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Thai central bank holds rate despite calls for cut

BANGKOK — Thailand’s central bank left its key interest rate unchanged for a fourth straight meeting on Wednesday, as widely expected, despite public calls by the government to reduce borrowing costs to help revive Southeast Asia’s second-largest economy.

The Bank of Thailand’s (BoT) monetary policy committee voted 6-1 to hold the one-day repurchase rate at 2.5%. One member voted for a 25-basis-point (bp) rate cut.

“The majority of the Committee deems that the current policy interest rate is consistent with the economy converging to its potential, as well as conducive to safeguarding macro-financial stability,” the BoT said in a statement.

All but three of 27 economists in a Reuters poll had expected the BoT to keep the rate unchanged on Wednesday. The three economists had predicted a quarter-point cut.

Earlier on Wednesday, Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin said he was hoping for a rate cut at the rate meeting, repeating his call for lower rates to help revive the economy, which has lagged regional peers as it confront high household debt and interest rates as well as sluggish exports. 

However, Finance Minister Pichai Chunhavajira has said he was more worried about people’s access to credit than interest rates. He said the government is aiming for at least 3% growth this year.

The BoT raised its key rate by 200 bps to 2.5% over eight meetings between August 2022 and September 2023, taking it to the highest level in more than a decade, and has held steady since then.

The economy expanded 1.9% last year, with average annual growth at 1.73% over the past decade.

The central bank maintained its forecasts for 2.6% gross domestic product growth in 2024 and for 3% growth in 2025.

Headline consumer inflation in May returned to the BoT’s target range of 1% to 3% for the first time in a year.

The BoT maintained its headline inflation forecast for 2024 at 0.6%, and slightly lowered its core inflation forecast to 0.5% from 0.6% seen earlier.

The next rate review is on Aug. 21. — Reuters

Martin Shkreli copied one-of-a-kind Wu-Tang Clan album, lawsuit claims

PLEASR.MIRROR.XYZ

NEW YORK — Martin Shkreli has been sued in New York by a digital art collective that said it paid $4.75 million for a one-of-a-kind album by the hip-hop group Wu-Tang Clan, only to learn that the convicted pharmaceutical executive made copies and is releasing the music to the public.

Mr. Shkreli paid $2 million in 2015 for Once Upon a Time in Shaolin, and gave it up to partially satisfy a $7.4 million forfeiture order after his 2017 conviction for defrauding hedge fund investors and scheming to defraud investors in a drugmaker.

The plaintiff PleasrDAO said Mr. Shkreli has, since his May 2022 release from prison, told fans on live streams and social media platform X that he kept and had shared the album, once saying, “I was playing it on YouTube the other night even though somebody paid $4 million for it.”

PleasrDAO also said thousands of people tuned in on Sunday to hear the album on a live stream that Mr. Shkreli called a “Wu tang official listening party.”

Such activity violates the forfeiture order, amounts to misappropriation of trade secrets, and “greatly diminishes and/or destroys the album’s value,” according to the complaint filed Monday night in Brooklyn federal court.

PleasrDAO wants Mr. Shkreli to destroy his copies, turn over profits from disseminating the music, and pay compensatory and punitive damages.

US District Judge Pamela Chen issued a temporary restraining order on Tuesday night that blocks Mr. Skhreli from disseminating the album, or risk contempt of court. She may issue an injunction later this month.

Lawyers who have represented Mr. Shkreli in criminal and civil matters declined to comment or did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The plaintiff is displaying Shaolin this month at the Museum of Old and New Art in Hobart, Tasmania.

Mr. Shkreli, 41, became notorious and gained the nickname “Pharma Bro” when, as chief executive of Turing Pharmaceuticals in 2015, he raised the price of the life-saving antiparasitic drug Daraprim overnight to $750 per tablet from $17.50.

He was released early from his seven-year prison sentence, but remains on supervised release.

Mr. Shkreli was banned in January 2022 from the pharmaceutical industry and ordered to repay $64.6 million for antitrust violations related to Daraprim. A federal appeals court upheld the ban and payout in January. — Reuters

MediaTek designs Arm-based chip for Microsoft’s AI laptops, say sources

TAIPEI/SAN FRANCISCO — Taiwanese chip design giant MediaTek is developing an Arm-based personal computer chip that will run Microsoft’s Windows operating system, according to three people familiar with the matter.

Last month, Microsoft unveiled a new generation of laptops that feature chips designed with Arm Holdings tech which provide enough horsepower to run the artificial intelligence (ai) applications executives said were the future of consumer computing. The MediaTek chip is geared toward this effort.

The software company’s plans take aim at Apple, which has released its own Arm-based chips for Mac computers for roughly four years. And Microsoft’s decision to optimize Windows for Arm could threaten Intel’s long-standing dominance in the PC market.

MediaTek and Microsoft declined to comment.

The MediaTek PC chip is set to launch late next year after Qualcomm’s exclusive deal to supply chips for laptops expires, two of the people said. The chip is based on Arm’s ready-made designs, which can significantly speed development because less design work is needed using ready-made, tested chip components.

It was not immediately clear whether Microsoft has approved MediaTek’s PC chip for the Copilot+ Windows program.

Executives at Arm have said one of its customers used the ready-made components to build a chip in roughly nine months for a design that is already complete, which MediaTek’s is not. For experienced chip design businesses, advanced chips typically take considerably more than a year to construct and test, depending on the complexity.

In 2016, Microsoft tapped Qualcomm to spearhead moving the Windows operating system to Arm’s underlying processor architecture, which has long powered smartphones and their small batteries. Microsoft granted Qualcomm an exclusivity arrangement to develop Arm-based Windows-compatible chips until 2024, Reuters reported last year.

Because the Qualcomm exclusivity arrangement with Microsoft is expiring, other designers have opted to build chips to help power Microsoft’s latest push to use Arm designs. For decades, Windows machines have relied on chip architecture made by Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) and Intel.

Nvidia and AMD are working on Arm designs for Windows machines, Reuters reported last year. The Nvidia effort for its PC chip involves help from MediaTek, according to a person familiar with the matter. The MediaTek effort for a PC chip is separate from its collaboration with Nvidia, two of the people said. — Reuters

Philippines slips in Global Gender Gap Report 2024

THE PHILIPPINES dropped nine places in the 2024 Global Gender Gap Index of the World Economic Forum (WEF) to 25th out of 146 countries, though it remained the highest-placed Southeast Asian country. Read the full story.

Philippines slips in Global Gender Gap Report 2024

Fed decision, US data to affect Philippine shares

REUTERS

THE OUTCOME of the US Federal Reserve’s policy meeting and the release of US consumer inflation data overnight are expected to affect Philippine stocks for the remainder of the week, analysts said.

The benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) fell by 0.75% or 48.57 points to end at 6,410.07 on Tuesday, while the broader all shares index retreated by 0.49% or 17.19 points to finish at 3,450.05.

All sectoral indices ended lower on Tuesday. Services dropped by 1.79% or 35.60 points to 1,953.25; mining and oil declined by 1.43% or 129.70 points to 8,880.71; property lost 1.01% or 24.94 points to end at 2,423.22; holding firms went down by 0.33% or 18.78 points to 5,636.48; financials dropped by 0.29% or 5.82 points to 1,968.19; and industrials gave up 0.28% or 26.14 points to close at 9,049.07.

Philippine financial markets were closed on Wednesday for the Independence Day holiday.

Local stocks may trade sideways with a downward bias once trading resumes on Thursday due to “jitters over the upcoming Fed policy messaging” and a lack of catalysts, First Metro Investment Corp. Head of Research Cristina S. Ulang said in a Viber message.

“We’ll be watching closely the US inflation report later tonight, which is expected to remain unchanged at 3.4%. If it’s higher than that, we might see an extension of the downtrend for the remainder of the week, but if it’s lower than expected, we might see a reprieve,” AP Securities, Inc. Research Head Alfred Benjamin R. Garcia added in a Viber message on Wednesday.

The Fed was set to end a two-day policy meeting overnight, where it was expected to keep its target rate at the 5.25%-5.5% range for a seventh straight meeting.

The US central bank was also set to release updated economic and interest rate projections at the review. Officials have turned more hawkish since the last such release in March, when the median projection was for a reduction of three quarter points this year, Reuters reported. Markets are currently pricing in only 37 basis points of cuts by December.

May US consumer price index (CPI) data were also set for release overnight.

In April, the US CPI rose 0.3% on a monthly basis after advancing 0.4% in March and February, the Labor department’s Bureau of Labor Statistics said.

In the 12 months through April, the CPI increased 3.4% after climbing 3.5% in March.

The release of the May US producer price index on Thursday could also affect Philippine shares for the rest of the shortened trading week, Commercial Banking Corp. Chief Economist Michael L. Ricafort said in a Viber message.

Mr. Ricafort put the bellwether PSEi’s next support at the 6,400 level and its major support at 6,360.

“The next minor resistance level over the past month is at the 6,510 level,” he added. — R.M.D. Ochave with Reuters

BCDA plans new auction for New Clark City water contract

THE Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) said that it is planning a new auction of the New Clark City (NCC) water concession, after the previous awardee backed out.

BCDA Chairman Delfin N. Lorenzana told reporters on Tuesday that the previous NCC water concessionaire withdrew due to the “low number of clients.”

“So right now, our interim agreement is for Filinvest to take over because it needs water for its development in New Clark City…  But yes, we are going to bid out the water there,” Mr. Lorenzana said.

In November 2018, a consortium led by Villar Group’s Prime Water Infrastructure Corp. and Israel’s Tahal Group won the bid to deliver water and wastewater services in New Clark City.

“Prime Water’s reason for backing out is that there aren’t many clients. There are really few people in New Clark City, so there’s no one to use the water yet,” he added.

At the moment, he said that the source of New Clark City’s water is underground. The BCDA is also planning to develop a separate surface water source.

“According to (Tarlac) Governor Susan A. Yap, there’s a big river in Tarlac that the BCDA can develop,” Mr. Lorenzana said.

He said that the dams surrounding New Clark City are some distance away — Ipo Dam in Bulacan, San Roque Dam in Pangasinan, and Pantabangan Dam in Nueva Ecija.

He added that the surface water project will be vital to attracting more investors to Clark, and described the water supply in New Clark City as inconsistent.

“We expect more (investors) to come in once we develop the roads and bring in power and water,” he said.

“Right now, we are receiving interest from the Koreans, and most of them want to build a golf course,” he added.

According to Mr. Lorenzana, the progress of road development in New Clark City is currently at 15%. — Justine Irish D. Tabile

30-year railway master plan to be completed by end of 2024 — DoTr

JICA

THE Department of Transportation (DoTr) expects to complete the 30-year railway master plan by year’s end.

“We should be able to have it before the end of the year. JICA (Japan International Cooperation Agency) is doing it,” Transportation Secretary Jaime J. Bautista said on the sidelines of an event this week.

“We do not have (an update), because we need the whole study. It may take some time for JICA to complete,” he said.

The DoTr has said that the 30-year master plan will serve as a “springboard” for discussions in achieving sustainable operations for big ticket rail projects such as the Metro Manila Subway; North-South Commuter Railway; Metro Rail Transit Line 3 and other ongoing and upcoming rail projects.

According to JICA, the master plan will “support and expand the Philippines’ ongoing efforts to address transport infrastructure gaps and perennial commuter difficulties.”

In 2023, the Transportation department said that the JICA had committed 300 million yen to formulate the 30-year railway master plan.

The master plan also aims to bring Philippine rail lines to an international standard using Japanese technology, the DoTr said. — Ashley Erika O. Jose

Gov’t employee incentives on track for release amid ongoing review — DBM

PHILIPPINE STAR/BOY SANTOS

THE GOVERNMENT is on track to release incentives for public sector employees this year even with the ongoing review of its performance evaluation system, the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) said on Wednesday.

The DBM said the review was triggered by Executive Order (EO) No. 61, which had suspended the Results-Based Performance Management (RBPM) as authorized under Administrative Order No. 25 and the Performance-Based Incentive (PBI) systems as authorized by EO 80.

“We wish to emphasize that the release of the 2022 and 2023 performance-based incentives to qualified government workers in the government will proceed,” the DBM said in a statement.

President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. issued EO 61 on June 3 to resolve redundancies in the government’s performance audit and evaluation systems.

“The EO only seeks to review the RBPM and PBI systems in order to harmonize, streamline and make the process of releasing personnel incentives more efficient and timely,” the DBM said.

The PBI systems include the Performance-Based Bonus (PBB) and the Productivity Enhancement Incentive (PEI) to reward civil servants for their performance and accomplishments in meeting government targets.

“Under the EO, possible refinements may be made for the more efficient and streamlined release of the 2023 PBB. The budget allocation for the 2024 PEI has already been comprehensively released to agencies and shall also proceed,” the DBM said.

The DBM added that the PEI for 2025 will be included in this year’s National Expenditure Program to be submitted to the President this month.

A technical working group was created under EO 61 to review the RBPM and PMI systems. The Budget Secretary and Executive Secretary will chair and co-chair the group.

Other members of the committee include the Secretaries of Finance and the National Economic and Development Authority, and the Director-General of the Anti-Red Tape Authority.

Alongside the PBB and PEI, government employees are also entitled to a mid-year and year-end bonus. — Beatriz Marie D. Cruz

Hotel industry targets expansion of 15,000 rooms over next 5 years

THE Philippine Hotel Owners Association (PHOA) said it is expecting its members to expand by about 15,000 rooms over the next five years.

“We have about 217 hotels all over the country, and our estimated room inventory is about 40,000 rooms. In the next five years, we hope to add 15,000 rooms” across 50 new projects, PHOA Executive Director Benito C. Bengzon, Jr. said on Tuesday.

“We continue to look for opportunities in and out of metropolitan areas,” Mr. Bengzon said.

He said the hotel industry must raise its game to be regionally and globally competitive.

“If you look at the inventory in Thailand, Malaysia, and even Vietnam, they have far bigger numbers than what we have,” he added.

In terms of revenue and occupancy rate, PHOA President Arthur M. Lopez said the association remains bullish on growth, though it has not yet recovered from pre-pandemic levels.

“We are very positive about it, especially with the Department of Tourism being very bullish and doing everything to increase arrivals,” Mr. Lopez said.

“But what we really need are more flights and hotels. You know, there are certain locations where you cannot really get a hotel room,” he added.

He said that there is a need to improve infrastructure, such as the roads to the hotels, to increase the convenience for guests.

“We are very confident that things will improve, as our average occupancy rate is 70% and we want it to be higher,” he said.

“But the most important thing is that we want our yield to improve. That is really the key, as you could be low occupancy with a high yield,” he added.

He described the industry’s recovery as variable, depending on the area.

“Some hotels are doing very well, particularly in the National Capital Region, as there is business traffic there and a higher rate,” he said.

“But in general, the occupancy rate is not consistent,” he added, citing the seasonality of demand and rates in Bohol hotels.

Asked for his outlook for the recovery in the Chinese visitor market, he said there is not much movement from China.

“They are not traveling as much as they used to, so we need to start looking at other markets such as Japan, Thailand, even Taiwan and India, because they are traveling,” he said.

“We can invite them to come, and I think now the government is working on making sure that it is easier for people in India to get tourist visas to the Philippines,” he added. — Justine Irish D. Tabile

Eight countries seek clearance to export meat to Philippines

REUTERS

THE Department of Agriculture (DA) said eight countries are seeking approval to export meat to the Philippines.

In a special order, the DA said that it will send inspectors to accredit meat production facilities in the eight countries — Uruguay, India, Argentina, Russia, Denmark, Spain, Sweden, and the US.

Under Administrative Order No. 16 of 2006, prospective exporters are required to apply for accreditation to ship animals, meat, and meat products to the Philippines.

The inspection missions will include technical experts on border control and animal health, and representatives from the Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI).

It added that inspectors are to prepare an import risk analysis report within 30 days after conducting on-site inspections and document validation.

“To ensure the health and safety of the consuming public and the domestic livestock and poultry industry, the DA implements a comprehensive set of rules, regulations and procedures guided by appropriate issuances governing pre-border measures,” it added.

The DA said accreditation requires on-site assessment of the veterinary services, animal health, and food safety controls of the exporting country.

Meat shipments to the Philippines rose 11.3% to 397 million kilograms during the four months to April. This was led by pork, chicken, and beef, the BAI reported. — Adrian H. Halili

PHL drops 9 places in WEF gender index

REUTERS

THE PHILIPPINES dropped nine places in the 2024 Global Gender Gap Index of the World Economic Forum (WEF) to 25th out of 146 countries, though it remained the highest-placed Southeast Asian country.

It was third in East Asia and the Pacific region, behind New Zealand (4th) and Australia (24th), with a score of 77.9%, according to the WEF report released on Wednesday.

The Philippines was well above the Eastern Asia and the Pacific average of 69.2%.

Philippines slips in Global Gender Gap Report 2024

“Governments are called on to expand and strengthen the framework conditions needed for business and civil society to work together in making gender parity an economic imperative — one that fulfills the most basic of needs and inspires the very edges of innovation,” WEF Managing Director Saadia Zahidi said in the report.

The index grades four key dimensions: Economic Participation and Opportunity, Educational Attainment, Health and Survival, and Political Empowerment. 

The next best performers in the region are Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam with rankings of 48th, 65th, and 72nd respectively.

Rankings for the rest of the region were Timor Leste (86th), Laos (89th), Indonesia (100th), Cambodia (102nd), Brunei (105th), and Malaysia (114th). Myanmar was not included in the study.

The WEF estimated that the world needs at least 134 years, or five generations, to close the gender gap.

“In many countries, women’s workforce participation has still not recovered since the COVID pandemic,” it said. “The current economic context, coupled with technological and climate change, risks causing further regression.”

The World Bank estimates that global gross domestic product could rise 20% once the gender gaps in politics and work close.

The 2024 Global Gender Gap Report is on its 18th edition. It benchmarks gender-based gaps in economic participation, educational attainment, health and survival, and political empowerment. — Chloe Mari A. Hufana

SSS open to buying gov’t assets, favors those with solid cash flow

NLEX.COM.PH

THE Social Security System (SSS) is open to buying government assets, expressing a preference for those presenting cash flow opportunities.

“If it is a government property and I see the potential, I will help the Department of Finance (DoF). I just don’t know (how much we can take),” SSS President and Chief Executive Officer Rolando L. Macasaet told reporters on Monday.

Finance Undersecretary Catherine L. Fong has said the government is aiming to raise around P100 billion from the sale of government assets, mainly to the SSS and the Government Service Insurance System, to finance the budget deficit.

Mr. Macasaet said he does not have a list of the assets to be privatized.

When asked if he was interested in buying the government’s stake in the Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway (SCTEx), Mr. Macasaet said he was interested in ventures with guaranteed cash flow.

“I was once a president of a toll road, which is why I understand this. The greatest risk there is the construction risk. But if the expressway is already built, the risk is now minimal because the cash flow is regular. That’s why I’d like the toll road, especially for the pension,” he said.

Finance Secretary Ralph G. Recto has signaled the DoF’s interest in selling the government’s stake in SCTEx, possibly to the two big pension funds.

He said the revenue generated from this sale would be “fairly significant.”

SSS Fund Management Group Senior Vice-President Ernesto D. Francisco, Jr. said the SSS is “keenly looking into” buying SCTEx shares, which he considers a good fit due to Mr. Macasaet’s experience with toll roads.

“We are very excited about that opportunity,” he said.

Mr. Francisco said the pension fund is studying SCTex, noting that its strong fundamentals.

“Traffic is rising, economic activity is improving in the areas where SCTEx is. So it really is very meritorious,” he said, noting that the SSS is not interested in taking on an operational role. — Aaron Michael C. Sy

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