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Philab says CFO resigns from post

A TOP OFFICIAL of Philab Holdings Corp. resigned on Tuesday, citing personal reasons for exiting the company.

The listed firm disclosed to the stock exchange on Tuesday that its board of directors has accepted the resignation of Jennifer B. Bantang as its chief finance officer (CFO), as well as George Bocanegra as its investor relations officer.

In June this year, Philab Chairman Hector Thomas A. Navasero also resigned from his post due to health reasons, but soon returned to head the company in October after Darlene Berberabe who earlier replaced him resigned as well.

Incorporated in 1959, Philab supplies health and laboratory equipment to the Philippine health and education market.

Philab narrowed its net loss to P107 million in the first nine months of 2017 from P860 million in the same period a year ago.

Shares in Philab were up by nine centavos or 2.31% to P3.98 each at the stock exchange on Tuesday. — Arra B. Francia

Mining industry association signs sustainability pledges

THE Chamber of Mines of the Philippines (CoMP) said it signed the Baguio Declaration, with its members pledging to operate within the bounds of sustainable and responsible mining practices.

The industry signed the declaration after Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) Secretary Roy A. Cimatu issued a challenge last month at the 64th Annual National Mining Safety and Environment Conference in Baguio City.

CoMP Vice-Chairman Jose P. Leviste, Jr. said: “This is not a difficult commitment to make because most of us are already practicing these principles. In fact, as you have heard, two Filipino companies, Nickel Asia Corp. and [OceanaGold Corp.] won […] the highest mining awards in the region,” he added.

Mr. Leviste was referring to the first Association of Southeast Asian Nations Minerals Award where Nickel Asia’s Rio Tuba Mining Corp. was found to have adopted best practices for mineral mining while OceanaGold took first place in the minerals processing category.   

The declaration contains five elements, which require that mining operations be people-oriented, protect and enhance the environment, respect the rights and welfare of the Indigenous Peoples, contribute a fair share of revenue to the national economy and comply with international standards.

“The Baguio Declaration is the second giant step that the CoMP is taking today as a journey to institutionalize responsible and sustainable mineral development in the country,” he added.

Prior to signing the Baguio Declaration, CoMP also signed the Mining Association of Canada’s (MAC) Toward Sustainable Mining (TSM) initiative.

The TSM initiative is an agreement to follow certain standards, subject to evaluation by an external auditor every three years. It also requires mining companies to submit an annual report on the protocols implemented under the initiative.

The Philippines is the fourth country to sign the initiative, helping meet the fifth element of the Baguio Declaration.

CoMP Chairman Gerard H. Brimo told reporters that the first few steps of the TSM would include a two-day workshop with the president and vice-president of the MAC and the formation of a local “community of interest” made up of a panel of advisers to assist CoMP in the implementation of the protocols.

“Randomly every year, [they will also] interview selected mining companies and discuss their performance so it will take a couple of years to implement but today we’ve taken the first steps towards launching TSM towards sustainable mining so it’s a positive development for us,” Mr. Brimo said.

Mines and Geosciences Bureau officer-in-charge Wilfredo G. Moncano noted that while the first half of the 2017 was “unstable” for the mining industry, this year was still better with the revival of the relationship between the industry and the government in the last few months.

“There are agreements now that for example these bills that are pending in Congress, with the increase of the excise tax. The mining industry supports these bills,” he added.

“I think (the previous DENR leadership) served as a wakeup call… so they are now aware of their responsibilities.” — Anna Gabriela A. Mogato

Top business opportunities in Asia Pacific

BUSINESS OPTIMISM has hit a two-year high in Asia Pacific, reflecting a buoyant mood across the region that is largely driven by positive prospects for increased trade, P&A Grant Thornton said in a report. Read the full story.

Nation at a Glance — (12/20/17)

News stories from across the nation. Visit www.bworldonline.com (section: The Nation) to read more national and regional news from the Philippines.

MICC to recommend tougher sanctions for mining violations

THE Mining Industry Coordinating Council (MICC) plans to submit a memorandum to Malacañang  recommending stricter extraction regulations, amid some uncertainty over whether President Rodrigo R. Duterte has seen the body’s recommendation to lift the ban on open-pit mining.

The MICC met on Monday and decided to resubmit anew findings of the technical working group (TWG) on open-pit mining to the President, Finance department officials said.

MICC members said the memorandum is not intended to reverse the President’s decision, but would only serve as a basis for future policy decisions.

“What the MICC has decided is to provide the President the info provided by the TWG so it will be in the form of memorandum,” Finance Assistant Secretary Maria Teresa Habitan told reporters late Monday.

She said that the memorandum could be ready by January.

“The President has made a policy decision and we respect that, but since the report the findings of the TWG has not found its way to Malacañang yet, the decision was nevertheless submit it to the President for whatever purpose it may serve,” Finance Undersecretary Bayani H. Agabin said.

“He always will have the final say,” he added.

Former Environment Secretary Regina Paz L. Lopez signed on April 27 Department Administrative Order 2017-10, which prohibits the extraction of copper, gold, silver, among others, through the use of open-pit methods. The multiagency mining council however recommended that the ban be lifted on Oct. 24.

Mr. Duterte on the other hand told the media on Nov. 21 that the ban will remain, calling open-pit methods damaging to the environment.

Asked what would the memorandum contain, Mr. Agabin said: “The conclusion was that as a mining method (open-pit) can be safely done but the recommendation was of course we have to tighten enforcement.”

The memorandum will recommend upgrading the sanctions and penalties for violations involving all modes of extraction. “And the penalties have to hurt,” Ms. Habitan said.

She said that the implementation of these measures is within the power of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, a co-chair of the MICC.

“The MICC, as the usual practice, will draft the memorandum signed by the co-chairs and then it will be submitted to Malacañang, and at an appropriate time if the Cabinet sees it worthy to be presented to the Cabinet meeting, Secretary (Roy A.) Cimatu will present the findings.” — Elijah Joseph C. Tubayan

How PSEi member stocks performed — December 19, 2017

Here’s a quick glance at how PSEi stocks fared on Tuesday, December 19, 2017.

A partner in gift-giving

By Mark Louis Ferrolino

Special Features Writer

Some words are hard to tell, some thoughts are difficult to express, and some feelings are challenging to show. But one great way to convey one’s intention is to give gifts that are not just lovely and surprising but also exude a personal touch.

Showing what you truly feel and making a person feel special and important can be made convenient with the help of C’est Ça Giftworks, a creative gift shop that offers and delivers personalized and creatively arranged gifts — balloons, flowers, toys, food items or anything anyone wants to give. It’s a reliable partner in coming up with creative and memorable gift ideas, depending on one’s budget, for any occasion.

C’est Ça is a French phrase meaning “This is it” or “That’s it,” and roughly equivalent to the interjection “Eureka!”. C’est Ça Giftworks tries to live up to this sense of astonishment by keeping each customer and recipient satisfied with the products and services it offers.

“It’s a nice feeling that you are able to help people express their feelings. It’s something new, it’s something different. We come up with something that is very personal since you can custom-make it. So, you as a recipient, ang feeling mo pinag-isipan (you will feel that it is well thought-out),” C’est Ça Giftworks owner and founder Ma. Lirio C. Canoy told BusinessWorld in an interview.

It was in 1987 that C’est Ça Giftworks started as a small, home-based business, whose customers were only family friends and relatives. Still with excitement and enthusiasm, Ms. Canoy reminisced how happy she was when a customer, who was not related to their family, placed an ordered for the first time, five years after C’est Ça began operating. As she slowly mastered the craft of creating gift arrangements, the business also grew and started to cater more unique and repeat clients.

Today, the 30-year-old venture operates a physical store in Libis, Quezon City, where customers can sift through sets of creative gift ideas, and buy some in-store items. Ms. Canoy’s eldest son, Jose Alfonso C. Canoy, has joined her in managing the business as the store’s general manager.

Mr. Canoy shared that they keep the business successful by handling every gift arrangement with care and attention. “We always try to put ourselves in the position of our customers, of our clients… We put ourselves in their shoes,” he said.

Apart from keeping the trust of their customers and the reputation they have built over the years intact, they also keep up with the current trends to adapt to the changing behaviors of the customers. From relying solely on the traditional strategy of producing brochures that are distributed in public, they are now reaching their market by maintaining a strong presence online through their Web site, Facebook page, Instagram and Twitter accounts. They even hired a social media manager to handle these accounts.

During special occasions like Valentine’s Day and Mother’s Day, when a bunch of orders come in, Mr. Canoy shared that they hire extra staff to accommodate all the orders, and rent extra delivery vans to deliver all the orders on the special days. This is to make sure that despite the large number of orders, they are still able to attend to the needs of their customers and maintain the quality of service and products they are known for.

“I think it will continue to grow because people want convenience more than anything, especially with the traffic,” Mr. Canoy said of his their venture. “I think we will be able to make [it] bigger because of the convenience that we offer.”

To aspiring entrepreneurs who want to start their own business, Ms. Canoy advice is to think of a business concept that is something new. “Start small so that you don’t get eaten up by the pressure. Relax, and take your time,” she added.

Bridging gaps with gifts

By Bjorn Biel M. Beltran

As an archipelago with over 7,000 islands, the Philippines is a geographically fragmented nation. At the minimum, the physical boundaries have always acted as a gap between the peoples of Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao. And now that Filipinos going overseas to provide for their families is seen as a normal thing, those gaps have only gotten wider.

Overseas Filipino workers, otherwise known as OFWs, have become a foundation on which the country has built its burgeoning economy. OFW remittances are largely credited for the country’s recent stellar economic growth, resulting in investment status upgrades from credit ratings agencies such as the Fitch Group and Standard & Poor’s. From more than $2 billion worth of remittances in 1994, cash remittances from OFWs reached $26.9 billion in 2016. The World Bank made a forecast that remittances could reach $33 billion this year.

OFWs are a critical part of the country’s growth, and yet they are forced to be away from their families for months, even years, at a time, creating an ever-widening culture of disconnection, especially among the young.

Trying to minimize this distance was the goal of Rosemarie Rafael when she created SpeedRegalo Inc., a gift delivery business focused on bridging the gaps between the workers and their families.

Ms. Rafael, who owns the transport and logistics company Airspeed International Corp., had seen firsthand during her travels the need of Filipino families to have a strong platform with which to connect with their OFW relatives.

“Airspeed International Corp. was started in 1985 and is a company that has grown from 6 employees to about 400. Being in the logistics industry has allowed me the opportunity to travel to many different places, and it was through these travels that I saw the need to bridge the gap between overseas Filipino workers and their families back home,” she told BusinessWorld in an interview.

“I had a strong desire to provide our fellow kababayans abroad with a convenient, reliable, and affordable platform that would help them send gifts to their loved ones who were far away. Gift-giving is part of our culture and it is the heart of Speed Regalo. We provide various products — from flowers, to cakes, and even lechon — that can be delivered straight to your family’s doorstep.”

From humble beginnings in 2011, when much of the company’s business was being conducted locally, SpeedRegalo has now made huge strides in realizing its mission to connect Filipinos with relatives who are working abroad.

“Majority of our customers are now Filipinos overseas and being able to secure this market has been a major accomplishment in itself,” Ms. Rafael said.

“A challenge we are constantly facing is the ability to properly market our Web site and continue building awareness towards the right type of customers.”

As more Filipinos seek greener pastures abroad, the more challenging it will be for SpeedRegalo. Ms. Rafael acknowledged the rising number of people seeking deployment to other countries, and expected SpeedRegalo to match its growth as to provide Filipino families with a stable avenue of engagement with one another, despite the distance.

“Because Speed Regalo’s number one mission is to connect Filipinos with their loved ones who are far away, we see the continuous growth of Filipino deployment as an opportunity for growth when it comes to what we are doing,” she said.

“Through our platform, we just want Filipinos to be able to fully engage with their loved ones, regardless of distance. We envision our presence to grow leaps and bounds, and instead of just being an online platform for Filipinos in certain countries, we want to be accessible to all Filipinos in every part of the globe.”

One of the measures the company is taking toward future-proofing itself is the upcoming revamp of its Web site early next year. The launch will include a marketplace, a build-your-own-basket feature and a gift registry, improvements that aim to secure the future that Ms. Rafael dreams for the Filipino people.

“It’s our heart’s desire for everyone to connect with their loved ones — always. We don’t want people to feel disconnected. We want them to engage with everyone,” she said.

Personalizing with passion

Fatima Talia Casiao is passionate about craftwork, and loves getting her creative juices flowing. One day, thumbing through her Instagram feed, she caught herself looking look at photos of intricate and personalized objects. The experience somehow led her to think about making money from her flair for producing crafts.

In February of 2016, she opened an online business The Typesetter PH, which sells personalized items. She had also resigned from her job so that she could focus exclusively on the business that allows her to do what she enjoys greatly, and get paid for it. “I love what I do and being able to do what you love every day and make money out of it is just the best,” she told BusinessWorld, “and I guess that’s everyone’s dream, right?”

On Typesetter’s social media accounts, samples of Ms. Casiao’s work were posted in hopes that some people would take notice. Ms. Casiao soon started receiving a trickle of inquiries and tried to respond to each in the most spirited way she could, she said.

Ribbons were among the first products that Ms. Casiao was asked to personalize. Over time, the products became more varied: memo pads, journals, pens, note cards, compact mirrors. She said personalized memo pads are especially popular during the first quarter of the year. Compact mirrors are also a favorite with Typesetter’s customers, and typically given as gifts to friends and ordered for bridesmaids.

Ms. Casiao said she spends hours doing product layouts. Only when a client has given his or her approval of a proposed layout that the production of a requested item begins. “I always make sure that everything is organized from the day it is ordered to the day that it should be dispatched,” she said. She also checks every product to avoid embarrassing mistakes like misspelled names and to ensure that it meets all the requirements of the customer.

Unlike similar start-ups that take advantage of bazaars to promote, Typesetter has yet to participate in one. But Ms. Casiao said she has been receiving invitations to join. For now, all promotional activities happen on the social media accounts of Typesetter, and Ms. Casiao said she felt overwhelmed that these accounts have amassed what she considers to be “more than enough” followers. On Instagram alone, more than 10,000 users are following Typesetter. Ms. Casiao abides by some of the best practices in social media marketing: posting during peak hours and responding to inquiries immediately.

Dealing with pressure is a challenge for Ms. Casiao. There are times when she has to contend with a rush order, a nagging customer or both at the same time. She tries to understand a customer’s position and gives him or her updates on everything he or she needs to know.

It is her passion that motivates her to press ahead, and each time a satisfied customer sends a positive feedback, refers her business to others or comes back for another transaction, she feels even more motivated to do much better. “Customer satisfaction fuels the fire in me,” she said.

Like most online business owners, Ms. Casiao is planning on having a physical shop sometime in the future, preferably in a mall. She also wishes to be able to ship products abroad. At the moment, she is trying to do what every newbie to entrepreneurship should be doing: seize every opportunity that presents itself.

Starting the year right

T’is the season to be merry and give gifts. But a lot of people are already working out plans for the coming year. And with most of the people having busy work or school schedules, it is but important to keep everything organized. It helps to list down and calendar important events and appointments. That’s why organizers and planners come in handy. Check out these fun, fresh and inspiring journals in the market.

The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf 2018 Giving Journal

True to the spirit of Christmas, The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf once again celebrates its tradition of giving with its project, Giving Journal. Now on its 10th year, it focuses on the theme, “Leave a Legacy.” Its 2018 lineup comes with a “customizable cover specially made for individuals who use art as a form of creative self-expression” with four colors to choose from. One needs only 12 stamps by purchasing certain items.

Starbucks Philippines planner

The 2018 Starbucks planner comes in two designs, each one encased in a leather sleeve. It has monthly and weekly views, a stencil ruler, a desk calendar that can be folded into the shape of a Starbucks cup and an exclusive Starbucks card. 18 stickers are needed to redeem one Limited Edition Starbucks Coffee 2018 Planner.

Certified Positive planner

If you want to start the year with positivity and grow more in faith, this planner is full of inspirational quotes and has monthly testimonials of lives changed by Christ. It comes with two sticker pages and two bookmark ribbons, with themed scriptures every month. It also has Bible verse tracker and Gospel illustration.

Where to Next (WTN) planner

For people who love to travel, this is the planner for you. Its cover is made of synthetic PU leather with debossing and texture lamination. Its inside pages include The Philippines and World Bucket List, 2018-2019 Calendar, 12 Dateless Months, A Climber’s Checklist and Questions to Ask a Stranger, among other things. Not only that, for every purchase of a planner, a tree will be planted in the ancestral domain of the Aetas in Zambales. As WTN said on its Web site: “We strive to combine passion and purpose.”

Scribble planner

This dated planner has a very feminine vibe to it, what with its pink cover and pink ribbon bookmark. It has highlighted international and local holidays, monthly and weekly compliments to keep you motivated at all times, along with fun activities inside. Plus, it also features monthly artworks by Risa Rodil and comes with a back pocket and sticker sheet.

Design your Life planner

A project of C&S Designs, this 6.75”x7.75” planner is stylish and full of colors. It comes with cute stickers and has a space each month for your photos. It also has monthly and yearly calendars, Travel Planners+Checklist, motivational quotes and unique monthly designs, among others. Its cover is sturdier with round edges, and comes with rainbow or rose gold binding. Check out its site for bundle offerings.

Tita Witty planner

If you want fun games and lots of humor, this is the right one for you. It intends to “unleash the Basha in you,” make fun of “dieting (or the lack thereof) issues,” and “about the ‘Sana’ in our lives.” According to its Web site, it is a 6 inches by 6 inches hardbound planner, with weekly and monthly calendar spreads and 54 hilarious bonus features. It will surely brighten up your day, plus it has bundle offers for its planner, notebooks and slum book.

Whether one wishes to have a planner for himself or herself, or as an exciting gift for someone, there are so many options in the market that can fit one’s lifestyle and choice. So start the year right by planning ahead of time and enjoy having an organized and stress-free life. — Erika Fortuno-Mioten

Philippines’ finest entrepreneurs recognized at APEA 2017

Outstanding business leaders from the Philippines, who have exemplified remarkable leadership and tenacity in pursuing sustainable success, took center stage at the Asia Pacific Entrepreneurship Awards (APEA) 2017 held last Dec. 7 at Makati Shangri-La Hotel, Manila.

The awards night was filled with class and glamour as industry leaders, leading entrepreneurs and dignitaries attended the prestigious event. Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives of the Philippines and Advisor to Enterprise Asia Gwendolyn F. Garcia graced the event, together with Enterprise Asia President William Ng.

APEA is a regional program that aims to recognize leading entrepreneurs across the region to spur greater innovation, fair practices and growth in entrepreneurship. It hopes to be a platform to encourage continued leadership toward the region’s sustainable economic development.

The awards are presented to the finest entrepreneurs across Asia Pacific each year, with award ceremonies held in 13 countries. The recognition gives the awardees the opportunity to join the exclusive group of entrepreneurs and chief executive officers for a gala dinner, and be invited to other exclusive events such as the Asia Entrepreneurship Forum, International CSR Summit, National Entrepreneurship Forum, industry dialogues and business matching sessions. As a regional award, APEA also serves as a networking platform for business leaders across the region.

APEA is now on its fourth consecutive year in the Philippines. During the program, Ms. Garcia said that entrepreneurs who set out to do ordinary things in extraordinary ways are honored every year at APEA. These people are those who take the bold, sometimes risky, leap from idea to action, plan to execution and concept to product. She added that for these awardees, the product is always a work in progress because they constantly adapt to the changing needs of the changing the world.

“Tonight, we honor those who continuously challenge the way things are and the way things have always been, who push the boundaries of what is possible to bring better products, better services and better solutions for everyone by taking that bold step into action, and for constantly evolving. The people we honor tonight have created more and better-paying jobs, increased productivity, fostered efficiency, and all of these have contributed to the lifeblood of our nation’s economy,” Ms. Garcia said.

From close to 80 nominees from the country, 17 winners across 11 industries were selected. They were Dr. Eduardo De Leon Cabantog, visionary president and CEO of Alliance in Motion Global, Inc.; Alberto Emilio V. Ramos, director and president of China Bank Savings; Dr. Rebecca A. Wata, president and CEO of FC Group of Companies, Philippines; Teodoro L. Ferrer, president of Generika Drugstore; Raymond Hernandez and Juan Dionisio Serina, Jr., principal architects of H1 Architecture; Enrique L. Benedicto, chairman of Mabuhay Filcement, Inc.; Esther Go, president and CEO of Medilink Network, Inc.; Naido Bueno Duldulao, president, CEO and founder of ND Shipping Group of Companies; Thierry Tea, managing director of PhilJets Group; Gareth Holgate, CEO of SDW Realty & Development; Vicente E. Fedelicio, president and CEO of Vega Manila Crewmanagement, Inc.; Carlo Mata, director of White & Case Global Operations Center; Joan Peñaflorida, president of Yondu, Inc.; and Robert L. Yupangco, president of Zoomanity Group Corp.

The most coveted honors of the night were bestowed on three iconic individuals who have shown remarkable leadership in their respective industries. Under the Special Category, the Entrepreneur of the Year Award was received by Dennis A. Uy, founder and chairman of Chelsea Logistics Holdings Corp. for Transportation and Logistics Industry; and Benjamin I. Liuson, founder and vice-chairman of the The Generics Pharmacy for Healthcare and Pharmaceutical Industry. Finally, the Special Achievement Award was awarded to Dr. Andrew L. Tan, chairman of Megaworld Corp.

After receiving the recognition, Mr. Uy said that the award is a testament to the shared passion and dedication of Chelsea Logistics’ management, employees, investors, partners and stakeholders.

“It serves as an inspiration to continue pursuing our vision of becoming a finest shipping and logistics company, known for its unrivaled customer service. And as we move towards bolder horizon, we aim to move the country forward by providing our fellow Filipinos better shipping and logistics, as well as opening up employment and business opportunities,” he added.

Meanwhile, Mr. Liuson shared on stage how the The Generics Pharmacy has helped many Filipinos in terms of creating jobs and providing quality medicines at affordable prices.

“TGP is inclusive business because it created more than 2,000 small businesses everywhere in the Philippines. TGP also created more than 10,000 jobs nationwide up to the fifth municipality. TGP is known itself as CSR because it provides quality medicine at affordable price, helping and serving the more than 100 million Filipinos,” he said.

An in-depth search and selection process was conducted to determine the APEA winners. The nomination is by-invitation only, with each nominee subjected to a rigorous judging process, including financial verification by an appointed audit firm and mandatory physical site audit and interview, culminating in a confidential balloting process by Enterprise Asia’s committee.

“We can say with certainty that the recipients of the APEA are like none others. Not only do they have to prove their entrepreneurial skills and experience in one of the toughest contests in the world, they also subject themselves to a pledge to uphold the highest standards of entrepreneurship, which include allegiance to the two founding pillars of Enterprise Asia, namely investment in people and responsible entrepreneurship,” Mr. Ng said.

APEA is organized by Enterprise Asia, the region’s foremost association and think tank for entrepreneurship. It works with governments, NGOs and other organizations in uplifting the economic status of people across Asia and in ensuring a legacy of hope, innovation and courage for future generations by promoting competitiveness and entrepreneurial development.

As Mr. Ng explained: “The APEA is aimed at promoting entrepreneurship globally. Beyond recognizing the efforts of these entrepreneurs, we hope to encourage them to continue taking their businesses to the next level in the current digitalization era, and in the process, providing more job opportunities to the people in the region, and help to drive the economy forward which is in align[ment] [with] Enterprise Asia’s purpose of Democratizing Entrepreneurship, Institutionalizing Sustainability and Empowering Innovation.”

BoI tops 2017 investment pledge target

PROJECTS approved by the Board of Investments (BoI) — which accounts for the biggest amount of such commitments among the government’s seven investment promotion agencies — have exceeded an official P500-billion target for 2017 by nearly a fourth at P616.7 billion weeks before the year ends, the BoI said in a press release on Monday.

BoI said 2017’s preliminary amount — which the agency described as the biggest in its 50-year history — is 39.5% more than the P442 billion it approved last year.

The agency notched its previous biggest approved investment level in 1997 at P570.1 billion, “mainly from investments due to the privatization and deregulation of public utilities,” particularly of water supply and telecommunications.

Proponents of such investments are eligible for fiscal and non-tax incentives upon approval.

This year’s haul consisted of 426 projects — 13% more than last year’s 378 projects — that are projected to generate around 76,065 jobs upon full operation, up 12.5% from 67,634 jobs in 2016.

“We were happy then to just reach our P500-billion target. But to blitz past the P600-billion mark is something we are definitely ecstatic as this only proves the continuing confidence of the investors in making their business grow in the Philippines,” the statement quoted Trade and Industry Secretary Ramon M. Lopez as saying, adding that his department was “expecting sustained higher investments for the next five years.”

Mr. Lopez said further that latest data on investment pledges showed the momentum for overall economic growth — recorded at 6.7% in the first three quarters against the government’s 6.5-7.5% full-year target for expansion of gross domestic product (GDP) — “definitely carried over in the fourth quarter, investment-wise and further boosted with the frenzied economic activity given the holiday season.”

The same statement quoted BoI Managing head Ceferino S. Rodolfo said investment pledges went to “key manufacturing industries such as cement, sugar and petrochem,” among others.

Power and energy projects — which topped other sectors in terms of investment pledges — brought in P268.168 billion in approved investments, followed by infrastructure and public-private partnership projects with P127.658 billion, real estate and mass housing projects with P86 billion, as well as transportation and logistics with P15.909 billion.

“The increase in infrastructure projects this year supports the BoI’s push for the growth in economic activities outside Metro Manila and the ‘Build, Build, Build’… massive infrastructure program of the administration,” Mr. Rodolfo said.

Investment pledges in manufacturing — the sector which economists have tagged as the one that has the biggest potential for generation of meaningful jobs — nearly doubled to P96 billion from P49.259 billion in 2016.

Japan topped all other sources of foreign investment pledges BoI has approved so far this year, contributing P8.864 billion, mainly in green ship recycling, chemicals and glass manufacturing, among others.

It was followed by Singapore with P3.497 billion, Australia with P1.996 billion and the British Virgin Islands with P1.084 billion — all in renewable energy — as well as the Netherlands with P1.074 billion involving manufacturing.

The BoI said government efforts to disperse economic activities outside Metro Manila resulted in a 53% year-on-year decrease in approvals for the National Capital Region (NCR) and a 65% hike in those for areas outside NCR.

Still, the three regions that cumulatively accounted for 62.9% of GDP last year — Region IVA or CALABARZON, Region III or Central Luzon and NCR — attracted a big chunk of investment pledges.

Region IVA — consisting of the provinces of Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal and Quezon (CALABARZON) south of Metro Manila — topped the country’s 16 other regions with P294.6 billion worth of BoI-registered investment pledges, accounting for 48% of the total by its own.

CALABARZON was followed by Region III (Central Luzon) immediately to NCR’s north with P123.3 billion, and Metro Manila itself with P44.3 billion.

BoI identified the other regions that cornered “substantial investments as Region 1 (Ilocos Region) with P39.6 billion and Region 7 (Central Visayas) with P35.6 billion.

Complete year-on-year comparisons were not given. — AGAM

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