Facebook Instagram Linkedin Twitter Youtube
Home Blog Page 5617

UNESCAP eyes 12.8% export growth

PIXABAY

By Jenina P. Ibañez, Senior Reporter

PHILIPPINE EXPORTS could grow by 12.8% this year after a coronavirus pandemic-related dip in 2020, according to the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP).

Exports have been recovering as demand rebounds from countries reopening their economies, though slowed by global supply chain bottlenecks and container shortages.

“The outlook for the Philippines’ 2021 and 2022 growth looks optimistic,” UNESCAP Economic Affairs Officer Witada Anukoonwattaka said in an e-mail on Dec. 16.

“After an initial COVID-induced dip in 2020 for both imports and exports, in 2021, the volume for exports and imports by the Philippines is forecasted to rise by 12.8% and 17.2% respectively.”

UNESCAP in a November report said trade growth in Southeast Asia had been positive this year, though less pronounced than others in the larger region due to Delta variant outbreaks.

Philippine exports fell last year as lockdowns meant to curb the coronavirus hampered business and consumer activity.

In the 10 months to October this year, exported goods rose by 16.1% year on year, a reversal of the 12.5% decline a year earlier.

This recovery was faster than initially anticipated. Economic managers earlier this month raised the export growth outlook for 2021 to 16% from 10% projected in July.

Ms. Anukoonwattaka said the shift to digitalization during the pandemic would probably intensify and redefine trade in services in the medium and long terms.

“In this context, the Philippines, as an important exporter of IT-related business services, tend to be among countries with a high potential to enjoy the benefit of accelerated digitalization brought by the COVID-19 pandemic,” she said.

Business process outsourcing revenues rose by 1.4% after the pandemic disrupted operations last year, the industry group said.

The Information Technology and Business Process Association of the Philippines has said it expects a “decent return to growth” this year as it cited the need for funding to boost its upskilling program to meet the industry’s digital demands.

The UNESCAP last month said the recovery of trade in commercial services was fragile this year as global travel remained below pre-pandemic levels.

“Going into 2022, global and regional services trade are expected to continue recovering slowly and heterogeneously across sectors,” it said.

“While transport, other business services and ICT are anticipated to flourish, travel services will experience a weak recovery as border crossing remains more difficult than in pre-pandemic times,” it added.

Phaseout of LIBOR a factor in borrowings

UNSPLASH

THE Philippine government’s foreign borrowings next year would take into account unstable benchmark interest rates amid the phaseout of the London interbank offered rate (LIBOR), a Finance official said.

Foreign borrowings for 2022 will start with official development assistance (ODA), followed by commercial borrowings.

“We go through multilateral ODA first, then bilateral ODA, then commercial borrowing because we want to minimize the overall financing cost and lengthen the tenor of our portfolio,” Finance Undersecretary Mark Dennis Y.C. Joven told a news briefing on Dec. 15.

Investors are facing a year-end deadline to stop basing new loans and trades on the discredited LIBOR, prompting central banks to look for alternative benchmarks.

LIBOR is being phased out as a reference rate after it was manipulated before and during the 2008 financial crisis. There have also been concerns about the amount of derivatives using the benchmark, which in many cases was based on assumptions about their borrowing costs and not actual trades.

Some LIBOR rates will stop being published after Dec. 31, while others are set to end in mid-2023.

Mr. Joven said they would consider overall financing costs, swap rates and tenors in their decision-making. “At the point of issuance, we have to compare each modality and see which makes sense for us.”

The first issuance in both 2020 and 2021 were euro bonds because interest rates for the currency were low and demand was robust, he said.

“Now for 2022, we have to consider that there’s a global change in benchmark rates,” he added.

Mr. Joven said the resulting market instability in the near term had prompted the government to tap multilateral official development assistance more “just in case the market becomes a little bit choppy.”

The government borrows from local and foreign creditors to finance the budget deficit that has widened since last year after the coronavirus pandemic stalled the economy and pulled down tax collections.

State gross borrowings from foreign creditors in the 10 months to October slid by 9.7% to P518.71 billion from a year earlier.

The Treasury bureau raised P146.17 billion from global bonds, P121.97 billion from euro-denominated notes and P24.19 billion in Japanese yen-denominated securities. It also incurred P139.98 billion in program loans along with P86.41 billion in project loans.

The government has repaid P223.93 billion of its outstanding foreign debt so far, resulting in P294.78 in net foreign borrowings for 10 months.

In April this year, the government raised €2.1 billion (P122.4 billion) from a triple-tranche offering of euro-denominated bonds as it took advantage of low interest rates in the euro bond market.

It sold €650 million worth of four-year global bonds, another €650 million of 12-year notes and €800 million of 20-year debt. — Jenina P. Ibañez

Country’s mobile internet ranking improves

BW FILE PHOTO

By Arjay L. Balinbin, Senior Reporter

PHILIPPINE MOBILE internet speeds improved further in November, with its global ranking climbing four places to 90th out of 138 countries, latest data from Ookla showed.

Its median download speed for mobile internet rose to 18.68 megabits per second (Mbps) from 18.21 Mbps in October. Mobile upload speed rose to 5.64 Mbps from 5.39 Mbps.

Mobile internet latency, which measures how quickly a device gets a response after its user sends out a request, remained at 24 milliseconds (ms) said Ookla, the network testing company behind Speedtest.

Experts have cited slow and unreliable internet connections in the Southeast Asian nation, whose people are said to be one of the most active social media users in the world.

Smart Communications, Inc., the wireless arm of PLDT, Inc., topped Ookla’s speed rankings in the Philippines in the third quarter. It was the fastest mobile operator with a score of 59.71 on modern chipsets. Smart also had the lowest latency at 20 ms.

Globe Telecom, Inc. scored 28.38, while new telecommunication player DITO Telecommunity Corp. scored of 25.34. Globe’s median latency was 25 ms, while DITO’s was 24 ms.

Smart also had the fastest median download speed at 217.03 Mbps for 5G connections, followed by Globe at 114.12 Mbps.

Speedtest data also showed that Caloocan City had the fastest median mobile download speed among the country’s most populous cities at 22.05 Mbps, followed by Quezon City (20.93 Mbps), Manila (18.80 Mbps), Cebu City (15.09 Mbps), and Davao City (14.23 Mbps).

The Philippine mobile service market is expected to increase at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 5.6% to $5.4 billion by 2026, according to United Kingdom-based data analytics and consulting firm GlobalData.

This is primarily “due to the rising adoption of mobile data services,” it said on its website.

“Mobile data revenue will grow at the fastest CAGR of 6.6% between 2021 and 2026, due to growing 4G subscriptions and the planned rollout of 5G services.”

Meanwhile, the country’s ranking in terms of fixed broadband fell one place in November to 72nd out of 181 countries. But download speed for the month went up to 46.44 Mbps from 45.52 Mbps in October.

Fixed broadband’s upload speed rose to 38.14 Mbps from 37.16 Mbps in October. Latency remained at 6 ms.

GlobalData said the market for fixed-line telecommunication services in the Philippines is projected to hit $4.7 billion by 2026, equivalent to a CAGR of 5%, from a starting point of $3.6 billion this year.

GlobalData expects healthy growth in broadband subscriptions as well as rising broadband average revenue per user.

Digital subscriber lines will remain the “dominant fixed broadband technology with 36.7% share of the total fixed broadband subscriptions in 2021, but will gradually lose its market share over the forecast period,” according to Hrushikesh Mahananda, a telecommunication analyst at GlobalData.

“Fiber broadband lines, on the other hand, will increase at a robust CAGR of 17.2% over the forecast period, supported by government and operator investments in fiber network infrastructure and fiber to the home service expansions,” he added.

Unregistered property developers face sanctions

PROPERTY DEVELOPERS and brokers that missed last week’s registration deadline under new anti-money laundering rules may be penalized, according to the regulator.

Newly covered entities must register by Dec. 21 under anti-dirty money and counter-terrorism financing rules, the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) said in a statement last week. The guidelines took effect in June.

Only registered nonfinancial businesses and professions can access the council’s portal.

The government has been tightening its anti-money laundering rules after the Financial Action Task Force in June placed the Philippines on its “gray list,” citing deficiencies in the country’s anti-dirty money and counter-terrorism financing framework.

Under AMLC registration and reporting rules, real estate brokers and developers must examine transactions where parties may be hiding the identity of the property buyer.

After being covered by the country’s amended law against dirty money and terrorist financing signed in January, property developers and brokers must register with and report all suspicious transactions to the council.

“If not registered, (the designated nonfinancial businesses and professions) would not be able to electronically submit covered and suspicious transaction reports,” AMLC said.

Organizations that fail to report transactions will be penalized, which include imprisonment or fines.

Philippine central bank Governor Benjamin E. Diokno has said that he expects the country to get out of the Financial Action Task Force gray list by January 2023. — Jenina P. Ibañez

Chris Ross-less Beermen snap 2-game losing run

PBA MEDIA BUREAU

SAN MIGUEL Beermen (SMB)  raised a glass for its third consecutive win in the 46th Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Governors’ Cup via a business-like, day-after-Christmas 100-88 disposal of Terrafirma at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

Terrence Romeo turned in a new conference-high 23 points and shared scoring honors with import Brandon Brown as rejuvenated SMB continued its climb out of a 0-2 hole.

“We made a lot of sacrifices amid the holidays because we were down, 0-2, and it’s hard to climb back from that considering most of the teams are preparing as hard,” said San Miguel coach Leo Austria.

“I commend the players for recognizing the importance of our next games after we lost two consecutive and doing something about it,” he added.

Mr. Austria was relieved that the squad was able to do this without starting playmaker Chris Ross, who’s expected to be back next month after attending to personal matters in the US.

“We missed Ross. Fortunately, when somebody’s out of the lineup, other players step up. Terrence, especially, is playing well not only as a scorer but as a point guard,” the SMB mentor said of Mr. Romeo, who also posted four rebounds, three assists and two steals.

CJ Perez, with 17 markers and eight rebounds, and Vic Manuel, with 14 and eight, also delivered as SMB foiled the upset plans of the Dyip (1-4), who tried to repeat their 110-104 overtime reversal  in the last Philippine Cup in Bacolor.

The Dyip plummeted to their third straight setback, unable to overcome the absence of injured mainstays Alex Cabagnot, Roosevelt Adams and Reden Celda.

Juami Tiongson had another hot scoring game against SMB, finishing with a team-high 21, including 11 in Terrafirma’s fourth-quarter rally. Mr. Tiongson dropped 28 on SMB in their previous matchup.

Antonio Hester shot 19.

Mr. Romeo torched Terrafirma with 11 in the first stanza as the Beermen zoomed to an early 13-point headstart. The Dyip managed to pull back to within three at 40-37 in the next period but the Romeo-Brown duo restored a fresh nine-point cushion for SMB via an 8-0 blast.

Mr. Brown banged in 12 after the break to power the Beermen to a 29-21 third-quarter exchange en route to a comfortable 77-58 tear. — Olmin Leyba

NCAA Season 97 to open in March with four events

THE National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) will hold face-to-face competition after a two-year pandemic hiatus starting in the first week of March next year with only four events to be played in Season 97 including basketball and volleyball.

“March, first week is our opening,” NCAA Management Committee chair Dax Castellano of host College of St. Benilde on Sunday told The STAR.

Mr. Castellano said apart from basketball and volleyball, the NCAA will hold online chess and taekwondo similar to what it held last year when the league, then hosted by Letran, hosted exclusively only events.

The potential venues being targeted are the La Salle Greenhills Gym and or the Arellano University Gym.

The Commission on Higher Education (CHEd) had given the green light for college teams to hold practices early this month, officially paving the way for resumption of face-to-face events.

But while the league is starting, Mr. Castellano said fans would still be barred from watching games live. “No audience for now, but they can watch games in GMA 7 channels,” said Mr. Castellano. — Joey Villar

Farm equipment distributed in Negros Occidental

Farmers trained on climate measures

FARM EQUIPMENT worth P1.35 million was handed over to an agrarian reform beneficiaries’ organization (ARBO) in Negros Occidental alongside training to help mitigate the effects of climate change on crops, the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) said.

The Palala Farmers Small Water Irrigation System Association (PAFA SWISA) received a rice reaper, a walk-behind transplanter, a mechanical rice thresher, a hand tractor, a bio-shredder, a 2-in-1 grass cutter, a package of technology and technical training on climate proofing, and a one-hectare demo farm.

The equipment is part of the DAR’s Climate Resilient Farm Productivity Support (CRFPS), which aids disaster-stricken agrarian reform areas and creates an alternate livelihood for those affected by the impacts of climate change.

PAFA SWISA operates on 50 hectares of sugarcane land and 200 hectares of rice paddy in Barangay Marcelo, Calatrava.

“Our farms are now ready for calamities and we are hopeful that our livelihood will not be affected by it,” PAFA SWISA President Reynaldo Magnanao said.

The equipment will help revitalize the livelihood of farmers, enhance productivity, and encourage prospects for agribusiness development in storm-hit areas, the DAR said. — Luisa Maria Jacinta C. Jocson

SEC flags four unlicensed entities luring investors

By Keren Concepcion G. Valmonte, Reporter

THE Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) flagged four unregistered entities luring the public to participate in their respective investment programs, despite lacking the needed license to collect investments from the public.

In four separate advisories, the SEC is warning the public against Crypto Asset, Clearway Energy, Inc., Shopee888, and Meta Trading Corp., which also goes by One Meta Trading Opc.

Crypto Asset is led by a certain Janus Alfonsus Alvez Tisalona, who acts as the entity’s president and chief executive officer (CEO). It has been operating for a year and is said to be funded.

Investors can join Crypto Asset’s programs for as low P1,000.

The entity has four investment programs, namely: silver, which promises a 5% return within 7 days; gold program, which guarantees 10% within 12 days; platinum, where investors can get a 20% return on investment in 20 days; and executive program, where investors can earn 50% within 40 days.

“The money invested will be used by Crypto Asset in its crypto trading through UNLITRADE platform and GPU (graphics processing unit) mining farm activities,” the SEC said in its advisory dated Dec. 14.

Meanwhile, Meta Trading is said to be founded and headed by a certain Mario Bontilao Abellanosa, Jr., who also acts as the entity’s CEO and president. The SEC said the names of those involved with Crypto Asset will be reported to the Bureau of Internal Revenue.

Meta Trading is luring investors to the scheme through offering passive income, where they can earn “a total of accumulated interest of 550% in just 50 days,” and through its active income programs.

On top of being unregistered with the commission, both Crypto Asset and Meta Trading are also not registered as virtual asset services providers (VASP) with the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) and both also lack the required Certificate of Authority as a money service business.

Neither of the two CEOs could be reached for comment as of press time, while a Facebook search for the Crypto Asset official would show posts from victims of the investment scam.

Meanwhile, Clearway Energy and Shopee888 were flagged by the SEC as having investment programs that resemble a “Ponzi scheme.” The regulator said investment programs under the scheme are not registrable security.

Ponzi schemes work in favor of top recruiters and those who invested earlier in the scheme. The money from new investors is used to pay the “fake profits” of old investors. 

Clearway Energy tells prospective investors that it is developing a solar power station in the country.

“The said company claims to be investing in power generation components, from which prospective investors will derive different benefits from in accordance with their chosen investments,” the SEC said in a separate advisory dated Dec. 14.

“Their platform includes soliciting investment for the production of solar panels and the electricity generated thereon will be sold to the government, major mines, and to different enterprises, and from that, their prospective investors will automatically generate profits daily,” it added. 

Clearway Energy is not registered with the commission and it also lacks the needed license to collect investments from the public. The regulator also noted that its investment program indicates that it is an “advance-fee scam,” where a person promises a big amount of money in exchange for a small payment.

“If a victim makes the payment, the fraudster either invests a series of further fees for the victim or simply disappears,” the commission said.

The SEC said that the entity “does not appear to be connected” to US-based Clearway Energy, Inc., which is traded at the New York Stock Exchange under “CWEN” and “CWEN.A.”

Meanwhile, Shopee888 or Shpoee888 is luring the public to invest in its scheme through its website and e-mail shpoee888.com/app/ and shpoee888@gmail.com. The commission said in its advisory dated Dec. 21 that investors may earn by accomplishing tasks according to their “VIP levels,” on top of a “tier bonus” and from a direct bonus.

The commission warned that people involved in unlicensed investment schemes may be prosecuted and held criminally liable under the Securities Regulation Code. They may be fined a maximum of P5 million and/or a penalty of 21 years of imprisonment.

Basilan captures MPBL Invitational title on Manalang last second trey

PHILIP Manalang and Basilan-Jumbo Plastic Medical Depot waited all year to gain a shot at redemption after being denied a chance to bid for the MPBL Lakan Cup crown last March in Subic bubble by virtue of forfeiture due to a number of positive coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases in its squad.

And they could have not completed it in a better fashion with Mr. Manalang, who was among those positive cases, draining the fitting game winner at the buzzer for the Chooks-to-Go Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League (MPBL) Invitational crown.

“Actually in the bubble, I was one of those tested positive of COVID-19 then,” shared Mr. Manalang after hitting the MPBL’s biggest shot to date to steer Basilan to a rousing 83-80 finale win over Nueva Ecija.

“It was destiny. This is God’s will,” he added, admitting that he burst into tears after Basilan’s forfeited campaign in the Southern Finals against eventual champion Davao Occidental.

The University of the East product actually missed his first eight attempts but did not hesitate to give it one more try, delivering the cherry on top of Basilan’s successful redemption tour.

Basilan bagged the inaugural Chooks-to-Go VisMin Super Cup title last August in Pagadian and the first Filbasket championship carrying the AICC Manila name last month in Subic before capturing the coveted MPBL gem.

The squad also pocketed the P2-million MPBL grand prize with Jerson Cabiltes being hailed as the first Ato Badolato Coach of the Year.

“I’ll cherish this forever, it’s an honor that I can be proud of. I’m honored to win this. I was the first recipient of Coach Ato Badolato Award,” said Mr. Cabiltes on the citation named after the late San Beda high school mentor. — John Bryan Ulanday

Ivory Coast 2021/22 cocoa port arrivals down 12-13%

REUTERS

ABIDJAN -— Cocoa arrivals at ports in top grower Ivory Coast are down between 12% and 13% from the same period last year and are likely to stay down for the rest of the season, the director general of the Coffee and Cocoa Council (CCC) said.

Yves Brahima Kone, who leads the cocoa and coffee regulator, said the season’s slow start would likely persist through March, with pods and flowers developing much slower than in previous years following a lackluster rainy season.

“December is usually the month when most of the cocoa is exported, but arrivals are down 12-13% compared to the same period last year,” Mr. Kone told Reuters. “The trend is not going to be reversed.”

Ivory Coast is currently in its main October-to-March cocoa crop season, the largest of the West African country’s two annual harvests, and December is typically the highest-exporting month.

But port arrival figures at the beginning of the month showed a 10% decline from the same period last season, and exporters estimated this week that production had declined around 8%, based on truck counts.

More than a dozen farmers contacted by Reuters echoed Mr. Kone’s pessimism, adding the trend would likely worsen as farmers scramble to sell as many beans as possible ahead of the Christmas holiday.

“I am more than worried because I have nothing left on the trees to cut and sell in January. I have already cut everything and there are only a few green pods left,” said Alfred Kouadio, who runs a seven-hectare cocoa farm in Daloa. — Reuters

Metro Manila Film Festival 2021: The plot thickens

A SCENE from the film Nelia — YOUTUBE/NELIA MOVIE

MMFF Movie Review
Nelia
Directed by Lester Dimaranan

STYLED as a horror flick, Nelia, actually a suspense film, has more to it than meets the eye.

A haunted room in a hospital has been claiming more victims. Every patient who has entered Room 009 comes out dead. Perhaps it’s a comment on the times, but the body count has almost become common and is shrugged off by almost everybody. A nurse, Nelia, tries to solve the mystery of the cursed hospital room.

(Spoilers ahead)

Can you really blame me for thinking Nelia was a horror film, when flashbacks about the dead patients feature them in dark rooms, ghostly makeup, and with scary music? It turns out to be a whodunnit, for the deaths are actually attributed to something less supernatural. It did a good job of throwing me off the scent, as well as being a good-enough twist, if one ignores the plodding first half — the film picks up its stride in the second half, though for the purposes of the surprise, one couldn’t exist without the other.

The film is also disproportionately steamy, with me counting some three sex scenes before the one-hour mark. No matter, the cast is quite attractive, so maybe watch this for that.

There is something quite off with the leading lady, Nelia (played by beauty queen and showbiz daughter Winwyn Marquez). Perhaps it’s director’s jitters, but the horny colleague Anna (played by Ali Forbes) has more screen presence than the leading lady. Sometimes, I found myself looking more at Nelia’s huge, out-of-place handbag (It looked like a very large Dior; I don’t know if that was a plot point) than observing Nelia herself. Raymond Bagatsing, playing the head doctor, with experience and screen presence and all, surprisingly doesn’t quite dominate the flick.

Still: the plot is thick enough, but it isn’t quite perfect. It’s an exploration of mental illness (whether or not this element was deftly handled is a question beyond my reach), corruption, and the medical industry, but unfortunately, a very shallow take on death and the value of a human life (I mean, surely, with a high-enough body count set in an industry that saves lives, that should surely be a consideration). However, the gaps in the plot can allow you to fill them in with your own explanations, which kind of makes it more fun. —  Joseph L. Garcia

MTRCB Rating: R-13

Converge eyeing to offer IoT-based home automation, security

By Arjay L. Balinbin, Senior Reporter

CONVERGE ICT Solutions, Inc. is eyeing to offer a solution for automating and securing homes as part of the company’s plan to expand its products and services, its chief operations officer said.

“Early days for the Philippines, but it’s quite developed in other countries; it goes by the fancy name of Internet of Things (IoT) — home security and automation,” Converge Chief Operations Officer Jesus C. Romero told BusinessWorld in a recent virtual interview.

“That’s also something that’s coming soon… In other countries, it’s already something very mainstream and, of course, for example in the area of sustainability, one of the things that home automation does is make your energy consumption more efficient, and sustainability is one of the important things for Converge,” he added.

Market and consumer data provider Statista said that “applying the IoT in the context of a private household is what is commonly known as a smart home,” which uses “connected devices and appliances to perform actions, tasks, and automated routines to save money, time, and energy.”

The Philippine smart home market, according to Statista, is expected to generate $169 million in revenue this year, with a household penetration of 7.5%. By 2026, it is expected to rise to 16.6%.

“Revenue is expected to show a compound annual growth rate (CAGR 2021-2026) of 20.33%, resulting in a projected market volume of $426 million by 2026,” it also said.

This year, the Philippines ranked 48th out of 110 countries in the Digital Quality of Life Index because of improvements in internet quality and electronic security, according to a study by information technology firm Surfshark Ltd.

In 2020, the country ranked 66th due to poor scores in internet affordability, internet quality, electronic infrastructure, electronic security, and electronic government. The Philippines’ main issue was its internet quality, which ranked 84th.

Converge announced on Tuesday last week that the Philippine Rating Services Corp. (PhilRatings) had assigned it a PRS Aaa rating (very strong) with a stable outlook for its planned maiden bond issuance worth P5 billion.

The company, which aims to cover 55% of Philippine households by 2023, also said the funds to be generated from the proposed bond offering would be used to support its capital expenditures.

Converge’s attributable net income for the first nine months of the year went up by 137% to P5.20 billion from P2.19 billion in the same period in 2020.

January-to-September revenues increased by 76% to P18.83 billion from P10.68 billion last year.

Converge ICT shares closed 0.30% higher at P33 apiece on Friday.

1...5,6165,6175,618...12,826Page 5,617 of 12,826
© 2024 BusinessWorld Publishing.
All rights reserved.
Read our privacy guidelines
Facebook Instagram Linkedin Twitter Youtube