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Economy on verge of rapid expansion — DoF’s Dominguez

By Melissa Luz T. Lopez,
Senior Reporter

THE ECONOMY is poised to sustain its momentum this year with tax reform and steady dollar inflows providing broad-based and resilient drivers of growth, Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III said.

He also invited American businesses to keep investing in the Philippines, with the promise of robust domestic economic activity to be sustained over the coming years.

“We are on the cusp of rapid expansion and ready to evolve our economy towards investments-led growth,” Mr. Dominguez said in a speech during the US-Philippines Society Business Forum yesterday.

“With increased investment flows, tax reform and massive investments in modernizing our infrastructure, we will definitely do better this year and the next.”

Mr. Dominguez remained confident that the Philippines will remain among the fastest-growing economies in Asia.

Gross domestic product (GDP) expanded by 6.7% in 2017, well within the government’s 6.5-7.5% target. The growth was driven by a 14.3% surge in public spending, largely on the back of infrastructure investments.

On the supply side, the industrial, services, and even farm sector posted increases year on year.

“All these numbers indicate the economy is gathering steam. We are confident the revenue reforms, sustained fiscal discipline, better spending efficiency and massive investments in infrastructure will enable us to escalate growth to between 7% and 8% in the near term,” Mr. Dominguez said.

“Infrastructure investments will likewise act as the stimulus for greater economic activity.”

The government will spend P1.1 trillion this year on priority infrastructure projects, representing one-fourth of the full-year national budget and equivalent to 6.3% of GDP. This forms part of the P8.44-trillion infrastructure spending plan until 2022.

Much relies on the implementation of the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) law which took effect on Jan. 1, from which the state is hoping to raise P82.3 billion in additional revenue despite lower tax rates for individuals.

Of this amount, 70% will be used to fund new infrastructure projects, while the remainder will be spent on social protection programs.

Preliminary data from Commissioner Caesar R. Dulay show that the Bureau of Internal Revenue was able to raise tax collections by 15% in January, with the additional tax on soda and sugary drinks raising about P2 billion in less than a month.

Despite this, Mr. Dominguez said inflation will likely find its way within the 2-4% target set by the central bank, even as commodity prices picked up by four percent last month. Central bank officials view the price spike as “temporary,” as they believe that the one-off impact of inflation will eventually normalize.

Finance dep’t pitches Mexican manufacturers to make PHL their ASEAN base

FINANCE Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III has called on technology and manufacturing companies based in Mexico to make the Philippines their entry point to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) market.

Meeting with Mexican Ambassador Gerardo Lozano Arredondo, Mr. Dominguez said Mexican firms can take advantage of the country’s young and talented work force and reasonable labor costs.

“We’d like to go with Mexican companies, particularly with your high-technology companies… We would like to invite you to come and invest here — probably for the Mexican companies to use Philippines as a base to enter the ASEAN market,” Mr. Dominguez was quoted as saying in a statement issued by the Department of Finance (DoF).

“As you know, the tariff rates among ASEAN countries are now quite low, In fact zero in most cases and this is an opportunity for your companies to come and set up manufacturing here,” Mr. Dominguez told Mr. Arredondo.

Mr. Arredondo cited the “excellent historical relations” between the two countries, and acknowledged that “the Philippines can be the door for Mexico to the ASEAN.”

“We are trying to diversify our relations and we consider Asian countries as a very important option,” the ambassador said.

Data from the World Bank showed that Mexico is now one of Latin America’s top exporters of high-technology goods with $46.81 billion worth of outbound goods in 2016.

Mr. Arredondo added that the series of consultations between Philippine and Mexican officials scheduled for March would be a good avenue to foster political and economic ties between the two countries.

“We are planning to invite some Philippine businessmen to join the delegation in order to meet Mexican businessmen and discuss opportunities for new business,” Mr. Arredondo said.

Last year, the Finance department sent a team to Mexico to study its tax on sweetened beverages.

“They brought back a lot of ideas [from Mexico]. As a result of the tax team’s consultation, we were able to pass a (sugar-sweetened beverage) tax law last month,” Mr. Dominguez noted, referring to the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion Act that took effect in January. — Karl Angelo N. Vidal

DoE sees adequate summer power supply

By Victor V. Saulon,
Sub-Editor

POWER SUPPLY will be adequate during the dry months when demand spikes as long as three new power plants will come online as scheduled and assuming no forced outages.

Distribution utilities will also be given more specific guidelines on their power procurement in line with the recent issuance of a circular on competitive selection process (CSP), which requires price challengers to all supply contracts.

These are the among the assurances given by the Department of Energy (DoE) to consumers in a briefing at its headquarters in Taguig City on Monday.

“On the summer months, as projected, we will not have any problem as long as the new power plants will come in and run,” said Redentor E. Delola, DoE assistant secretary.

“And we still have Malaya,” he added, referring to the 650-megawatt (MW) thermal plant in Rizal province that is run when needed to supplement power reserves.

Mr. Delola said the DoE is expecting the 150-MW second unit of SMC Consolidated Power Corp.’s power plant in Limay, Bataan to be online in the second quarter, followed by Pagbilao Energy Corp.’s 420-MW plant in Quezon.

In the Visayas, he said the department expects Therma Visayas, Inc.’s 300-MW power plant to be running by the dry season. The three are coal-fired power facilities.

“In Mindanao, we really don’t have a problem,” Mr. Delola said.

He said based on the DoE’s projection for the summer months, demand in Luzon could peak at 10,500 MW from the second to third week of May.

“But we have enough reserves… [at] 1,500 MW,” he said.

DoE’s projection mirrors that of National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP), which estimated power demand in Luzon to peak this year at 10,561 MW, up 5.04% year on year when the main island breached for the first time the 10,000-MW mark.

Luzon is the biggest power user with its peak demand more than five times that of the Visayas and Mindanao.

Grid operator NGCP also said it is adequately covered for its regulating reserve, which is tapped during small variations in normal operations, at 4% of peak demand. It also expects the contingency reserve requirement to be adequate in responding to any reduction in supply when the largest power generating unit online — the 647-MW coal-fired power plant in Sual, Pangasinan — fails to deliver.

“Same as other times during the year, what we are avoiding is forced outage. It won’t lead to outages but we might have a yellow alert,” Mr. Delola said.

NGCP issues a “yellow alert” notice when the total of all reserves is less than the capacity of the largest plant online, which for the Luzon grid, is 647 MW. It issues a “red alert” notice when the contingency reserve is zero or a generation deficiency exists.

Separately, Senator Sherwin T. Gatchalian has given his assurance to the public that no “massive” brownouts will take place during the dry season after the Court of Appeals issued a temporary restraining order (TRO) against the suspension of the four commissioners of the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC).

“It’s a blessing that the four commissioners have been seated, at least for the next 60 days, to resolve pending cases, and the Court of Appeals took note of the importance of the power industry because all of us need electricity,” he said.

In December, the Office of the Ombudsman served a one-year suspension on four ERC commissioners for not implementing the CSP as originally scheduled, unduly favoring some distribution utilities.

Mr. Delola also said the DoE would issue this week an advisory on whether those with a pending CSP are covered by the recently issued rules.

The guidelines will include a provision that will allow consumer groups to be part of the CSP as observers, along with three representatives from the distribution utility, he added.

PRDP review outlines gains from farm-to-market roads

DAVAO CITY — A recent assessment of the World Bank (WB)-funded Philippine Rural Development Project (PRDP) indicates economic and social gains from the construction of farm-to-market roads, which make up the bulk of approved projects in Mindanao.

“The newly constructed farm-to-market roads also create a huge impact in the lives of its beneficiaries where average household income increases of 64% accompanied with the increase in school attendance and higher enrollment numbers, improved peace and order, faster response to medical emergencies, improved supplies available at small local stores, and increased crop areas,” Frauke Jungbluth, WB senior economist and task team leader for PRDP, was quoted in a statement issued by the PRDP-Mindanao office.

Ms. Jungbluth was part of the WB team that visited Mindanao in early February to assess the implementation of the program.

Out of Mindanao’s P6.14-billion share from the initial P27-billion PRDP funding, about P5.77 billion has been allocated for infrastructure development, mainly farm-to-market roads. Enterprise development projects covered the remaining P365.07 million.

The infrastructure component of the project, based on the assessment report, completed 148.4 kilometers of farm-to-market roads, helping farmers reduce their travel time by half, cost of logistics by a third and increase production by half.

These roads have benefitted a total of 77,000 households, PRDP said.

PRPD-Mindanao cited South Cotabato as an example for the success of the project, where cassava production increased by 31%, selling prices by 9%, and average income by 47%.

“This is the result of the strong partnership of the DA (Department of Agriculture), local government units (LGUs), our farmer-beneficiaries and the strong support of our private sector,” said Ricardo M. Oñate, Jr., PRDP-Mindanao director.

Mr. Oñate also said that there have been “positive effects of mainstreaming PRDP innovations to provincial planning process.”

The WB also noted that the PRDP has led the government implementing agency, the DA, to institutionalize reforms that have allowed LGUs to improve efficiency in project implementation.

Among the mechanisms institutionalized are geo-tagging, which allows the monitoring and management of projects in real time.— Carmelito Q. Francisco

Work safety bill hurdles Senate on third reading

THE SENATE on Monday approved on third and final reading a bill which would require stricter compliance by employers with Occupational Safety and Health Standards (OSHS).

Senate Bill No. 1317 or the “Act Strengthening Compliance with Occupational Safety and Health Standard,” passed the chamber with 20 votes. If enacted, it would amend the Labor Code to impose administrative penalties with fines of up to P100,000 “for every day of non-correction of violations” under the OSHS.

It also guaranteed the payment of workers’ wages and income during work stoppages or suspensions of operation “due to imminent danger as a result of the employer’s violation or fault.”

Senator Emmanuel Joel J. Villanueva, author and sponsor of the bill, said the proposed measure would increase productivity in workplaces by ensuring maximum safety and health at work.

“This is to reiterate that violation of OSH standards is deliberate disrespect for the well-being of our workers and a derogation of the right to humane conditions of work,” he said in a statement.

The bill was prompted by a series of workplace accidents last year, one of which was a fire at a mall in Davao City, killing 38 call center and mall workers.

Mr. Villanueva also cited a survey conducted by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) in October 2015, which showed that occupational diseases in establishments employing 20 or more workers increased from 85,583 in 2011 to 171,787 in 2013.

The Department of Labor and Employment (DoLE) also reported 199 fatal workplace accidents and 232 non-fatal accidents from January 2014 to October 2016.

“Despite the fact that workplace accidents would always prompt tighter regulations, compliance by all industries continues to be an issue. Let us now make safety and health in the workplace work for all,” he said.

Implemented in 1978 by DoLE, the OSHS lays out safety and health rules in workplaces. — Camille A. Aguinaldo

Dealing with tax filing advisories

Since Republic Act No. 10963 or the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) law took effect on Jan. 1, the implementation of certain provisions of the law has become an endless topic in various fora especially amongst taxpayers who are greatly affected. To ensure that the TRAIN will smoothly reach its destination, the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) has been very proactive in addressing the concerns of bewildered taxpayers through public consultations, seminars, and various issuances. In fact, five revenue regulations (RRs) and a number of revenue memorandum circulars (RMCs) have been issued since January to implement certain provisions of this new law. This notwithstanding, taxpayers still find themselves in the dark in the absence of formal implementing rules and regulations, especially on income tax and value-added tax (VAT).

One of the recent and most common concerns raised by most taxpayers is the manner of carrying out the changes in filing of tax returns considering the new tax rates and modifications on the frequency of filing certain tax returns introduced under the TRAIN law. Although there were already issuances on the workaround procedures issued by the BIR, taxpayers still can’t help but feel anxious as the other provisions of the law remain unclear and lack sufficient guidance.

In response to this growing anticipation for additional and more detailed guidelines, the BIR began releasing tax advisories before the deadlines for filing and payment of the January tax returns. Surprisingly though, the contents of certain advisories are notably not consistent to some extent with those of the provisions under the TRAIN law. An example is the advisory issued on Jan. 31, which provides that the remittance of creditable and final taxes withheld shall be made on or before the 10th day following the month of withholding through BIR Form No. 0605 or payment form for the first two months of the quarter. The said advisory was further clarified in a subsequent issuance dated Feb. 6, stating that the remittance of taxes withheld on the 10th day following the month of withholding shall apply for manual or over-the-counter tax filers while, for those filing and paying via the electronic filing and payment system (EFPS), the due date for remittance is extended until the 15th day following the close of the taxable month. It can be noted, however, that one of the major changes introduced by the TRAIN law is the quarterly filing and remittance of creditable withholding taxes, which used to be filed and paid on a monthly basis. With the issuance of the said tax advisories, many taxpayers were confused since, in effect, the tax advisories only somewhat restored the old manner of remittance of creditable and final withholding taxes. The only difference is the use of a different form, i.e., payment form.

There are also concerns on whether those who do not have any withholding tax due payable for the month are still required to file a NIL monthly withholding tax return or the payment form. I believe they are not required, but since the advisories did not tackle the issue, then, taxpayers are at a loss on what should they do. In fact, a number of taxpayers are asking if it would be safe to assume that filing a NIL return is optional, since there were no explicit guidelines provided by the BIR regarding the matter. Further, since there are no penalty clauses included in the tax advisories, can the taxpayers remain placid that no open cases would result in case of non-filing of a NIL monthly withholding tax remittance return?

The BIR issued another tax advisory on Feb. 8 that tackles the guidelines on the quarterly filing and payment of percentage taxes pursuant to the TRAIN law. Previously, percentage tax returns are filed and paid on a monthly basis by certain taxpayers’ subject to percentage tax. However, it is worth noting that the advisory specifically mentioned only those taxpayers subject to percentage tax pursuant to Section 116 of the Tax Code (VAT-exempt taxpayers with annual revenues not exceeding P3,000,000) and those who will be subject thereto due to change of registration from VAT to Non-VAT. How about other percentage taxpayers, such as banks, who were also filing their percentage tax returns on a monthly basis prior to the TRAIN law? Should they also follow the guidelines set forth in the tax advisory, or should they stick to the old manner of filing their percentage tax returns?

Undoubtedly, the transition period to fully implement the changes under the TRAIN law have a long way to go. Hopefully, the present administration’s promise of a less complicated and more taxpayer-friendly administration of taxes will soon be felt by the taxpayers. I sincerely hope that the BIR will soon be able to release the appropriate revenue issuances that would comprehensively address all concerns and clarifications sought by the taxpayers.

Marvin K. Villarama is a senior of the Tax Advisory and Compliance of P&A Grant Thornton. P&A Grant Thornton is one of the leading audit, tax, advisory, and outsourcing services firms in the Philippines.

Maynilad sets aside P9 billion capex this year

Maynilad Water Services, Inc. is setting aside P9 billion this year as capital expenditure for its water and wastewater infrastructure projects, the west zone concessionaire said on Monday, Feb. 19.

“Our record investments have contributed significantly to the government’s job generation efforts while also improving water services for our over 9 million customers. We will continue on this track so we can sustain service level improvements in the West Zone,” said Ramoncito S. Fernandez, Maynilad president and chief executive officer.

Of the P9 billion, two-third or about P6.5 billion will be spent on the company’s infrastructure projects, Maynilad said.

 

Around P1.7 billion of the P9 billion budget this year will be used for wastewater management projects to increase sewerage coverage and maintain network reliability. It will be spent for the construction of a sewer network for the sewage treatment plants in Las Piñas and Muntinlupa, installation of new sewer service connections, and maintenance of the existing sewer network.

“The rest of the budget will go to the company’s customer service and information program, which covers the modernization of data management and information systems that will help to improve service delivery,” the company said. — Victor V. Saulon

Indonesia blocks more than 70,000 ‘negative,’ porn sites

JAKARTA — Indonesia has blocked more than 70,000 Web sites displaying “negative” content such as pornography or extremist ideology in the first month of using a new system to help purge the Internet of harmful material, the communications minister told Reuters.

The world’s most populous Muslim-majority country has stepped up efforts to control online content after a rise in hoax stories and hate speech, and amid controversial anti-pornography laws pushed by Islamic parties.

The so-called “crawling system” developed by a unit of state-run Telekomunikasi Indonesia Tbk (Telkom) was launched in January, using 44 servers to search Internet content and issue alerts when inappropriate material is found.

“We just put some sort of key words there, most of them are pornographic,” said Minister of Communication and Information Rudiantara, who uses one name.

“Because after 2017 we have blocked almost 800,000 sites and more than 90% (of these were) pornographic,” said the minister.

According to ministry data, the system, installed at a cost of around $15 million, helped block 72,407 pornography sites in January.

The ministry also acts to get content removed from social media platforms if there are complaints from the public.

Indonesia threatened last year to block Facebook, Inc’s WhatsApp Messenger, which is widely used in the country, unless obscene Graphics Interchange Format (GIF) images provided by third parties were removed.

Authorities also blocked access to some channels on encrypted messaging service Telegram last year, saying it had several forums that were “full of radical and terrorist propaganda.”

Google, which is owned by Alphabet, Inc, removed 73 LGBT-related apps from its Play Store last month, including the world’s largest gay dating app, Blued, on a request by Indonesia, a communications ministry official said.

The lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender community has faced a crackdown in Indonesia and the official said the contents of the apps contradicted cultural norms and contained pornographic content. Google declined to comment.

Mr. Rudiantara said the relationship with social media companies and tech giants was improving and put some disagreements down to differences over what, for example, constitutes pornography.

“To us probably it is pornographic, because we refer to the laws of pornography in Indonesia. But for other parts of the world, they say it is not pornography, it is art,” he said.

“But now it’s getting better, particularly when we consider content associated with radicalism, terrorism… On that content, I think they respond very fast,” he said.

The minister also said that nine tech companies, including Google and Facebook, had recently pledged to help authorities fight fake news and hate speech during upcoming elections in the world’s third-biggest democracy. — Reuters

South Korea’s Moon urges ‘stern’ response to new US tariffs

SEOUL — South Korean President Moon Jae-in called Monday for a “stern” response to new US tariffs on the South’s exports as concern grew over looming trade restrictions by Washington.

US President Donald J. Trump last week threatened retaliatory action against China and South Korea and vowed to revise or scrap a 2012 free trade deal with the South which he described as a “disaster.”

Mr. Trump also put his “America First” doctrine into action last month by imposing duties of 20% to 50% on large washing machines made in nations including the South, as well as tariffs on solar panels imported from China and elsewhere.

Seoul has said it would take the issue to the World Trade Organization while Beijing expressed “strong dissatisfaction” with the move, adopted to protect US manufacturers.

The trade frictions have strained ties at a time when Seoul and Washington are seeking to present a united front against North Korea’s nuclear threat.

Mr. Moon, at a meeting with aides, expressed concern over “intensifying protectionism” that may take a toll on the South’s export-reliant economy — also the world’s 11th largest.

“I am concerned that widening restrictions by the US on our exports, including steel, electronics, solar panels and washing machines, may take a toll on the exports despite their global competitiveness,” he said.

“I’d like (officials) to respond to unreasonable protectionist measures in a confident and stern manner by… reviewing whether the measures violate the current Korea-US free trade pact,” he said.

Mr. Moon also urged officials to “actively argue the unfairness” of the tariffs when renegotiating the bilateral free trade deal.

Mr. Moon’s comments also came days after the US Commerce department recommended hefty new tariffs on steel imports from countries including the South.

The US trade deficit — which Mr. Trump has vowed repeatedly to fix — widened even further during his first year in office, up 12% to $566 billion.

The Trump administration last July initiated talks to renegotiate the free trade pact with Seoul, arguing it was lopsided because America’s bilateral trade deficit had ballooned under it.

Two previous rounds of talks made little progress and Seoul’s chief trade negotiator Kim Hyun-chong said at the time there was “a long way to go.”

The next round of negotiations is scheduled in Washington next month. — AFP

Trump blasts Oprah over 60 Minutes episode

US PRESIDENT Donald J. Trump blasted media mogul Oprah Winfrey on Twitter on Sunday night over a segment on CBS’s 60 Minutes program and again said he hoped she would face him as an opponent in the 2020 presidential race.

Actress and television host Winfrey, now a contributor to the CBS program, led a panel of 14 Republican, Democrat and Independent voters from Grand Rapids, Michigan in a wide ranging discussion about Mr. Trump’s first year in office.

Mr. Trump tweeted: “Just watched a very insecure Oprah Winfrey, who at one point I knew very well, interview a panel of people on 60 Minutes. The questions were biased and slanted, the facts incorrect. Hope Oprah runs so she can be exposed and defeated just like all of the others!”

Ms. Winfrey has told various media outlets, including Entertainment Weekly, that she is not running for president, but has considered it, after there was much recent media speculation.

The panelists ranged from voters who said “I love him more and more every day,” to others questioning Mr. Trump’s stability, saying, “All he does is bully people.”

Ms. Winfrey made no declarative statements for or against the president in the program. But she did ask questions ranging from whether the country is better off economically to whether respect for the country is eroding around the world. — Reuters

Iran resumes hunt for missing plane with 66 onboard

TEHRAN — Iranian rescue teams resumed their search on Monday for a passenger plane that disappeared high in the Zagros mountains the previous day with 66 people onboard, local media reported.

State television said the weather had improved after blizzard conditions hampered search efforts Sunday, and that helicopters were now able to take part in the hunt for Aseman Airlines flight EP3704.

The authorities had called off the rescue effort overnight as heavy snow and rain made it impossible to work.

The ATR-72 twin-engine plane, in service for 25 years, left the capital’s Mehrabad airport at around 8 a.m. (0430 GMT) on Sunday and was heading towards the city of Yasuj, some 500 kilometers (300 miles) to the south.

It is thought to have crashed on the Dena mountain of Iran’s southwestern Zagros range, but one official said there could be as many as 100 peaks to search in the vast and remote area.

“The visibility in the defined search area is not very good and there is turbulence, so these safety concerns must be taken into account,” Morteza Dehghan of the Civil Aviation Organisation told state television.

“Despite all these conditions, both land and air teams are active. As soon as permission is given, drones will be used as well.”

Around 100 mountaineer rescue workers were deployed on Monday, state television said.

France’s air safety agency BEA said it would take part in the investigation led by Britain’s Air Accidents Investigation Branch.

“Three investigators and our technical advisers will go to the site,” a BEA spokesman told AFP. — AFP

PSEi returns to 8,700 level as rate hike fears ease

SHARES jumped on Monday as positive corporate earnings alongside dwindling fears for a faster rate hike by the US Federal Reserve fuelled optimism.

The 30-member Philippine Stock Exchange (PSEi) index went up 1.13% or 97.78 points to 8,710.22, while the broader all-shares index climbed 0.93% or 47.60 points to 5,123.20.

“It was a recovery in the market since we were absent last Friday. And also fears of…the movement of the rate increase by the Fed was allayed due to the fact that retail sales figure was not that strong enough. Thus this provided the market to be more optimistic of the continued growth,” Diversified Securities, Inc. equities trader Aniceto K. Pangan said in a phone interview.

Mr. Pangan added that corporate earnings have been positive so far, noting the reports released by property giants SM Prime Holdings, Inc. (SM Prime) and Ayala Land, Inc. (ALI).

SM Prime disclosed on Monday that recurring profit grew 16% to P27.6 billion, while ALI last week said that net income attributable to the parent climbed 21% to P25.3 billion in 2017.

“This means that both the property and consumer sector are positive. There’s relatively sustained growth in the market,” Mr. Pangan said.

All sectors ended on positive territory, led by the financials sub-index which gained 2.55% or 56.57 points to 2,266.86. Mining and oil followed with an increase of 1.72% or 201.85 points to 11,908.20. Property inched up 1.37% or 53.44 points to 3,938.61; services added 1.34% or 22.97 points to 1,728.44; industrials picked up 0.65% or 74.98 points to 11,473.60; while holding firms rose 0.38% or 33.56 points to 8,830.61.

Foreign investors turned buyers, snapping a 15-day selling streak with net inflows of P44.93 million on Monday, against net sales of P373.42 million last Thursday.

A total of 7.35 billion issues switched hands for a value turnover of P9.7 billion, lower than the P10.7-billion turnover in the previous session.

Advancers outpaced decliners, 141 to 65, while 44 names were unchanged.

The market moved in pace with Asian markets, which ended mostly on a positive note.

Analysts expect the upswing recorded on Monday to continue for the rest of the week, as long as the Fed would keep its rate hikes steady in the coming months.

“We expect some upside this week as long as it breaks and holds the 50-day average. This range trade will not last for long. Key support levels are expected to be tested within the month,” Regina Capital Development Corp. Managing Director Luis A. Limlingan said in a mobile phone message.

Other leads for the week include the release of minutes from the Federal Open Market Committee’s Jan. 30-31 meeting, which could provide more hints on the US central bank’s future moves, as well as the release of local balance of payments data scheduled yesterday. — Arra B. Francia

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