THE Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) has broken ground on the P1.6-billion road that will connect the commercial districts of Bonifacio Global City (BGC) and Ortigas Center, promising to cut travel time between the areas to 12 minutes.
DPWH Secretary Mark A. Villar laid a capsule to mark the start of construction operations for the project, which forms part of the national government’s aggressive infrastructure spending program.
The BGC-Ortigas Center Link Road Project involves a four-lane bridge across the Pasig River connecting Sta. Monica Street in Pasig City and Lawton Avenue in Makati City, as well as a viaduct traversing Lawton Avenue to the entrance of BGC.
Targeted for completion by March 2020, the project also aims to improve connectivity between the cities of Pasig, Mandaluyong, Taguig, and Makati.
For the project, the DPWH partnered with Persan Construction, Inc. and Chinese firm Sino Road and Bridge Co., Ltd. as contractors.
“Once completed… traveling between the central business districts of Taguig and Pasig Cities will only take 12 minutes and traffic congestion at EDSA and C-5 Road particularly along Guadalupe Bridge and Bagong Ilog Bridge will be alleviated by 25%,” Mr. Villar was quoted as saying in a statement.
The DPWH has also identified 12 other new bridges to increase road network capacity in Metro Manila.
Two of these planned bridges, the Binondo-Intramuros Bridge in the city of Manila and Estrella-Pantaleon Bridge in the cities of Makati and Mandaluyong, will be constructed using grants from China.
Other planned bridges include South Harbor Bridge, the 2nd Ayala Bridge linking Carlos Palanca and San Marcelino streets, and F. Blumentritt-Antipolo Bridge. — Patrizia Paola C. Marcelo
HONG KONG — AES Corp. is seeking to sell its controlling stake in the Masinloc power plant in the Philippines in a deal that could value the project at more than $1 billion, people with knowledge of the matter said.
The US electricity generator is working with advisers to gauge interest in its entire 51% interest in the 630-megawatt coal-fired power plant, according to the people, who asked not to be identified as the information is private.
A deal would represent a complete exit for AES, which agreed in 2014 to sell an effective 41% stake in the Masinloc project to Thailand’s Electricity Generating Pcl for $453 million. The World Bank’s International Finance Corp. owns the remaining 8%.
AES has been shedding assets to cut debt as it seeks to achieve an investment-grade credit rating by 2020. Any transaction will add to the $72.8 billion in acquisitions of Asian energy and utility companies over the past 12 months, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
Deliberations are at an early stage, and there’s no certainty they will result in a sale, the people said. Amy Ackerman, a spokeswoman for AES in Arlington, Virginia, declined to comment.
AES is aiming to raise $500 million through asset sales this year, Chief Financial Officer Thomas M. O’Flynn said on a May 8 earnings call. The company agreed last year to sell its interest in Brazilian utility AES Sul to CPFL Energia SA for 1.7 billion reais ($536 million).
The power plant, which has been in operation since 1998, was bought by AES for $930 million in 2008, according to AES’s Web site. It is located about 250 kilometers (155 miles) northwest of Manila in Zambales province, an area known for its mango cultivation. — Bloomberg
THE PESO extended its slump against the dollar on Wednesday to hit another fresh low in almost 11 years, as more market players are pricing in another monetary tightening by the US Federal Reserve within the year. They also expressed heightened caution ahead of the US central bank’s policy meeting next week as well as the Philippines’ balance of payments which incurred a wider deficit last month.
The local unit ended at P50.94 yesterday, plunging 17 centavos from its P50.77 finish on Tuesday.
Wednesday’s close was another fresh low for the peso after its worst finish in close to 11 years or since it ended at P50.945 per dollar on Aug. 29, 2006.
The peso opened the session at P50.75 versus the foreign currency, closer to its strongest level for the day at P50.735 per dollar, while its intraday trough was seen dropping to as low as P50.95 against the greenback, nearer its closing level for the day.
Dollars traded stood at $523 million on Wednesday, down from the $653 million that changed hands on Tuesday.
One trader attributed the peso’s slump versus the greenback to offshore factors, primarily involving the Fed’s interest rate hike decision next week as well as before the year ends.
“The peso depreciated further today amid persistent bets of another US rate hike this year and as investors remain caution ahead of the US interest rate decision next week,” the trader said by e-mail on Wednesday.
Reuters reported global investors are betting on a slower tightening from the Fed, after softer US inflation trimmed some of the policy makers’ views regarding the need to aggressively hike rates.
Readings from the US Labor Department bared its Consumer Price Index (CPI) remained unchanged in June versus the 0.1% drop in May after the price of gasoline and mobile phone services continued to decline.
Year on year, US inflation rose 1.6% by end-June, the smallest gain since October 2016 after it increasing 1.9% in May — and has been slipping since February when prices hit 2.7%, which was the biggest gain in five years.
Meanwhile, the US central bank will hold its two-day Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting on July 25 to 26.
However, a trader mentioned that the local currency continued to slide against the greenback amid bets of stronger US economic data for the week.
“In part, the peso also weakened likely because of expectations of more positive US data this week,” the trader noted.
In contrast, another trader said the peso continued to trend lower against the dollar after the country’s BoP position — which measures the country’s transactions with the rest of the world — continued to report a deficit. A deficit meant more funds fled the economy against what came in, while a surplus showed that more money entered the Philippines.
“Why does the dollar-peso continue moving upwards? Some factors like the recently released balance of payments, which was a deficit, that should cause a pressure on the peso to weaken versus the dollar,” the trader said.
Data from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) bared the country’s external payments position declined in June to hit its widest deficit in seven months due to a pickup in imports and stronger corporate appetite for dollars.
The country’s BoP position widened to a $569-million deficit last month coming from a $59-million shortfall in May and reversing a $418- million surplus posted in June 2016. The monthly figure is also the largest since a $1.671-billion deficit hit a peak in November last year, and brought the first-half tally to a $706-million deficit. This compares to a $634-million surplus during the first six months of 2016.
Meanwhile, asked if President Rodrigo R. Duterte’s plan of extending martial law in Mindanao until this year contributed to a weaker peso, the trader said: “Probably. There’s also concerns regarding that, the uneasiness in business community and some people are not comfortable with it.”
On Tuesday, Mr. Duterte said he wants to extend military rule in Mindanao until Dec. 31 of this year to defeat the pro Islamic State (SI)-inspired Maute terrorist group.
“So there should be pressure on the peso because of this martial law as well,” the trader said.
On May 23, the Philippine President declared martial law through Proclamation 216 after clashes between government forces and the Maute group broke out in Marawi City during that day — which triggered the biggest internal security crisis in the country since the 2013 siege of Zamboanga City by the Moro National Liberation Front.
“So for now, it seems as though one: in this period, there was mid-month demand for the dollars and oil companies are mostly buying the dollar. At the same time, all these things — the martial law, continuation of a BoP deficit trend will continue to weaken the peso,” the trader said. “It’s only a matter of time the peso will hit P51-to-the dollar.”
For Thursday, one trader said the exchange rate could settle within P50.87 to P51 while the other trader said the peso could trade between P50.80 and P51 versus the greenback.
“The peso might appreciate due to profit taking ahead of the likely hawkish ECB (European Central Bank) monetary policy meeting,” one trader noted. — Janine Marie D. Soliman with Reuters
Static
by Marvin A. Tort
Let’s leave the Uber-Grab-LTFRB controversy for the moment and turn to what is supposed to be common but is not: the payment of common carrier’s tax by operators of public utility vehicles, particularly land transportation.
DFNN, Inc. has obtained approval from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for its equity restructuring plan aimed at wiping out a deficit amounting to P691.34 million.
In a disclosure to the stock exchange on Wednesday, the information technology solutions provider said it received approval from the SEC to undergo an equity restructuring instead of its initial disclosure announcing a quasi-reorganization.
The equity restructuring will apply to the company’s additional paid-in capital (APIC) of P727.36 million to wipe out its deficit of P691.34 million as of Dec. 31, 2016.
This leaves the company an APIC of P36 million.
“This does not affect the company’s Authorized Capital and does not entail any issuance of new shares. The same simply wipes out our deficit with the use of APIC as of Dec. 31, 2016, and would still leave an APIC of over P36 million,” the company said.
The certificate of approval issued by the SEC further says that the remaining APIC should not be used to wipe out the company’s future losses without garnering approval from the commission.
Incorporated in 1999, DFNN engages in the provision of proprietary corporate solutions designed to maximize its client’s existing computer infrastructure. It also develops wireless solutions for business operations requiring effective and 24/7 reliable operations.
Shares in DFNN gained 70 centavos or 7.98% to close at P9.47 apiece on Wednesday. — Arra B. Francia
