Briton charged in Singapore as police probe Wirecard-linked firm

September 2, 2021 | 3:18 pm

SINGAPORE — A British man has been charged in Singapore with involvement in alleged fraud by a company linked to the collapsed German payments firm Wirecard, according to police.

James Henry O’Sullivan is accused of colluding with R. Shanmugaratnam, a director of accounting firm Citadelle Corporate Services, to send a false document to a Dubai-based Wirecard subsidiary claiming Citadelle held more than $100 million in an escrow account.

Mr. O’Sullivan, 46, was arrested on Monday and is being detained pending further investigation. His case was heard by a court on Wednesday and adjourned until Sept. 8.

If found guilty, he could be jailed for up to 10 years, fined, or both.

The Briton’s lawyer did not immediately respond to a request for comment and Shanmugaratnam could not immediately be reached.

In July last year, Singapore authorities launched an investigation into Citadelle, Senjo Group and its subsidiaries after scrutinizing Wirecard’s local operations.

Wirecard, founded in 1999, filed for insolvency in June last year, owing creditors almost $4 billion, after disclosing a 1.9-billion-euro hole in its accounts, which auditor EY said was the result of a sophisticated global fraud.

Mr. Shanmugaratnam is facing 14 counts of falsification of accounts for allegedly issuing 14 letters from Citadelle to Wirecard, its subsidiaries and an audit firm, which police said falsely stated Citadelle held large sums of money in escrow accounts between 2015 and 2017.

Mr. O’Sullivan’s charges center on his alleged involvement in falsifying a letter to Wirecard’s Cardsystems Middle East FZ LLC that stated that Citadelle had held a balance of about 86.4 million euros ($102.3 million) in escrow in December 2016. — Chen Lin/Reuters

China warns US climate cooperation at risk on political tensions

September 2, 2021 | 3:09 pm

SHANGHAI — Senior Chinese diplomat Wang Yi has warned the United States that political tensions between Beijing and Washington could undermine efforts by the world’s top two sources of greenhouse gas to cooperate in the fight against climate change.

China’s State Councillor and Foreign Minister told US climate envoy John Kerry via video link on Wednesday that the two sides’ joint efforts to combat global warming were an “oasis,” according to a foreign ministry statement published late on Wednesday.

“But surrounding the oasis is a desert, and the oasis could be desertified very soon,” he said. “China-US climate cooperation cannot be separated from the wider environment of China-US relations.”

“We have shown our sincerity,” Mr. Wang was quoted by state broadcaster CCTV as saying. “Everyone who met with you will have to spend two weeks in quarantine, but we’re willing to pay that price, to discuss cooperation with the US on affairs of mutual concerns.”

Mr. Kerry told Mr. Wang that Washington remained committed to working with other nations to tackle the climate crisis, and encouraged China to do more to reduce emissions during the meeting, a State Department spokesperson said.

“Secretary Kerry affirmed that the United States remains committed to cooperating with the world to tackle the climate crisis, which must be addressed with the seriousness and urgency that it demands, and encouraged the PRC to take additional steps to reduce emissions,” the spokesperson said.

The United States, which has resumed its role in global climate diplomacy after a four-year hiatus under President Donald J. Trump, has long hoped to keep climate issues separate from its wider disputes with China on issues such as trade, human rights and the origins of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.

Mr. Kerry is in the northern Chinese city of Tianjin to hold face-to-face talks with Xie Zhenhua, China’s special climate envoy, on the countries’ joint response to the climate crisis.

Climate watchers are hoping that the talks will lead to more ambitious pledges by both countries to tackle greenhouse gas emissions.

“The G2 [China and the United States] need to realize that beyond their bilateral oasis and desert, the whole planet is at stake,” said Li Shuo, senior climate adviser with the environmental group Greenpeace.

“If they don’t make joint climate progress fast enough, it is soon all going to be desert,” he added.

The meeting in Tianjin is the second to be held between Mr. Kerry and Mr. Xie, with the first taking place in Shanghai in April. Mr. Kerry has no remit to discuss anything apart from climate change issues.

Though Mr. Wang warned that climate change could now be tied to other diplomatic issues, China has insisted that its efforts to curb its emissions and switch to cleaner forms of energy are a vital part of its own ambitious domestic policy agenda.

“Chinese leaders have long said they are engaged in climate action not because of outside pressure, but because it benefits China and the world at large,” said Alex Wang, climate expert and professor at UCLA.

“If that is so, then US-China tensions should not slow Chinese climate action.” — David Stanway/Reuters

South Korean health workers drop strike plans after agreement

September 2, 2021 | 2:34 pm

SEOUL — South Korean frontline health workers on Thursday dropped plans to strike after they reached an agreement with the government on their demand for increased staffing and better work conditions during last-ditch negotiations overnight.

The Korean Health and Medical Workers’ Union had warned some of its 80,000 members, including nurses, medical engineers, and pharmacists who say they are exhausted from battling waves of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreaks, would begin striking from Thursday if their demands were not met.

Upon the union’s request, the government agreed to establish at least four public infectious disease hospitals by 2024, draft detailed nurse deployment guidelines per severity of COVID-19 patients by October, and expand funding to subsidize those treating contagious diseases to go into effect in January 2022.

It has also agreed to establish a recommended nurse to patient ratio. The United States has a recommended ratio of 1:5 and Japan has 1:7 while South Korea has none.

The union had argued its workers are often working double or triple shifts and need better pay and working hours.

The government and the union have previously met for talks 12 times since May, including a 14-hour marathon session on Monday, but had not been able to find common ground.

South Korea has fully inoculated 31.7% of its 52 million people, and 57.4% with at least one dose. The government wants 70% of its citizens to have had at least one shot by September.

South Korea reported 1,961 new COVID-19 cases for Wednesday, raising the tally to 255,401, with 2,303 deaths. The country has been keeping its mortality rate and critical infections relatively low at 0.9% and 371 cases, respectively. — Sangmi Cha/Reuters

Australian doctors warn of risks to hospitals once COVID-19 curbs ease

September 2, 2021 | 2:04 pm

SYDNEY — Australian doctors on Thursday warned the country’s hospitals are not ready to cope with the government’s reopening plans, even with higher vaccination rates, as some states prepare to move from a virus suppression strategy to living with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

The Australian Medical Association (AMA) said the health system was in danger of being locked into a “permanent cycle of crisis” and has called for new modeling to check if staffing levels in hospitals can withstand an expected surge in cases when lockdown rules ease.

“If you have opened up and you haven’t looked at the safety nets or the life rafts that we’ve got, we might end up actually trying to push more people on the life rafts and capsizing them,” AMA Vice President Chris Moy told broadcaster ABC.

Australia in July unveiled a four-stage plan back to greater freedoms when the country reaches 70%–80% vaccination. But virus-free Queensland and Western Australia have said they may not stick to those plans as the agreement was finalised when cases in New South Wales were much lower.

New South Wales on Thursday reported 1,288 new locally acquired cases, just below its pandemic high of 1,290 hit on Monday. Seven new deaths were recorded.

A total of 957 people are in hospitals, up from 698 a week ago, while cases in intensive care units (ICU) jumped nearly 40% to 160, 64 of whom require ventilation.

Authorities quadrupled the number of the state’s intensive care ventilators to 2,000 early last year, but the medical association’s Moy said governments need to focus on hospital staffing before relaxing lockdown rules.

“It’s not just the number of ventilators, it’s not the number of IC units, it’s the number of staff and people that are going to have to man this when we open up,” he said.

‘DON’T DELAY INEVITABLE’
Soaring cases forced Victoria on Wednesday to join New South Wales in abandoning a COVID-zero target, with both states now targeting rapid vaccinations as a pathway to freedom after failing to quell an outbreak of the Delta variant, even after a weeks-long lockdown.

New cases in Victoria jumped to 176 on Thursday, the year’s biggest daily rise, from 120 a day earlier.

Australia has largely lived in COVID-zero for much of the pandemic, recording 1,019 deaths in total and just over 56,500 cases. But a slow vaccination rollout has left it vulnerable to more infections and hospitalisations.

So far, only about 36% of people above 16 have been fully vaccinated, well below most comparable countries.

The federal government urged all states to stick to the national reopening plan, with Treasurer Josh Frydenberg saying the states can’t “delay the inevitable.”

“You have to learn to live with COVID-19. COVID-19 may come to your state within a week, it might be a month, it might be a little bit after that. But the reality is we can’t eliminate the virus,” Mr. Frydenberg told Nine News on Thursday. — Renju Jose/Reuters

Warnings as Southeast Asia’s biggest economies ease COVID-19 curbs

September 2, 2021 | 1:27 pm

BANGKOK/JAKARTA — As Indonesia and Thailand start to ease coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) curbs after seeing case numbers fall, health experts say cases of new infections could rise again with vaccination rates still low.

After containing the coronavirus better than much of the world last year, Southeast Asia has turned into a global epicenter in recent months with the arrival of the virulent Delta variant.

Although case numbers are still rising fast in most of the region, Indonesia and Thailand, which have its largest economies, have started to lift curbs on dine-in restaurants and shopping malls to ease the economic pain of their lockdowns.

Indonesia reported 10,534 new cases on Tuesday, five times fewer than its peak in mid-July, while Thailand reported 14,802 new cases on Wednesday, down 37% from its mid-August peak.

However, experts said relaxations carried dangers with a low level of vaccination and a shortage of testing, with rates of positive tests often above the 5% recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO).

“We are definitely concerned around the reopening without meeting all the criteria proposed by the WHO,” Abhishek Rimal, Asia Pacific Emergency Health Coordinator at the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, told Reuters.

“Now with the Delta variant, which is highly transmissible, and the low vaccination rate, we could very well see a surge of COVID-19 in days to come.”

Indonesia has recently had a positive test rate of 12% and Thailand 34%.

“Surveillance is not that great, we still need to be careful,” said Tri Yunis Miko Wahyono, a University of Indonesia epidemiologist.

Indonesia has recorded more than 4 million coronavirus cases in total and more than 133,000 deaths from COVID-19 since the start of the pandemic. Thailand has reported 11,841 deaths and 1.2 million cases.

The two countries both have first vaccination rates at around 30% with Indonesia having fully vaccinated 17% and Thailand 11%. Their capitals, Jakarta and Bangkok, have much higher levels of vaccination.

In Jakarta and some areas on the populous Java island, restaurants inside shopping malls could have a 50% dine-in capacity, and shopping malls could stay open until 9 p.m., while factories are permitted to operate at 100% capacity.

Bangkok and 28 other provinces listed as having the most severe outbreaks can similarly reopen dine-in restaurants at a capacity between 50%–75%, with opening hours capped at 8 p.m., the same as shopping malls.

“The situation is getting better because many people are getting vaccinated and they are being more cautious,” said restaurant customer Orrapin Peenanee, queuing in Bangkok.

The economic benefits of easing lockdowns were understandable, said Dale Fisher, a senior infectious disease expert at the National University Hospital in Singapore, but he stressed that they also must vaccinate their citizens faster.

“As you ease off the lockdowns, how much sort of punishment can you take before you have to bring a lockdown back in and be stronger? The answer’s in the vaccine,” he said. — Matthew Tostevin and Stanley Widianto/Reuters

Pollution likely to cut 9 years of life expectancy of 40% of Indians

September 2, 2021 | 12:50 pm

49111775291_9a59d7774e_k — Ninara/CC BY 2.0/Flickr

NEW DELHI — Air pollution is likely to reduce the life expectancy of about 40% of Indians by more than nine years, according to a report released by a US research group on Wednesday.

More than 480 million people living in the vast swathes of central, eastern and northern India, including the capital, New Delhi, endure significantly high pollution levels, said the report prepared by the Energy Policy Institute at the University of Chicago (EPIC).

“Alarmingly, India’s high levels of air pollution have expanded geographically over time,” the EPIC report said.

For example, air quality has significantly worsened in the western state of Maharashtra and the central state of Madhya Pradesh, it said.

Lauding India’s National Clean Air Program (NCAP), launched in 2019 to rein in dangerous pollution levels, the EPIC report said “achieving and sustaining” the NCAP goals would raise the country’s overall life expectancy by 1.7 years and that of New Delhi 3.1 years.

The NCAP aims to reduce pollution in the 102 worst-affected cities by 20%–30% by 2024 by ensuring cuts in industrial emissions and vehicular exhaust, introducing stringent rules for transport fuels and biomass burning and reduce dust pollution. It will also entail better monitoring systems.

New Delhi was the world’s most polluted capital for the third straight year in 2020, according to IQAir, a Swiss group that measures air quality levels based on the concentration of lung-damaging airborne particles known as PM2.5.

Last year, New Delhi’s 20 million residents, who breathed some of the cleanest air on record in the summer because of coronavirus lockdown curbs, battled toxic air in winter following a sharp increase in farm residue burning in the nearby states of Punjab and Haryana.

According to the EPIC’s findings, neighboring Bangladesh could raise average life expectancy by 5.4 years if the country improves air quality to levels recommended by the World Health Organization.

To arrive at the life expectancy number, EPIC compared the health of people exposed to different levels of long-term air pollution and applied the results to various places in India and elsewhere. — Reuters

Duterte’s daughter says she has ‘running mate’ offers for Philippines 2022 election

September 2, 2021 | 11:51 am

DAVAO City Mayor and presidential daughter Sara Duterte-Carpio said late Wednesday that politicians, including her father’s closest aide and preferred successor, have offered to run with her in next year’s election.

Ms. Duterte-Carpio is leading opinion polls but has yet to disclose her political plans ahead of the deadline to file for candidacy in October.

In her official Facebook account, Ms. Duterte-Carpio said lawmakers Sherwin T. Gatchalian and Christopher Lawrence “Bong” T. Go “personally expressed their offer to run as my vice president.”

It was unclear when Mr. Go made the offer, but Ms. Duterte-Carpio’s post comes a few days after Mr. Go rejected the ruling party’s endorsement as presidential candidate.

Ms. Duterte-Carpio said other possible running mates include former defense minister Gilberto “Gibo” C. Teodoro, who offered himself through common friends, and the son and namesake of late Philippine dictator Ferdinand Marcos.

Mr. Go and the camp of Mr. Marcos did not respond to requests for comment. Other candidates have publicly disclosed their intent to run as Ms. Duterte-Carpio’s vice president.

Ms. Duterte-Carpio, 43, has been quoted in media as saying she was open to running for president.

“Whether or not she has already decided on her plans of running, there really is clamor from many sectors,” political analyst and professor Edmund Tayao told Reuters. “Many politicians think she will be a formidable presidential candidate.”

Philippine leader Rodrigo R. Duterte, 76, is prohibited by the constitution from seeking a second term, but his opponents believe he could extend his grip on power through an election of an ally.

Mr. Duterte has declared he will seek the vice presidency, if daughter Ms. Duterte-Carpio does not run for president.

The elder Duterte remains popular despite his anti-narcotics campaign that has killed thousands of suspected drug dealers and users. But his administration is facing growing criticism over its handling of the pandemic, with the Philippines battling one of the worst coronavirus outbreaks in Asia. — Reuters

PT&T sets schedule of annual stockholders’ meeting

September 2, 2021 | 9:30 am

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Philippine factory activity plunges to 15-month low

September 2, 2021 | 12:34 am

MANUFACTURING ACTIVITY sharply declined to a 15-month low in August as a fresh surge in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infections led to another strict lockdown in the Philippine capital.

IHS Markit on Wednesday said the Philippines Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) fell to 46.4 last month from 50.4 in July, as factories and businesses were forced to close due to a two-week enhanced community quarantine in Metro Manila.

August saw factory activity ending two straight months of expansion and falling to its lowest level in 15 months or since the 40.1 reading in May 2020.

A reading above 50 indicates improving conditions for the sector versus the previous month, and below the threshold means deterioration.

“With the announcement of tightening ECQ measures in early August, the latest contraction in operating conditions in the Philippines manufacturing sector came as no surprise. Factories and their clients in the Metro Manila area once again paused their production lines in a bid to curb the spread of the new Delta variant,” Shreeya Patel, economist at IHS Markit, said in a statement.

Like the Philippines, the rest of Southeast Asia saw manufacturing conditions worsen in August due to a resurgence in COVID-19 cases and subsequent lockdowns. The regional average reading slipped to 44.5 in August from 44.6 the month earlier, marking the third straight month of deterioration.

The Philippines’ PMI reading was the second highest in the region, following Thailand’s 48.3. It was better than Indonesia (43.7), Malaysia (43.4), Vietnam (40.2) and Myanmar (36.5).

PMI is the weighted average of five sub-indices: new orders (30%), output (25%), employment (20%), suppliers’ delivery times (15%) and stocks of purchases (10%).

IHS Markit noted that all five of the PMI components worsened for the Philippines in August.

Production by local factories fell for the fifth month in a row in August, which was also the fourth steepest decline in the series history.

Customer demand likewise declined by the fourth quickest rate in the series history, as domestic sales slumped due to the closure of businesses and exports fell by the fastest pace since July 2020.

“Tighter restrictions on travel and the closure of businesses led clients to curb orders. Weak domestic sales were accompanied by a renewed contraction in foreign demand,” IHS Markit said.

Due to lower production, manufacturers bought less as they tried to restructure existing stocks and recover costs.

Supplier performance also deteriorated amid tighter restrictions, port congestion and supply shortage.

“Delivery times lengthened at the most marked rate since August 2020 and was among the lengthiest in the over five-and-a-half-year history of the survey,” IHS Markit said.

As factories temporarily shuttered operations, more workers either resigned or were laid off.

Raw material shortages from international suppliers and sustained delays in delivery pushed input costs higher in August, causing average cost burden to grow for the 16^th consecutive month and inflation to remain high.

IHS Markit, however, noted price increases have slowed to its softest pace in seven months.

However, manufacturers still raised their selling prices to pass on these higher costs to customers.

“On a brighter note, firms’ expectations towards the outlook remained optimistic owing to hopes that the latest downturn is only temporary,” Ms. Patel said.

Companies are also hopeful that the vaccine rollout will help the country’s “return to normality,” although many are still worried about uncertainty over the pandemic.

The Philippines’ PMI may remain in contraction as prolonged quarantine restrictions and the elevated COVID-19 infections continue to hamper economic activities, Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. (RCBC) Chief Economist Michael L. Ricafort said in a note to journalists.

“Risk factors include the new coronavirus strains, especially the Delta variant, that are more contagious. [This] could slow down economic recovery prospects amid risks of lockdowns and travel restrictions locally and worldwide… [and lead] to slower recovery in manufacturing and imports,” he said.

Lockdown measures in Metro Manila and other provinces are under the second-most stringent lockdown until Sept. 7.

Health authorities reported 14,216 new COVID-19 cases on Wednesday, bringing the active caseload to 140,949.

“With PMI strongly associated with GDP (gross domestic product), we expect growth likely to soften in the third quarter further should the September reading remain in deeper contraction,” Security Bank Corp. Chief Economist Robert Dan J. Roces said via Viber on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, Mr. Roces said a fast turnaround from the August slump is possible given the easing price pressures and firms’ expectations that the PMI contraction will only be temporary.

“The biggest nudge will be a quickening of the vaccination pace and easing lockdowns,” he added. — B.M.Laforga

Bank lending slips for 8^th straight month in July

September 2, 2021 | 12:33 am

BANK LENDING slipped for an eighth consecutive month in July, although at a softer pace as borrowings for production activities increased amid looser quarantine restrictions.

Outstanding loans issued by big banks dipped 0.7% year on year to P9.137 trillion in July, based on preliminary data from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) released Tuesday evening.

The decline in July is softer than the 2% contraction in June, and matched the drop seen in December 2020. To recall, December saw bank lending fall for the first time since September 2006.

Inclusive of reverse repurchase agreements, outstanding loans disbursed by big banks slid by 0.5%.

Bank lending rose by 0.5% on a seasonally adjusted basis month on month, as July saw a further relaxation of restrictions in the capital region.

“Looking ahead, the BSP will continue to prioritize monetary policy support in order to ensure the continued momentum of economic recovery,” the central bank said in a statement.

“At the same time, the National Government’s targeted fiscal initiatives and health interventions will be crucial in boosting domestic demand and strengthening the recovery.”

The softer decline in bank lending reflects the lag in the effect of monetary policy, ING Bank N.V. Manila Senior Economist Nicholas Antonio T. Mapa said.

Policy rates are currently at a record low after the Monetary Board cut policy rates by a total of 200 basis points in 2020.

“BSP’s last follow-through rate cut in November appears to be finally helping lift lending somewhat with August bank lending expected to post a modest gain on a year-on-year basis,” Mr. Mapa said in an e-mail.

In July, lending for production activities rose 0.8%, a turnaround from the 0.6% contraction in June. The BSP attributed this to the higher borrowings for real estate activities (5.9%); information and communication (14%); electricity, gas steam and air-conditioning supply (2.1%); and transportation and storage (7%).

On the other hand, bank loans for other commercial activities dropped, including those for wholesale and retail trade and repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles (-4.5 %) and manufacturing (-2.6%).

Retail loans contracted by 8.2% in July, although softer than the 8.7% fall in June. Consumer loan segments continued to decline, led by motor vehicle loans (-15.4%), salary-based loans (-5.8%), and credit cards (-1.6%).

Even after a two-week strict lockdown was implemented in August, analysts are hopeful that credit growth will pick up in the coming months.

“I am expecting that the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) of 2020 is not the same with the ECQ of 2021, and that the latter a lighter version of the other, in terms of the magnitude of restrictions. With this, I am hoping for a softer negative impact than that of 2020,” UnionBank of the Philippines, Inc. Chief Economist Ruben Carlo O. Asuncion said in an e-mail.

Banks’ risk appetite could improve once economic activities pick up in the next few months depending on the country’s pandemic management, Mr. Mapa said.

“We’ve noted the likely normalization of business activity if the country is better able to contain the virus and authorities must do all they can on the public health front to ensure an eventual smooth transition back to business operations,” he added.

M3 GROWTH SLOWS
The eighth straight month of lending decline coincided with continued growth in money supply, although slower than what was seen in June.

M3 — which is considered as the broadest measure of liquidity in an economy — rose by 5.9% in July, slower than the 6.5% growth in June, based on preliminary BSP data also released on Tuesday evening.

It rose by 0.1% month on month.

The slower M3 growth was likely due to base effect given the aggressive liquidity infusion measures done last year at the onset of the pandemic, Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. Chief Economist Michael L. Ricafort said.

Domestic claims increased 4.5%, easing from the 5.3% expansion in June. The BSP attributed this to the increase in net claims on the central government as well as the slight improvement in bank lending to the private sector.

“Going forward, the BSP will ensure that domestic liquidity remains adequate to support domestic economic activity, in line with the BSP’s price and financial stability objectives,” the central bank said.

The central bank has provided liquidity to the financial system through various easing measures. It has released some P2.2 trillion into the financial system, which is equivalent to about 12.1% of gross domestic product.

Despite this liquidity boost, banks remained risk-averse amid increased uncertainty as the pandemic continued.

In August, BSP Governor Benjamin E. Diokno said the central bank is not keen on raising rates or cutting banks’ reserve requirement ratio (RRR) while the country is still at the early stages of recovery.

He said there is still a lot of liquidity in the system, adding they might consider the need for further reduction in the RRR when there is strong loan demand.

The BSP kept the key policy rate unchanged at 2% in its Aug. 12 meeting. The Monetary Board will have its next policy-setting meeting on Sept. 23. — Luz Wendy T. Noble

Philippines’ ODA portfolio hits $30B

September 2, 2021 | 12:32 am

JAPAN remained the country’s top source of official development assistance (ODA) in 2020. The rehabilitation of the Porac-Gumain River Irrigation System is one of the projects funded by Japan ODA. — JAPAN INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION AGENCY

THE COUNTRY’S active official development assistance (ODA) portfolio jumped by 42% to $30.39 billion (P1.52 trillion) in 2020 as the government tapped more quick-disbursing loans to fund its pandemic response, the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) reported.

Preliminary data from NEDA obtained by BusinessWorld showed the foreign aid portfolio consisted of $29.004 billion in loans from development partners and $1.688 billion in grants.

The number of programs and projects supported by ODA went up 1.4% to 357 in 2020, comprised of 106 active loan agreements and 251 active grants.

The Philippines has ramped up its foreign borrowings to finance its pandemic response.

“The unprecedented challenges brought by the pandemic prompted a shift in sourcing and utilizing ODA financing in the new normal, from project-specific to quick-disbursing program loans,” NEDA said on Tuesday.

ODAs are concessional financing that multilateral banks and other institutions provide to poorer countries to promote economic development.

Japan remained the country’s top source of ODA in 2020, with a total portfolio of $11.18 billion, up 31% from the $8.5 billion as of end-2019. This comprised of $11.11 billion in loans and $74.67 million in grants.

Japan ODA accounted for 36.44% of the Philippines’ total foreign aid portfolio, but a tad lower than its 39.4% share in 2019.

The second-biggest lender was still the Asian Development Bank (ADB), after extending $8.75 billion in ODA in 2020, up 53.5% from $5.7 billion in 2019. This accounted for 28.5% of the total portfolio, improving from its 26.4% share previously.

The World Bank extended $6.44 billion in foreign aid, up 49% from its $4.31 billion total in 2019.

China-backed Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) jumped to fourth spot in 2020 from ninth place in 2019, after extending a $750-million loan for the government’s pandemic response.

AIIB’s total ODA more than quadrupled to $957.6 million in 2020 from $207.6 million in 2019.

South Korea extended $809.9 million in loans and grants, while China gave $620.7 million worth of foreign aid.

The United States was the seventh-biggest provider of ODA with $555.8 million in 2020, followed by France ($452.8 million); United Nations ($362.43 million); European Union ($233.7 million); and Australia ($176.8 million).

NEDA reported the government’s utilization of ODAs — or actual spending relative to target — went up to 66.69% in 2020 from 64.28% in 2019.

Total number of ongoing project loans also increased to 76 in 2020 from 67 the year before. — Beatrice M. Laforga

Customs beats collection goal in August

September 2, 2021 | 12:31 am

THE BUREAU of Customs (BoC) on Wednesday said it surpassed its collection target anew in August after generating P54.05 billion in duties and taxes on better valuation and higher volume of imports.

In a statement, BoC said it exceeded the P53.06-billion goal set for the month by 1.86%.

The BoC’s August collection fell by 7% month on month, but still 21.8% bigger than the P44.38-billion haul in August 2020.

The agency has been constantly beating its monthly collection targets since January.

In the first eight months of the year, Customs revenues grew by 19% to P412.96 billion from P347.29 billion a year ago.

The eight-month tally made up 67% of its P616.75-billion target for the entire year.

“The BoC’s positive revenue collection performance is attributed to the improved valuation and volume of importations, and the intensified collective efforts of all the ports to prevent revenue leakages and collect all lawful revenues,” Customs said in a statement.

The BoC has a P671.7-billion collection target for 2022, 9% higher than this year’s goal. — BML