflation expectations remained elevated for 2018 and that the risk of possible second-round effects from ongoing price pressures argued for follow-through monetary policy action,” Wednesday’s policy statement read.
“We’re also seeing more volatility in the exchange rate, which potentially adds to the dynamics on inflation that we need to be careful about,” BSP Governor Nestor A. Espenilla, Jr. said following the policy meeting.
“But trade spat uncertainties remain and Asian markets are bearing the brunt including the currencies,” UnionBank’s Mr. Asuncion noted Thursday, June 21.
Since last week, the United States and China have been exchanging threats anew about slapping tariffs on each other’s imports, sparking concerns of a looming trade war.
On the other hand, Michael L. Ricafort, head of the Economics and Industry Research Division of Rizal Commercial Banking Corp., said the peso hit its intraday high after the Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) entered the bear market territory or at least a 20% slump from its peak.
The PSEi was down 2.2% on Thursday to close at 7,098.15, the lowest closing rate since Jan. 5, 2017.
For Friday, the trader expects the peso to move between P53.30 and P53.50 against the dollar, while Mr. Asuncion gave a slightly wider range of P53.30-P53.60.
“The local currency might further strengthen [on Friday] on likely softer US initial jobless claims data, which is the leading indicator of unemployment,” another trader said, giving a P53.35-P53.50 forecast range. — Karl Angelo N. Vidal

Stocks extend decline as BSP hikes key rates anew

LOCAL EQUITIES plummeted on Thursday as bearish sentiment hounded the country, following the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ (BSP) second rate hike and the continued exit of foreign funds from the Philippine market.
The bloodbath continued for a sixth straight day for the Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi), spiraling down 2.25% or 163.47 points to 7,098.15. The local market is now officially in bear territory, as it has declined by more than 20% from its peak of 9,078.37 intraday of Jan. 29.
The all-shares index gave up 2.04% or 91.01 points to 4,369.21.
“It seems to me that the decline was caused by a combination of factors: there’s pressure on local rates to rise all the way up to 2019, no let up in foreign selling (to date they’ve let go of P60 billion worth and they still have about P120 billion to sell),” PNB Securities, Inc. President Manuel Antonio G. Lisbona said in a text message.
Net foreign outflows swelled to P2.27 billion, significantly higher than the P772.56 million recorded on Wednesday.
The BSP, at its June 20 policy meeting, decided to hike rates by 25 basis points, marking the second increase for the year, in a bid to temper rising inflation and to keep local yields competitive.
“We were expecting the BSP to wait to hike in August, but policy makers may have opted to act sooner given upside risks to already-above-target inflation in coming months and the further depreciation in the Peso (one of the worst-performing currencies in Asia) since early June,” Regina Capital Development Corp. Managing Director Luis A. Limlingan said in a mobile message.
Mr. Limlingan said they see the BSP raising hikes again during its Sept. 27 meeting, which immediately follows the Sept. 25-26 policy review of the US Federal Reserve. The Fed is also expected to increase benchmark rates for the third time this year at that meeting.
Meanwhile, US stocks fell on Tuesday as a sharp escalation in the trade dispute between the United States and China rattled markets and put the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) back in negative territory for the year.
The DJIA fell 42.41 points or 0.17% to 24,657.80; the S&P 500 gained 4.73 points or 0.17% to 2,767.32; and the Nasdaq Composite added 55.93 points or 0.72% to 7,781.52.
All sectoral indices ended in negative territory, led by the property sub-index which lost 3.54% or 125.62 points to 3,421.98. Services followed with a decline of 3.45% or 49.67 points to 1,386.68.
Industrials slumped 1.98% or 208.08 points to 10,301.43, followed by mining and oil that shed 1.82% or 177.17 points to 9,529.67. Holding firms dropped 1.68% or 120.88 points to 7,058.28, while financials lost 1.08% or 19.67 points to 1,788.73.
Some 1.91 billion issues switched hands valued at P7.89 billion, higher than the previous session’s P5.33 billion. Decliners outpaced advancers, 166 to 36, while 41 issues remained unchanged.
“Chart-wise, we are near the 7,000 psychological level which looks like it will be breached in the next few sessions,” Mr. Lisbona said. — Arra B. Francia with Reuters

Uruguay, Russia reach KO phase


MOSCOW — Uruguay and host nation Russia progressed to the World Cup knockout rounds on Wednesday as Cristiano Ronaldo took an early lead in the race for the Golden Boot.
A single goal from Luis Suarez was enough to give Uruguay victory against Saudi Arabia, leaving them on six points along with Russia and condemning Egypt and the Saudis to an early exit from the tournament.
In the earlier game, in Group B, Ronaldo netted his fourth goal of the tournament in Portugal’s 1-0 win against Morocco, ending the north Africans’ chances of progress.
The five-time world player of the year scored with an early header to add to his hat-trick for the European champions against Spain in their opener.
In the other Group B match, Spain needed a fortunate Diego Costa goal to beat a determined Iran side who had a second-half effort from Saeid Ezatolahi disallowed for offside in Kazan.
Portugal and Spain both have four points and will be competing for top spot when they complete their first-round games against Iran and Morocco respectively on Monday.
IRANIAN PRIDE
The top two teams in the group will face Russia and Uruguay in the last 16.
Iran have still never beaten a European side at a World Cup, but coach Carlos Queiroz said they could take pride from their performance against Spain.
“We left the pitch 1-0 down, but we won respect. I’m sure the fans are proud of our team,” said Queiroz.
“Our players can go home and sit with their family and friends and be proud of themselves.”
Having won their first match, Iran could still secure an unlikely qualification if they beat Queiroz’s native Portugal.
LETHAL SUAREZ
Uruguay came up against an improved Saudi side in Rostov-on-Don, but master poacher Suarez took advantage of a goalkeeping error by Mohammed Al-Owais to put his side ahead midway through the first half and the Saudis could not respond.
It was a fitting way for the Barcelona forward to mark his 100th international appearance and he will be hoping to go further in the World Cup after exiting the last two in disgrace after being sent off for a goal-line handball against Ghana in 2010, and infamously biting Italy defender Giorgio Chiellini in 2014.
Morocco, like so many sides before them, were undone by a piece of Ronaldo brilliance. He now has 85 international goals — a record for a European player.
“I’m happy I scored the goal but the most important thing is that we won the game. We have to think match by match in order to progress,” Ronaldo said.
Disappointed Morocco coach Herve Renard said his side had showed they had a bright future despite being out of the running to qualify for the last 16.
“We qualified for a World Cup after 20 years and we’ve showed that we can play football,” the Frenchman said. “We do play football.”
Meanwhile, host nation Russia were celebrating the 3-1 win over Egypt on Tuesday which paved the way for them to move into the next round despite pre-tournament expectations that they would struggle to get out of their group.
After a goalless first half, Egypt captain Ahmed Fathi scored an own goal before Denis Cheryshev struck and Artem Dzyuba added a third. Mohamed Salah scored a consolation penalty late on but it was not enough for the Pharaohs.
“Can you believe it?” Moscow’s Sport Express newspaper asked.
“We waited a very long time for this,” said Sports Minister Pavel Kolobkov. — AFP

Pressure on Messi against Croatia after rival Ronaldo scores again

VOLGOGRAD, RUSSIA — Lionel Messi is under increased pressure to redeem himself when Argentina face Croatia in Thursday’s pivotal match after eternal rival Cristiano Ronaldo scored his fourth goal of the World Cup to send Morocco packing.
France will be looking for a second World Cup Group C win against Peru Thursday while Australia need to bounce back from their heart-breaking defeat to Les Bleus against Denmark.
Messi’s teammates have rallied around their superstar captain after his spot-kick was saved in the 1-1 draw against minnows Iceland on Saturday.
Messi is bearing the weight of expectations as Argentina seek a first World Cup trophy since 1986, desperate to crown his glittering career with a major international tournament success.
However, so far in Russia, Messi has been overshadowed by Ronaldo, who took his tournament goal tally to four on Tuesday with the winner in Portugal’s 1-0 defeat of Morocco, which condemned the Africans to an early exit.
A defeat against the Luka Modric-led Croatians in Nizhny Novgorod could see Argentina, unthinkably, flirting with a first group stage exit since 2002.
“We are all with him, he knows that he can count on the support of all of us more than ever,” said Argentina striker Paulo Dybala of Messi.
“We are here to help him every moment, and of course we will be at his side,” Dybala added.
CROATIA UNDER A CLOUD
Croatia secured three points in their 2-0 win against Nigeria in their opening game but enter the match under a cloud.
AC Milan striker Nikola Kalinic was sent home from Russia for reportedly refusing to come on as a substitute, though coach Zlatko Dalic claimed the AC Milan man had a back injury.
Fancied France could only edge past Australia 2-1 courtesy of an Antoine Griezmann penalty and an own goal in their Group C opener but have vowed to ramp up the intensity against Peru in Yekaterinburg.
“We took stock of what was done well or not so well and all agree that we will have to increase our physical intensity and improve our attitude in general,” said France vice-captain and central defender Raphael Varane.
“Other teams (among the favorites) did not win or even lost. We won, but we know that there are things to improve on. We know what direction we need to go in.”
The defeat to France mean the Socceroos are targeting a win against Denmark in Samara on Thursday to have a realistic chance of qualifying from the group stages.
Captain Mile Jedinak, who scored from the penalty spot against France, says improving on a disciplined performance and not obsessing over great Dane Christian Eriksen will be key against Denmark, who squeezed past Peru 1-0 in their opening match.
“We know (Eriksen) is a fantastic player and obviously he’s got a huge role to play for them,” said Jedinak.
“But we’re not trying to focus on that. We’ll definitely focus on them as whole and as a collective.”
Wednesday’s other matches saw Spain edge past Iran 1-0 thanks to Diego Costa’s fortunate third goal in two matches which put them level at the top Group B with Portugal.
Iran, who had a precious second-half equalizer ruled out for offside by VAR, lie just a point behind the Iberian pair and can still guarantee qualification for the knockout stages for the first time by beating Portugal on Monday.
Uruguay knocked out Saudi Arabia Wednesday with a 1-0 win which confirmed the South Americans and hosts Russia as qualifiers from Group A with a game to spare.
The result means an early exit for Mohammed Salah’s Egypt who will be heading to Volgograd airport along with the Saudis for a plane home after their clash in the historic city formerly known as Stalingrad on Monday. — AFP

Neymar fitness cloud lingers as pressure mounts on Brazil

SAINT PETERSBURG — A battered and bruised Neymar will aim to get Brazil’s World Cup campaign back on track here Friday as the pre-tournament favorites seek to re-assert their title credentials with victory over Costa Rica.
Neymar was given a rough ride in Brazil’s disappointing 1-1 draw with Switzerland on Sunday, fouled 10 times during the match, the most for any player in a single World Cup game for 20 years.
The world’s most expensive player then set alarm bells ringing when he hobbled out of training on Tuesday in full view of the cameras.
However, he returned to the training pitch 48 hours ahead of the clash in Saint Petersburg, raising hopes he will feature.
Even before his latest setback, there were doubts over Neymar’s fitness heading into the World Cup after a three-month layoff.
The Switzerland clash was his first competitive game for nearly four months after a broken bone in his right foot ended his club season with Paris Saint-Germain in February.
To the frustration of many in the French capital, Neymar returned home for much of his recovery process with the intention of being fully fit for the World Cup.
NEYMAR STILL THE KEY
However, questions remain whether he is seriously lacking match practice.
Brazil looked to their talisman time and again in the final stages in Rostov-on-Don, but he failed to find the final pass or finish to unlock a well-organized Switzerland defence.
Instead, it was Philippe Coutinho who got Brazil’s campaign off to a flying start with a wonderful long range strike to open the scoring.
In contrast to Neymar, Coutinho ended the season in sensational form for Barcelona after sealing his dream move from Liverpool.
Should Neymar not be fit, Coutinho could be moved into his role on the left of a front three with Tite bolstering his midfield.
However, Coutinho insists Neymar remains the key figure in Brazil’s pursuit of World Cup glory.
“Neymar is one of the best players in the world. Of course having him in our side is a big plus for us,” said Coutinho.
“He is so important. He is always creating the play, creating space.”
Brazil were not just unhappy with the treatment meted out to Neymar, but also Switzerland’s equalizer when the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) system failed to rule out Steven Zuber’s equalizer for a slight push on Miranda. The Brazilian federation even took their complaints to FIFA.
Needing a break and to relieve the pressure with a win, Brazil could hardly have picked better opposition in Los Ticos, who have only beaten Brazil once in 10 meetings way back in 1960.
Costa Rica shocked England, Italy and Uruguay to reach the quarterfinals four years ago, but are even more in need of the points after losing 1-0 to Serbia in their opening game.
They also lost heavily to Belgium and England in warm-up friendlies, but captain Bryan Ruiz believes they can follow Switzerland’s example to cause another massive upset.
“Switzerland pressed them in midfield and that’s what you need to do because everybody knows that Brazil are best from midfield going forward,” said the Sporting Lisbon attacker.
“We need to win the ball back quickly and counterattack quickly.” — AFP

Meralco looks to bolster top 2 push against TNT

By Michael Angelo S. Murillo
Senior Reporter
IN good position to claim one of the top two spots in the elimination round of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Commissioner’s Cup, the Meralco Bolts look to fortify their position some more with a victory today against the TNT KaTropa in their 7 p.m. main game encounter at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Second-running to date with a 7-2 record, the Bolts shoot for their eighth win in the midseason PBA tournament that could well secure for them a top-two finish and earn the twice-to-beat advantage that goes with it in the quarterfinals.
Meralco is currently riding a four-game winning streak with its last victory coming at the expense of erstwhile streaking Alaska Aces, 89-74, on June 17.
The Bolts cranked up their defense in said game, limiting the Aces to just 33% shooting from the floor that considerably affected their ability to keep in step with the Bolts.
Meralco also had it balanced on offense, with six players scoring in double-digits led by the 18 of Chris Newsome.
Import Arinze Onuaku had 14 points to go along with 23 rebounds.
Coach Norman Black viewed their victory as a huge one in their goal of getting the playoff incentive and they are hoping to build on it as they take on the KaTropa.
“This was a critical game for us if we wanted to try to get that twice-to-beat advantage. Now that we were able to beat Alaska at least we can now start to focus on that. Once again it was a good team effort on our part,” Mr. Black said postgame.
While they are already assured of advancing to the next round of competition, the KaTropa (6-3) are still angling for a victory in today’s game, more so since they have lost their last two matches against the Magnolia Hotshots Pambansang Manok and San Miguel Beermen in that order.
In its 99-94 loss to San Miguel on June 17, TNT just could not overcome the Beermen’s consistency throughout the contest and fell to the defeat.
Import Joshua Smith led TNT with 26 points with Roger Pogoy and Don Trollano adding 13 points each.
But despite the loss, TNT coach Nash Racela said the rough patch they are having should only make the team better heading into the playoffs.
“Our main concern right now is how to get better as a team. What is important is that we get to the level where we want to be come playoff time,” said Mr. Racela.
Meanwhile, playing in the 4:30 p.m. curtain-raiser are the GlobalPort Batang Pier (4-5) and Columbian Dyip (4-6) in an all-important game that could determine their fate in the tournament.

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