How PSEi member stocks performed — January 5, 2024
Here’s a quick glance at how PSEi stocks fared on Friday, January 5, 2024.
Top 1000 Corporations in the Philippines: Comparison of sectoral performance in 2022
THE TOP 1,000 corporations in the Philippines showed resilience in 2022 after posting a combined gross revenue of P16.68 trillion, as economic activity picked up after pandemic-related restrictions were lifted. Read the full story.
Stocks may drop on profit taking, lack of leads
PHILIPPINE SHARES may decline this week due to profit taking and amid a lack of major trading drivers.
The Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) climbed by 27.12 points or 0.41% to end at 6,629.64 on Friday, while the broader all shares index rose by 16.76 points or 0.48% to close at 3,502.52.
Week on week, the PSEi rose by 179.6 points or 2.78% from its 6,450.04 finish on Dec. 29.
“The local market started the week on a positive note, rising 2.78% to 6,629.64. The market’s technical reading has also been bullishly biased. The market has been on an uptrend since bottoming last Oct. 31, 2023,” Philstocks Financial, Inc. Senior Research Analyst Japhet Louis O. Tantiangco said in a Viber message.
“The local bourse greets the New Year on a high note, breaking past 6,600 on the first week of trading in 2024,” online brokerage 2TradeAsia.com said in a market report.
However, for this week, stocks may drop on profit taking as investors look for positive catalysts, Mr. Tantiangco said.
“Investors are expected to look for clues on inflation and monetary policy outlook,” he said.
“To sustain the momentum, the market is seen to need more positive catalysts. While the decline of inflation last December is seen to have helped in lifting sentiment, investors are still expected to look further, primarily how the inflation trend and the BSP’s (Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas) policy path will be this year,” Mr. Tantiangco added.
Inflation slowed to 3.9% in December from 4.1% in November and 8.1% a year ago, the Philippine Statistics Authority reported on Friday. This was the slowest reading and was the first time the consumer price index (CPI) settled within the BSP’s 2-4% target in 22 months or since the 3% in February 2022.
The December print was also a tad lower than the 4% median estimate in a BusinessWorld poll and was within the 3.6% to 4.4% estimate given by the BSP for the month.
For 2023, headline inflation averaged 6%, slightly faster than the 5.8% in 2022 and marking the second straight year that the CPI exceeded the BSP’s 2-4% target.
This was the fastest print in 14 years or since the 8.2% full-year average in 2008, at the height of the global financial crisis.
The BSP said risks to the inflation outlook remain significantly on the upside, citing possible inflationary pressures from higher transport charges, increased electricity rates, rising oil prices, and elevated food prices due to strong El Niño conditions.
“Looking ahead, the Monetary Board deems it necessary to keep monetary policy settings sufficiently tight until a sustained downtrend in inflation becomes evident,” the central bank said on Friday.
The market will also await the release of latest labor and foreign direct investments data this week, Mr. Tantiangco said.
Meanwhile, 2TradeAsia.com put the PSEi’s immediate support for the week at 6,500 and resistance at 6,700-6,750. — R.M.D. Ochave
Peso may be broadly steady vs dollar
THE PESO could be broadly steady against the dollar this week, supported by the continued inflow of remittances and as interest rates remain elevated.
The local unit closed at P55.57 per dollar on Friday, weakening by seven centavos from its P55.50 close on Thursday, Bankers Association of the Philippines data showed.
Week on week, the peso depreciated by 20 centavos from its P55.37 close on Dec. 29.
The peso opened Friday’s session steady at P55.50 against the dollar. Its intraday best was at P55.475, while its weakest showing was at P55.78 versus the greenback.
Dollars exchanged jumped to $2.05 billion on Friday from $1.72 billion on Thursday.
The peso depreciated against the dollar on Friday after the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said it would limit its intervention in the foreign exchange market, Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. Chief Economist Michael L. Ricafort said in a Viber message.
BSP Governor Eli M. Remolona, Jr. said last week they will finalize a new framework this year to make the peso more competitive and reduce restrictions in the foreign exchange market.
The peso was also dragged lower by a stronger dollar after the US jobs report eased expectations of a rate cut by the US Federal Reserve soon, Mr. Ricafort added.
The monthly nonfarm payrolls report showed the US economy added 216,000 new jobs in December, Reuters reported.
The jobless rate held steady at 3.7%, down from most forecasters’ expectations for it to rise, prompting concerns that the Fed’s long battle to tame inflation may have further to run.
The US central bank last month kept the fed funds rate unchanged at 5.25-5.5% for the third straight time after it hiked borrowing costs by a cumulative 525 basis points (bps) from March 2022 to July 2023.
The Federal Open Market Committee will hold its first policy meeting this year on Jan. 25-26.
For this week, the peso could be “relatively stronger and stable” amid expectations of elevated interest rates, Oikonomia Advisory & Research, Inc. President and Chief Economist John Paolo R. Rivera said in a Viber message.
The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas raised borrowing costs by 450 bps from May 2022 to October 2023, bringing the policy rate to a 16-year high of 6.5%.
The Monetary Board will hold its first meeting this year on Feb. 12.
The peso will also continue to be supported by remittances, Mr. Rivera said.
“With the sustained influx of remittances, the strength of the peso is reinforced. As the holiday season ends and the new year starts, we can expect minimal movements in the exchange rate next week given the prevalent conditions I mentioned,” he said.
For this week, Mr. Ricafort sees the peso ranging from P55.35 to P55.85. — AMCS with Reuters
Marcos inks Ease of Paying Taxes Act
By Kyle Aristophere T. Atienza, Reporter
PRESIDENT Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. has signed into law the Ease of Paying Taxes Act, a measure that seeks to update the country’s taxation system and boost government revenues.
The act, which amends several sections of the National Internal Revenue Code of 1997, introduces several tax reforms, including the simplification of the filing process for small and medium enterprises, according to the Presidential Communications Office (PCO).
In a statement over the weekend, the PCO said the important features of the law include the classification of taxpayers into micro, small, medium, and large and the classification of value-added tax refund claims into low-, medium-, and high-risk.
Under the law, tax returns can be filed — either electronically or manually — with any authorized agent bank, Revenue District Office, or authorized tax software provider.
It also eliminates the distinction between documentation and basis of sales of goods and services and ensures availability of registration facilities to non-Philippine resident taxpayers.
The law removes the Value Added Tax (VAT) official receipt as a requirement for substantiating refund claims and input and output taxes, making the VAT invoice the sole supporting document required in declaring output taxes and claiming input taxes for both sale of goods and services.
Under the law, only medium and high-risk VAT refund claims are subjected to auditing. The Commissioner of Internal Revenue shall explain any denial of VAT refund claims within the 90-day VAT refund claim window, and the decision can be appealed within 30 days from receipt of the denial.
The new law enforces a 180-day process period on claims for refund of erroneous or illegal tax collection, increases the fees for the mandatory issuance of receipts for each sale and transfer of goods and services to P500 from P100, and reduces the number of income tax return pages to two from four pages, the PCO said.
The new law also mandates the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) adopt an integrated and automated system for facilitating basic tax services and set up an electronic and online data and information system, it added. It also requires the BIR to boost its technology capabilities in line with the goal to digitalize its services.
“The law’s implementing rules and regulations shall be promulgated 90 days from the effectivity of the Act after the consultation of the Finance Secretary with the BIR, and the private sector,” the measure read.
“The law’s implementing rules and regulations (IRR) shall be promulgated 90 days from the effectivity of the Act after the consultation of the Finance Secretary with the BIR, and the private sector,” the PCO said.
House Ways and Means Chair Jose Maria Clemente S. Salceda, in a statement, noted that the law exempts overseas Filipino workers, who do not acquire any income in the Philippines, from income tax.
“[The new law] brings our tax administration system to the digital world — allowing the BIR to shift to a full digitalization,” he said.
Jeepney drivers decry being unjustly accosted over non-consolidation
By Jomel R. Paguian
TRANSPORT group Manibela claimed that some public utility jeepney drivers have been apprehended by authorities for not having consolidated franchises, despite new guidelines allowing them to operate until Jan. 31.
In an interview with BusinessWorld recently, Manibela president Mar Valbuena said some jeepney drivers who refused to apply for consolidation were apprehended by Land Transportation Office (LTO) enforcers, who allegedly informed that they could not ply their routes anymore.
“What the LTO enforcers do is they tell our members that they cannot operate starting the next day, force them to go home, leaving passengers no choice but to alight from the vehicles,” he said in Filipino.
The LTO did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment on the matter.
Under the Public Utility Vehicle Modernization Program (PUVMP), jeepney drivers and operators are mandated to merge their separate franchises into a cooperative or corporation by Dec. 31, 2023, to obtain franchises for modern public utility vehicle (PUV) units.
But while the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) decided to push through with the year-end deadline, unconsolidated PUVs were permitted to operate until Jan. 31 — a month-long grace period beyond the deadline.
Mr. Valbuena said the LTO did not follow the extension granted to them and instead insisted on apprehending some of their members.
“Status quo should be upheld. We should not be apprehended unless we violate traffic rules,” he said. “But they (LTO enforcers) question our legal entitlement despite an order allowing us to operate until the end of the month.”
Manibela said apart from Metro Manila, incidents of unjust apprehension were reported by their members in Isabela, Cebu, Bacolod, and Iloilo.
Meanwhile, another transport group Pagkakaisa ng mga Samahan ng Tsuper at Operator Nationwide (PISTON) argued that the proposal of some lawmakers to extend the deadline for franchise consolidation is “meaningless,” demanding a more inclusive program for a just transition in public transport.
PISTON communications officer Jan Atienza told BusinessWorld “franchise consolidation directly transfers public transport into the hands of big business owners and corporations. It contradicts the nature of public transport as a public service that should not be corporatized or privatized.”
Manibela earlier expressed the same stance on the issue, clarifying that they instead clamor for an extension of their franchises and provisional authorities to ply their units even without consolidating.
HOUSE PANEL TO INVESTIGATE ALLEGED PUVMP ANOMALIES
THE HOUSE Committee on Transportation is set to start a probe into alleged anomalies in the implementation of the PUVMP, a lawmaker said on Sunday.
In a statement, transportation panel head Antipolo Rep. Romeo M. Acop said Speaker Martin G. Romualdez sought the investigation after reports of alleged instances of corruption and irregularities in the jeepney modernization campaign.
“We cannot allow corruption to take root in the implementation of the modernization program, he said. “If we are to proceed with the modernization of our PUVs, we must make sure there is not even a whiff of irregularity.”
The congressman said the panel could proceed with the probe under the rules of the House of Representatives even without a resolution or privilege speech.
Over the weekend, Mr. Romualdez called on the Department of Transportation (DoTr) to review its implementation of the PUVMP, which transport groups have opposed citing the risk of increasing the number of unemployed Filipinos.
“We are responding to the directive of Speaker Romualdez to investigate these very serious allegations,” Mr. Acop said. “We will get the consensus of members of the committee of so we can start our hearings by Wednesday. — with a report from John Victor D. Ordoñez
Congressional probe on cutting aid to SHS students sought
By John Victor D. Ordoñez, Reporter
A PHILIPPINE lawmaker has filed a resolution seeking an investigation on recent memos issued by the Commission on Higher Education and the Department of Education (CHED) that cut off financial aid to senior high school (SHS) students.
“This issue highlights the failure of the government during the transition period that it even failed to simply call for a thorough consultation with all the stakeholders but now is unilaterally removing the subsidies for these students,” Party-List Rep. France L. Castro said in the resolution filed on Jan. 5
In a memo dated Dec. 18, the CHED said it is discontinuing the senior high school program in state universities and colleges (SUCs) and local universities and colleges (LUCs).
The agency, in a separate memo, had also cut off financial aid for Grades 11 and 12 students in these public colleges.
Ms. Castro reiterated the need for consultations with teachers and students before the education agencies implemented the memos.
There are about 17,751 Grade 11 students and 2,030,451 Grade 12 students enrolled in SUCs and LUCs, according to the DepEd.
Senators have called on DepEd and CHED to ensure students are not displaced in phasing out the senior high school program, especially in the provinces.
CHED Chairman Prospero E. de Vera III earlier said there was no legal basis to continue the SHS program since the transition period for the K to 12 program, which was from school years 2016-2017 to 2020-2021, is over.
“It is the duty of the House of Representatives to exercise its oversight function in ensuring that government programs and initiatives, particularly those concerning education are in line with the principles of equity, transparency and accountability,” Ms. Castro said.
Marcos open to dialogue with predecessor
PRESIDENT Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. is open to meeting with his predecessor following the latter’s request to talk to him regarding the situation of Sonshine Media Network International (SMNI), which has been suspended by the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC).
Last Saturday, former president Rodrigo R. Duterte said he wanted to talk to Mr. Marcos “indirectly” over the investigation of SMNI, which is owned by the former’s spiritual adviser, Apollo C. Quiboloy.
“I do not want to control the President but rather I’d like to talk to him indirectly,” Mr. Duterte told Davao-based reporters.
On Sunday, Presidential Communications Office Secretary Cheloy Velicaria-Garafil said in response: “President Marcos is always available to former President Duterte.”
“The President will contact him (Mr. Duterte) now to ask if he wants a meeting,” she told reporters.
Last month, the NTC issued a 30-day suspension order against SMNI, which came after the Movie and Television Review and Classification Board (MTRCB) suspended two of its shows for 14 days after a probe into alleged violations in their content.
The House of Representatives has accused the network of violating franchise provisions. The Committee on Legislative Franchise has found that SMNI violated at least four sections of its franchise.
In opposing the NTC’s decision to investigate SMNI, Mr. Duterte said on Saturday that the agency has “not come up with any allegations or charges of any wrongdoing.”
“One of these days perhaps, I’ll come up with a statement, not necessarily defending Pastor Quiboloy, but just to say something about the way things are, and it would mean Pastor Quiboloy or anybody for that matter,” he said.
In his program on SMNI, Mr. Duterte had accused House Speaker Martin G. Romualdez, a cousin of Mr. Marcos, and other lawmakers of corruption without citing any proof.
Mr. Duterte had also made comments that appeared to be a death threat against ACT Teachers Party-list France L. Castro, who had strongly opposed his daughter’s confidential and intelligence funds.
Mr. Duterte, speaking to reporters in his home province, said he has not said anything negative against Mr. Marcos.
“As far as I am concerned, I have not crucified him, not even criticized him severely, maybe commented on the directions of the government. That’s all,” he said. — Kyle Aristophere T. Atienza
Calamity fund releases hit P15B
ALMOST two-thirds of the government’s National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Fund has been released as of end-November, according to the Department of Budget and Management (DBM).
Latest data from the DBM showed that P15.024 billion or 65% of the P23.205-billion calamity fund had been released in the 11-month period.
National government agencies received the bulk or P13.335 billion of the fund releases. Broken down, the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) received the biggest allocation at P6.7 billion.
This was followed by the Department of Social Welfare and Development (P5.05 billion), the Department of Agriculture (P1 billion), the Department of Transportation (P342.47 million), the Department of National Defense (P207.64 million), and the Department of Science and Technology (P35.18 million).
Meanwhile, data showed that P688.887 million was released to government-owned and -controlled corporations (GOCCs) as of end-November.
Releases to the National Housing Authority reached P386.54 million while the Philippine Ports Authority was provided P78 million.
At the end of November, P8.181 billion remained undistributed from the fund.
The fund is used for the aid, relief and rehabilitation services to communities or areas affected by human-induced and natural calamities and other capital expenditures for disaster operations. — Luisa Maria Jacinta C. Jocson
Residents collect beached sardines
COTABATO CITY — An unusually large volume of tiny sardines were swept onto the beaches of Maasim town, Sarangani province at dawn on Sunday, a peculiar event that has superstitious villagers believing it is a sign of good tidings for the year.
“This is a blessing from God. We are thankful to God for this,” Allan Gomez Dionaldo, a 28-year-old villager, told reporters in Filipino. He and his neighbors had collected at least five pails of tiny sardines each at the beach in Barangay Tinoto.
Village officials helped oversee the collection of what fishery experts called juvenile pelagic sardines for all to have a fair share. Hundreds of villagers had brought home least 20 to 30 kilos each of the tiny sardines, locally called lopoy.
The so-called beaching of the big volume of sardines is a phenomenon caused by the confluence of a sudden change in sea temperature, wave direction and lack of planktons to feed on.
Cirilo Aquadera Lagnason, Jr., a staff member of the Protected Area Management Office of the Sarangani Bay Protected Seascape under the Department of Environment and Natural Resources-12, said the beaching of juvenile pelagic sardines is not a conclusive indication of underwater seismic activity as often interpreted by the public.
Old folks traditionally warn of a calamity or disaster to happen after there are peculiar but scientifically explainable beaching of fish species by the beach. — John Felix M. Unson
9 projects set for Davao Oriental
DAVAO CITY — Davao Oriental Governor Niño Sotero L. Uy Jr., the newly appointed chair of the Regional Development Council 11 (RDC 11), is raring to implement a total of nine livelihood projects for the province this year.
Last week, Mr. Uy led the signing of the Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) with the RDC 11 for the implementation of these projects funded under the Energy Regulations (ER) No. 1-94 Program issued by the Department of Energy (DoE).
A total of nine approved projects for the province will be funded under the region’s share of the ER 1-94 Development and Livelihood Fund (DLF) from the Aboitiz Power Subsidiaries with mostly farmers and members of different cooperatives as beneficiaries.
Among the projects that qualified for funding under DoE ER 1-94 policy guidelines include the Food Production and Processing Project and the Cultivation of Financial Literacy: Empowering Farmers for Sustainable Prosperity.
Also included in the list are the Lamiay na Buco Pie Davao Oriental; the Choco Ku-Kay-Oh: Chocolate Production in the Cacao-Rich Province of Davao Oriental Series 1 and 2; the Backyard Swine Raising; the Handicraft Project: Romblon, Fossilized Cacao Leaves and Abaca Scrunch; the Tara! Buko Pie Ta!; and the Procurement of Diesel Fishing Engine Project.
Mr. Uy said these projects will provide financial support to the province during these difficult times and allow Provincial Local Government Unit (PLGU) to focus on development projects that will benefit many people and communities.
Meanwhile, an official of RDC 11 expressed optimism over President Marcos’ appointment of Mr. Uy as the new RDC chairman last Wednesday. He replaced the late Governor Cora Malanyaon.
“This is a very much welcome appointment for RDC 11. Gov. Sotero Uy is a very capable leader, a young and development-minded person,” Arturo M. Milan, co-chairman of RDC 11 told Businessworld.
Mr. Milan said that with Mr. Uy at the helm of RDC 11, the dream of Ms. Malanyaon of a strong, resilient, and progressive Davao Region is on track to becoming a reality. — Maya M. Padillo
Over 32,000 PWDs receive grant
COTABATO CITY — Up to 32,246 persons with disability (PWD) received an initial P6,000 grant each in 2023 from the Bangsamoro region’s Ministry of Social Services and Development, the regional agency reported.
Local executives in the six provinces and three cities in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM), among them mayors in Basilan and in Maguindanao del Norte, confirmed on Sunday that the MSSD-BARMM had also provided 35,113 marginalized families with livelihood support, skills training and educational subsidy via the Unlad Pamilyang Bangsamoro Program last year.
“We shall help expand these programs in our province, as planned by the MSSD, via technical and manpower support from our local government units,” Basilan Gov. Hadjiman Salliman said in reaction to this development.
A 46-year-old Maranaw PWD, Monder Sarmin Akil, whose lower limbs are deformed since birth, said he is thankful for the MSSD-BARMM’s subsidy and is looking forward to the expansion of the program in far-flung areas in Lanao del Sur.
“We supported the peace process between the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front and now we are benefiting from the BARMM government, created as a result of that peace process,” another PWD, Mursiba Salik Ansar, an ethnic Maguindanaon, said in Filipino.
Yearend reports obtained from the provincial offices of the MSSD-BARMM indicate that the ministry had also responded to requests for emergency assistance by 216,028 residents in the region in 2023, mostly channeled through local government units. — John Felix M. Unson