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BoP deficit doubles in 2017 after posting Dec. surplus

THE balance of payments (BoP) position returned to a surplus in December, although the deficit widened over the course of 2017, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said on Friday.

BoP, a measure of the relative size of incoming and outgoing funds flows, was at a $917-million surplus in December, against a $214 million deficit a year earlier, and a $44-million deficit in November.

The December surplus brought the 2017 deficit to $863 million, compared with $1.78 billion in the 11 months to November.

In 2016, the deficit was $420 million.

The 2017 full-year deficit was narrower than the bank’s forecast of $1.4 billion. The deficit forecast for 2018 is $1 billion.

In a statement, the BSP attributed the December inflows to its foreign exchange operations, the government’s net foreign currency deposits and the central bank’s income from its overseas investments.

“These were partially offset by the payments made by the [government] for its maturing foreign exchange obligations during the month in review,” the central bank said.

The peso averaged P50.3792 in December after touching the P49 level toward the last trading sessions. BSP Governor Nestor A. Espenilla, Jr. said that the central bank conducts “tactical operations” in order to temper sharp swings in the daily exchange rate.

Meanwhile, the central bank said the wider BoP deficit in 2017 was mainly due to the widening merchandise trade deficit.

Data from the Philippine Statistics Authority released last week showed that the trade deficit widened at the end of November to $3.78 billion year-to-date, up from $2.81 billion from a year earlier.

Imports amounted to $8.74 billion during the period, up 18.5%, while exports totaled $4.96 billion, up 1.6%.

In an earlier interview, UnionBank of the Philippines Chief Economist Ruben Carlo O. Asuncion said the widening trade deficit is “not bothersome” since the country is moving from being consumption-driven to investment-led.

The central bank also attributed the wider deficit to “the reversal of foreign portfolio investments (based on BSP-registered transactions) to a net outflow during the year from net inflows in 2016.”

Gross international reserves (GIR) in 2017 totaled $81.6 billion at the end of December.

“The GIR level remains adequate as it can cover 8.3 months’ worth of imports of goods and payments of services and primary income,” the central bank said.

“It is also equivalent to 5.8 times the country’s short-term external debt based on original maturity and 4.2 times based on residual maturity.”

Gov’t to require telcos to lease common towers

By Patrizia Paola C. Marcelo, Reporter

THE government will implement a common tower policy, which will require current telecom operators to lease cell towers from tower companies instead of building their own sites.

Presidential Assistant for Information and Communications Technology (ICT) Ramon Jacinto and Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) Officer-in-Charge and Undersecretary Eliseo M. Rio, Jr. yesterday announced this policy, aimed at providing better telecommunications services to the public and leveling the playing field with the entry of a third player.

“The solution that the Cabinet came up with,…there’s a Cabinet decision to implement a common tower policy, meaning to say, operators will co-locate in a common tower,” Mr. Jacinto said in a media roundtable yesterday.

“At present, the capital expense of the operators like Globe [Globe Telecom, Inc.] and Smart [Smart Communications Inc., wireless unit of PLDT, Inc.] is huge for common towers. While initially they may be shocked by this policy, I think they know that they will appreciate this later on because they will be able to free the capital expense and the headache of building towers and concentrate on operations and updating their radios to provide radio service.”

“The tower company will have to build. They really cannot build any more towers, they can build towers pero walang radyo. They can’t locate radio except in the common towers once it is announced that it’s been implemented,” Mr. Jacinto also said.

The guidelines will be rolled out next month, while agreements with companies are eyed by the last quarter of the year. Mr. Jacinto said actual implementation may take place in the last quarter of the year, or early next year.

“One tower should be able to fit maybe three or four players, or even more later on. So this also paves the way for a level playing field for the third player,” he said.

He added that the government is looking at “about three or four players” to build the towers. They will use their own funds at no cost to the government.

Mr. Jacinto cited one interested company, American Tower Corp. “We are open to.. three or four, not just one. But American Towers wants, they are willing. They have money, they have $50 billion to invest.”

Construction of the towers however, can be done locally to reduce costs.

“We can build these here, to reduce costs of towers,” Mr. Rio said.

Mr. Jacinto said the Philippines needs about 50,000 more towers for better coverage, with each tower costing around $100,000. The country currently has only 16,000.

Incumbents PLDT and Globe have cited difficulties in getting permits for building cell towers, when Mr. Rio posted in a social media site that the lack of cell sites constructed by the telco is a primary reason for slow and costly Internet services in the country.

PLDT Head of Public Affairs Ramon R. Isberto, sought for comment, said: “We are deferring comment until we get clarification.”

Globe, general legal counsel Vicente Froilan M. Castelo said in a statement: “As telco, we are required and must have our own network. Each telco has a specific design of its network to provide services to its customers. We urge the government to use this tower company to build the cell sites and corresponding backhaul in underserved areas so that we can provide telco services to these customers as we have been wanting to for years.”

DoH chief: Sanofi refunds P1.161B in Dengvaxia program

EMBATTLED vaccines firm Sanofi Pasteur has refunded the Philippine government P1.161 billion in connection with the Dengvaxia immunization program, Health Secretary Francisco T. Duque III disclosed on Thursday.

“There has already been a refunded amount to the tune of P1.161 billion,” Mr. Duque said in Pampanga, as aired by ANC.

He added: “Kaunting kaunti na lang po ang kulang. Hindi nangangahulugang tapos na tayo diyan, dahil kung may ebidensiya o patunay na ikinubli na isang mahalagang impormasyon na nakapagbago sana ng desisyon na isagawa ang Dengvaxia immunization program,…sigurado po ang inyong DoH (Department of Health), isisiguro po natin na may mananagot at ginagawa po natin ang lahat….”

(Only a little remains unaccounted for. It doesn’t mean this matter is resolved, because if there’s evidence of a coverup of information that would change our decision on the Dengvaxia immunization program, your DoH will ensure that someone will answer for this and we are doing everything in that regard….)

Sanofi Pasteur had earlier said it would provide reimbursement for the doses of Dengvaxia that were not used by the government. But the DoH had called for a full reimbursement of its P3.5-billion contract with the company, a move supported by Senate President Aquilino Martin L. Pimentel III.

Duterte off to India Jan. 24

By Arjay L. Balinbin

PRESIDENT Rodrigo R. Duterte is scheduled to fly to India on Wednesday, Jan. 24, to attend the ASEAN-India Commemorative Summit (AICS) on Jan. 25 and India’s Republic Day celebration on Jan. 26.

According to Assistant Secretary Ma. Hellen B. De La Vega, head of the Office of the ASEAN Affairs at the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), the ASEAN-India Commemorative Summit is the culminating activity for the 25th anniversary of ASEAN-India relations.

“The President and other ASEAN Member States have also been invited to India’s Republic Day celebration, which takes place the following day on 26th January,” Ms. De La Vega told reporters during the pre-departure briefing on Friday, Jan. 19.

A Delhi Declaration is also expected to be signed during the Summit. “We are looking on an outcome document and it’s called the Delhi Declaration, which will be released in conjunction with the Summit,” Ms. De La Vega said.

She added that the content of the declaration is the “roadmap for the cooperation between ASEAN and India.”

“So you expect that in the Delhi Declaration, (there are) areas like on how to substantiate political, economic and cultural cooperation.”

It will be recalled as well that during the ASEAN summit held in the Philippines last year, Mr. Duterte mentioned that he was interested in purchasing cheaper medicines from India.

Ms. De La Vega confirmed that “the interest (in) the pharmaceutical industry is in the agenda.”

“When I mentioned about the cheaper medicine, I was also talking about it in the context of ASEAN in terms of cooperation,” Ms. De La Vega further said.

She clarified as well that the bilateral meeting between India and the Philippines regarding the medicines has yet to be confirmed.

Ms. De La Vega also said that currently there are more than 3,000 Filipinos living in India.

For her part, Director Rhenita B. Rodriguez of the Office of Asia and Pacific Affairs, DFA, told reporters that the department is still “awaiting confirmation at this stage (regarding) the (possible) engagement with the Filipino community in New Delhi.”

KUWAIT
Earlier on Thursday, Mr. Duterte said he was considering a “total ban” on the deployment of overseas Filipino workers to Kuwait.

Mr. Duterte said he haD discussed this matter with Foreign Affairs Secretary Alan Peter S. Cayetano. “My advise is, we talk to them, state the truth and just tell them that it’s not acceptable anymore. Either we impose a total ban or we can have the….”

“I do not want a quarrel with Kuwait. I respect their leaders, but they have to do something about this. Kasi karamihan ng Pilipina mag-suicide, kaya ako mainit sa droga.” (Because many Filipino women have committed suicide. That’s why I’m mad about drugs.) Mr. Duterte also said, “We have lost about four Filipino women in the last few months. It’s always in Kuwait.”

NEW APPOINTMENTS
Malacañang Palace on Friday, Jan. 19, released the names of new seven nominated ambassadors.

Mr. Duterte signed the appointment papers of the following individuals last Tuesday, Jan. 16:

• Mohammad Omar A. Fajardo, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the Republic of Iraq, with the salary and emoluments of a Chief of Mission, Class I.

• Linglingay F. Lacanlale, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the Argentine Republic, with concurrent jurisdiction over the Plurinational State of Bolivia, the Republic of Paraguay, and the Oriental Republic of Uruguay, with the salary and emoluments of a Chief of Mission, Class I.

• Frank R. Cimafranca, CM II, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the Hellenic Republic, with concurrent jurisdiction over the Republic of Cyprus.

• Hjayceelyn M. Quintana, CM II, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the United Arab Emirates.

• Cesar Lee Hiong Wee, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the Republic of Indonesia, with the salary and emoluments of a Chief of Mission, Class I.

• Grace R. Princesa, CM I, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the Holy See, with concurrent jurisdiction over the Sovereign Military Order of Malta.

• Marichu B. Mauro, CM II, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the Federative Republic of Brazil with concurrent jurisdiction over the Republic of Colombia, the Co-operative Republic of Guyana, the Republic of Suriname, and the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela.

It is stated in their appointment papers that they may qualify and enter upon the performance of the duties of their respective offices upon consent by the Commission on Appointments (CA).

BSP survey shows credit standards holding steady in Q4

BANKS generally maintained their credit standards in the fourth quarter, according to a survey conducted by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), though banks that chose to ease lending norms outnumbered those moving to tighten.

The fourth quarter 2017 Senior Bank Loan Officers’ Survey showed that “most of the respondent banks continued to maintain their credit standards for loans to both enterprises and households during the quarter,” based on the modal approach.

However the diffusion index (DI) — the difference between the percentage of banks that tightened standards and those that eased–showed a “slight net easing” of lending standards for loans extended to both businesses and households.

The outcome of the survey show represents the 35th consecutive quarter, dating to the second quarter of 2009, that banks maintained their credit standards were unchanged.

The central bank uses the quarterly survey to understand the lending decisions made by banks and to monitor credit quality. Some 85.7% or 30 of 35 commercial banks responded to the survey.

The modal approach indicates that 88.9% of the banks maintained their credit standards last quarter. They also expect standards to hold steady this quarter.

However, the net easing outcome under the DI method was attributed to “improved profitability and liquidity of respondent banks’ portfolios; a more favorable outlook on the economy; and banks’ increased tolerance for risk, among others,” the BSP said.

In terms of specific credit standards, the net easing is “reflected in respondent banks’ increased credit line sizes; less strict collateral requirements; and longer loan maturities,” the report said, noting that the net easing mostly benefited micro-enterprises, while credit standards were unchanged for large firms, mid-market firms, small and medium enterprises.

The DI approach also shows that banks expect overall credit standards for business loans to tighten in the first quarter due to “banks’ perception of stricter financial system regulations.”

For loans to households, 90.5% of survey respondents maintained their credit standards — slightly higher than the previous comparable quarter.

Under the DI approach, the household loan business saw a “net easing of credit standards,” especially for credit cards and automobile loans. This was due to a “improvement in ther profitability of their portfolio, their increased tolerance for risk, and improvement in the profile of their household borrowers.”

“In terms of specific credit standards, results based on the DI approach indicated an overall increase in the size of credit lines and less strict collateral requirements.”

Banks anticipate unchanged lending criteria based on the modal approach, but see a net tightening under the DI method, particularly for credit card,personal loans, due to banks’ expectations of stricter financial regulations and reduced tolerance for risk.

Moreover, the survey indicated that a “majority” of the banks expect “stable overall demand” for loans from both enterprises and households.

Under the DI approach, however, results pointed to a net increase in loan demand across all firm sizes and all types of household loans.

Heightened loan demand for businesses is attributed to the “improvement in customers’ economic outlook,” while the increased loan demand for households will result from “higher household consumption, low interest rates and banks’ more attractive financing terms.”

For the first quarter, a “majority” of the survey respondents loan demand from both businesses and households to remain steady.

However more respondents expect overall demand for corporate and household loans (except credit card loans) to increase further in the second quarter due to “higher investment in plant or equipment and increased working capital needs of clients, and improvement in the economic outlook of borrower firms,” as well as expectations of “more attractive financing terms offered to clients and low interest rates along with higher household consumption.”

In the real estate lending business, 73.7% of the respondents indicated that lending standards were steady, lower than the 84.2% who responded similarly in the third quarter. The DI method, however, continued to indicate a net tightening of overall credit standards for commercial real estate loans for an eighth consecutive quarter

Loan officers expect to maintain their credit standards for commercial real estate clients, but the DI points to more net tightening.

Demand for commercial real estate loans was also unchanged in the fourth quarte. “A number of banks, however, indicated increased demand for the said type of loan on the back of increased investment in plant and equipment, improvement in borrower firms’ economic outlook, banks’ more attractive financing terms and lower interest rates,” the BSP said.

Most of the respondents project “generally steady loan demand,” while “a number of banks expect demand for commercial real estate loans to continue to increase.”

In the case of property loans extended to households, both modal and DI indicators showed that credit standards were unchanged, with the survey respondents unanimous on this point. For the first quarter, the BSP said banks will maintain an “unchanged tolerance for risk, a stable economic outlook and a steady profile of housing loan borrowers.”

Demand for housing loans rose in the fourth quarter and is expected to continue rising, the central bank said. — Elijah Joseph C. Tubayan

Hyundai Philippines to comply with MVDP suspension order

HYUNDAI Asia Resources, Inc. (HARI) said it accepts a government suspension from the Motor Vehicle Development Program (MVDP) after the company was found to have failed to meet the terms of the incentive program.

Department of Trade of Industry (DTI) Secretary Ramon M. Lopez said in a letter to Quirino Rep. Dakila Carlo E. Cua that the importer and distributor of Hyundai vehicles has indicated its willingness to comply with the decision.

“HARI has indicated its acceptance and willingness to comply with the Board Resolution in a meeting attended by, among others, relevant high-level officials from the Department of Trade (including the BoI [Board of Investments]) and Finance (including the Bureau of Customs [BoC]),” Mr. Lopez said in his letter.

In November, the BoI, an agency of the DTI, served a suspension order against HARI for violating the terms of the MVDP.

The MVDP allows for a 1% tariff on imports of completely knocked-down (CKD) units, which the government encourages because CKD imports create more assembly domestic jobs. HARI was allegedly importing semi-knocked down units, including the Eon small car, which is less favorable from a job-creation standpoint because it involves less domestic assembly.

In the letter, the BoI set two conditions for lifting the suspension. One is the establishment of assembly processes for welding and painting within six months from receipt of the resolution; and the refund of the tax and duty differentials on imports. The actual size of the refund, as well as mode of settlement, and period of payment, is to be determined by the BoC.

“Failure to comply with either compliance requirements shall result in the cancellation of the Certificates of Registration of Hyundai Asia Resources, Inc.’s as a participant under the Motor Vehicle Development Program,” the letter read. — Patrizia Paola C. Marcelo

BIR: Annual ITR deadline still April 15, but Q1 returns for self-employed is on May 15.

By Elijah Joseph C. Tubayan, Reporter

THE Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) on Friday said the deadline of filing for annual tax returns is still on April 15, as the tax reform law only adjusted the schedule for the first quarter tax returns of self-employed individuals and professionals.

“The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) is reminding all taxpayers that the deadline for the filing of the individual Annual Income Tax Return (ITR) and the payment of the tax due thereon, if any, is still April 15 following the close of each taxable year,” the bureau said in a statement.

“What was changed under the TRAIN law is the deadline for the filing of the First Quarterly Income Tax Return for self-employed individuals and professionals (BIR Form 1701Q) which now falls on May 15 of each taxable year,” it added, referring to Republic Act 10963 or the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) Act that took effect on Jan. 1, 2018.

The deadline for the succeeding quarters of the quarterly ITR “remained the same,” according to the BIR. “These said deadlines apply to succeeding taxable years.”

Under the previous 1997 tax code, the deadline for the first quarter ITR was likewise on April 15, coinciding with the deadline for the filing of the annual ITR.

The tax bureau said that “there will be no extension of the said deadlines and taxpayers are encouraged to file as early as now to avoid the usual issues and inconvenience experienced during the last day of filing.”

Returns that fail to meet the prescribed deadline would be slapped a 25% surcharge, a 20% interest per annum, and a compromise penalty.

“With the clarification, all individual taxpayers are expected to file their Annual Income Tax Returns for 2017 on or before April 15, 2018. For Self-employed individuals and professionals, they should be filing their 2018 First Quarter BIR Form 1701Q on May 15, 2018,” the BIR said.

Davao City business chamber pushes for development of economic zones

By Carmelito Q. Francisco and Maya M. Padillo, Correspondents

DAVAO CITY — The business sector has called on the city government to push for the creation of economic zones to lure more investors, especially foreigners.

Arturo M. Milan, incoming president of the Davao City Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Inc., said that since last year, foreign business groups that have visited the city have been inquiring about economic zones.

“If the government is serious in attracting investors, they should be the ones to look for the place and establish an economic zone,” said Mr. Milan in a media forum on Jan. 17.

He cited the business delegation from Taiwan that visited the city last week as making the same inquiry.

During the Davao Investment Conference last year, a group of Indonesian investors that wanted to sell cement in the city also proposed the setting up of an economic zone.

Mr. Milan said investors prefer sites with complete amenities such as the economic zone of the Floirendo group in neighboring Panabo City, which has an international port.

“So that they (investors) can evaluate the real terms, whether other countries can offer this or are we more competitive… I’ve been saying, we can only promote investments in Davao Region and Mindanao, but our investment promotion has been very ‘biblical’, we don’t have a clear offering, para bang (its like) ‘seek and you shall find’,” Mr. Milan said.

Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) Director General Charito B. Plaza, in her visit to Davao City last year for the opening of a PEZA center, also called for the establishment of more economic zones in the country’s south, including those on islands around mainland Mindanao.

Early this week, Ms. Plaza visited the city council to discuss with the local legislative members the possibilities for setting up economic zones.

However, the main challenge in setting up economic zones in Davao City is the availability of big enough areas.

Assistant Secretary Romeo M. Montenegro, Mindanao Development Authority deputy executive director, said in a separate interview that most of the potential properties are privately owned and acquiring these would be very expensive due to “speculative prices.”

“We are considering government-owned lands to be converted into economic zones, but this would entail a long process,” said Mr. Montenegro.

“We want to make available areas, specific locations along the areas of Mindanao Development Corridor, where we can find the viability of promoting agri-ecozones particularly directed at specific commodities, provided with support by necessary infrastructure, logistics. This is where the government and private sector have really work together,” he added.

Oriental Petroleum shareholder vote fails on lack of quorum

ORIENTAL Petroleum and Minerals Corp. said it failed to secure the required attendance for a valid vote to amend its secondary business purpose to include power generation.

In a disclosure to the exchange Friday, the company said: “The meeting was adjourned to a later date due to lack of quorum. The Corporation will send out notice to Stockholders with the same agenda once date has been determined,” it said.

The special stockholders meeting set on Jan. 18, 2018 was to amend the company’s articles of incorporation to extend its corporate term for another 50 years.

Oriental Petroleum was also to vote on amending its secondary purpose to “invest or engage generally” in the power generation business.

The company also wants to expand to “exploration, development, utilization and commercialization” of renewable energy resources such as biomass, solar, wind, hydropower, geothermal and ocean energy.

Included in its plan is the application of hybrid systems and other emerging renewable energy technologies for the generation, transmission, distribution, sale and use of electricity and fuel generation from renewable energy resources.

The exploration company’s is operational activities depend principally on its service contracts (SC) with the government. Its petroleum revenues and production and related expenses are derived from SC 14 contract area, which is composed of four blocks.

Of these blocks, only the blocks of Nido, Matinloc and Galoc are in operation. West Linapacan is under evaluation for re-activation after it was shut-in in 1991 because of water intrusion, and Block D is designated as the retention block.

Oriental Petroleum has three subsidiaries: Oriental Mahogany Woodworks, Inc., Linapacan Oil Gas and Power Corp., and Oriental Land Corp.

On Friday, shares in the company were unchanged at P0.013. — Victor V. Saulon

House Speaker: Con-con no guarantee against vested interests

By Minde Nyl R. Dela Cruz

HOUSE Speaker Pantaleon D. Alvarez said a constitutional convention (con-con) is no guarantee that politicians and businessmen with vested interest cannot influence the drafting of a new charter.

“Hindi ko makita ‘yung kahalagahan na magdaos tayo ng constitutional convention dahil po kung ang iniiwasan nila ‘yung mga personal interest ng mga pulitiko at ng mga negosyante, ‘pag nag-con-con tayo, meron bang guarantee na hindi rin magpapatakbo ng mga representatives ‘yung mga negosyante at saka mga pulitiko to protect their own personal interests? Wala. Walang guarantee na ganoon,“ Mr. Alvarez said in a press conference following the oathtaking of 5,000 new members of the Partido Demokratikong Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan (PDP-Laban) in Pototan, Iloilo, last Jan. 18.

(For me, when it comes to constitutional convention,…I don’t see the significance of conducting a constitutional convention because if what they are trying to avoid is the personal interest of the politicians and businessmen, even if we go for con-con, does it guarantee that these politicians and businessmen will not have their own candidates to protect their personal interests? No. There’s no such guarantee.)

“At ako, sinisiguro ko sa inyo na mangyayari talaga ‘yun na ‘yung mga malalaking negosyante, talagang magpapatakbo ng kandidato ‘yun para maging miyembro ng constitutional convention,” he added.

(And I’m telling you for sure that it will really happen, that these big businessmen will back their own candidates to be members of the constitutional convention.)

Among other personalities, Vice-President Maria Leonor G. Robredo, former chief justice Reynato S. Puno, and some of the framers of the 1987 Constitution, including former chief justice Hilario G. Davide Jr., have expressed preference for a constitutional convention than the constitutional assembly being pushed by the House of Representatives.

Similarly, Buhay party-list Rep. Jose L. Atienza Jr. said in a press statement that the drafting of the new constitution should be “left in the very capable hands of delegates elected by the people in a [con-con].” He added that lawmakers “should continue our job of crafting laws, instead of sitting as a constituent assembly to amend the Constitution.”

Mr. Alvarez said members of Congress should make use of the “trust and confidence” given by the people when they were elected as representatives.

“Para naman sa akin, sa ngayon, nakita naman natin, halal naman ng bayan lahat ng mga congressmen. So ito, meron talagang trust and confidence na ibinigay ‘yung taumbayan dito sa kanilang mga representatives na pinadala sa Kongreso. So, why don’t we make use of that? Na kasi ito, wala ng gastos ang gobyerno,“ Mr. Alvarez said.

(For me, now, we have seen, all the congressmen were elected by the people. So here, the people really have trust and confidence in the representatives they elected to Congress. So, why don’t we make use of that? Because here, the government no longer needs to spend much [in convening the Congress into a constituent assembly].)

Southern Leyte Roger G. Mercado, chair of the House committee on constitutional amendments, said a constituent assembly would be preferable because it is less expensive. Mr. Mercado also noted that a constituent assembly would only cost the government P204 million as opposed to con-con which is pegged to cost P11 billion.

On Jan. 16, the House approved Concurrent Resolution 9 which calls for convening Congress into a constituent assembly.

Peso closes stronger on weak US data, Federal gov’t shutdown fears

THE peso strengthened against the dollar on Friday, with the US currency falling back after weak US housing data, amid fears of a Federal government shutdown.

The peso closed at P50.72 against the dollar, compared with P50.80 on Thursday.

The peso’s closing price was also its opening price, and was at its strongest intraday at P50.61, with the low at P50.75.

Volume on Friday rose to $819.2 million from $749.4 million the previous day.

“The peso appreciated today, as US housing starts, which is an indicator of the overall health of the US economy, fell more than expected in December 2017,” Guian Angelo S. Dumalagan, market economist at Land Bank of the Philippines, said in an e-mail.

Construction starts for single-family housing in particular showed a steep decline, Reuters reported.

According to the US Commerce Department, residential starts fell 8.2% in December.

Construction starts for single-family homes, which accounts for the bulk of the market, fell 11.8% to 836,000 units.

Ruben Carlo O. Asuncion, chief economist of UnionBank of the Philippines, said: “The dollar weakened as investors continue to look at the probability of a US government shutdown.”

US President Donald J. Trump and Republican leaders of Congress are chasing a Friday midnight deadline to pass a short-term spending bill, which will prevent the some agencies from shutting down.

Mr. Asuncion noted that the looming deadline the government might fail to meet gave the other currencies a boost.

Another trader said the peso recovered after a three-day decline. — Karl Angelo N. Vidal

Bourse recovers to post weekly gain

ANTICIPATION of relatively fast Philippine fourth-quarter gross domestic product(GDP) growth and China’s better-than-expected (GDP) expansion for the same period fueled local stocks to recover from two days of decline and end the week up, as Friday saw four of the six sectoral indices close with gains and foreigners remaining net buyers for the sixth straight trading day.

The Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) ended Friday up 95.18 points or 1.07% up at 8,915.92, fueling a 1.149% week-on-week rise, while the all-shares index edged up by 35.2 points or 0.68% to 5,151.07.

“The bellwether index opened in the red, but immediately crossed into green territory,” RCBC Securities, Inc. said in a stock market weekend recap, noting that “the market managed to climb” week-on-week, “supported by… net foreign buying”.

Reuters reported close to noon that China saw a better-than-expected 6.8% expansion in 2017’s final three months, while the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) in the afternoon raised third-quarter GDP growth rate by 0.1 of a percentage point to 7.0% and Moody’s Analytics said it expected the fourth-quarter pace — to be reported by the PSA on Jan. 23 — to clock 6.7%, which is the average of the first three quarters.

“Philippine markets climbed up once more on the back of encouraging growth data from neighboring China. Gross domestic product [growth] in China hit 6.8%, confirming a return to growth in China following a slew of reform amid a high debt issue,” Luis A. Limlingan, managing director at Regina Capital Development Corp., said in a mobile phone message.

Jervin S. de Celis, equities trader at Timson Securities, Inc., said that Bank of the Philippine Islands’ 7.39% increase to P123.50 apiece, the 2.04% hike of Metropolitan Bank & Trust Co. to P110.20 each — marking its “second day of recovery from its plunge last Wednesday” — and GT Capital Holdings, Inc.’s 6.34% surge to P1,392 “lifted the PSEi today”.

“It’s as if the PSEi became a flea market after investors scrambled to buy… banking stocks at bargain prices,” Mr. de Celis said in a text message.

“The next catalyst that we are anticipating is the GDP announcement in a few days, so the PSEi may stay between 8,700-8,900 until the data is released.”

Counterparts elsewhere in Asia provided some lift as well, with Japan’s Nikkei 225 and TOPIX Index, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index, The Shanghai Composite Index, South Korea’s KOSPI, the Straits Times Index and the Jakarta Composite Index rising by 0.19%, 0.69%, 0.41%, 0.41%, 0.18%, 0.82% and 0.28%, respectively.

Locally, financials led the climb, rising by 57.13 points or 2.56% to finish 2,288.23, followed by holding firms that went up 108.31 or 1.19% to 9,143.9, industrials that gained 59.65 points or 0.5% to 11,866.53, as well as mining and oil that edged up by 1.41 points or a nearly flat 0.01% to 12,027.82.

Two sectoral indices fell: services by 6.27 points or 0.38% to 1,638.77 and property by 4.47 points or 0.11% to 4,035.44.

Friday saw stocks that declined outnumber those that gained 127 to 105, while 54 others were unchanged.

Some 914.34 million shares worth P10.021 billion changed hands, compared to Thursday’s 1.143 billion shares worth P9.976 billion.

Foreigners remained predominantly buyers for a sixth straight trading session on Friday, although the P92.103-million net buying was the smallest amount in that period. — with inputs from P. P. C. Marcelo

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