The country’s mobile leader Globe posted mobile data traffic of 1,761 petabytes in the first half of 2021, a 59 percent increase versus the same period last year. Globe outperformed competition which reported 1,579 petabytes, clearly showing customers prefer to use the Globe network for mobile internet services.
“We are very happy that customers continue to prefer the Globe network. We aim to provide an elevated customer experience through better content, affordable offers, worthy promos and responsive customer service. Our relevant offers along with a markedly improved network experience shows that we are hitting the sweet spot of our customers. We will do more to deepen our relationship with our customers with services that will enrich their lives,” said Ernest Cu, Globe President and CEO.One petabyte is equivalent to one million gigabytes of data.
As of June, Globe has installed at least 641 new cell towers and completed 8,175 site upgrades as part of its continued network modernization efforts. The new cell sites were built in Metro Manila, Pangasinan, Laguna, Iloilo, Cavite, Rizal, Batangas, Cebu,Bulacan and Pampanga.
Globe was also able to complete its network expansion in Pangasinan, Misamis Oriental, Nueva Ecija, Negros Oriental, Negros Occidental, Iloilo, Bataan, Zambales, Tarlac and Capiz, Aklan, Antique, Siquijor and Guimaras.
Moreover, Globe has already surpassed the 600,000 FTTH lines it has laid down in 2020.
Globe’s relentless efforts to improve the country’s state of connectivity has led to it being the most consistent mobile network for two consecutive quarters in 2021, as verified by Ookla®.
The company remained the leader in nationwide mobile consistency, ahead of competition. The Consistency Score in Q1 2021 was 70.43 and 75.98[1] in Q2 2021.
Globe strongly supports the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, particularly UN SDG No. 9, which highlights the roles of infrastructure and innovation as crucial drivers of economic growth and development. Globe is committed to upholding the United Nations Global Compact principles and contributes to the 10 UN SDGs.
[1]Based on analysis by Ookla® of Speedtest Intelligence® data on Mobile Consistency Scores in the Philippines for Q1 and Q2 2021. Ookla trademarks used under license and reprinted with permission.
SEOUL – South Korea gave vaccine developer SK Bioscience the green light on Tuesday for a Phase III study of its COVID–19 vaccine candidate at a time of vaccine shortages, when a spurt in infections is fuelling demand.
The clinical trial of GBP510, the candidate for the first domestic vaccine, will weigh its immunogenicity and safety against AstraZeneca Plc’s vaccine, drug safety minister Kim Gang-lip told a news conference.
Three thousand of the 3,990 adults in the trial will receive the experimental vaccine and 990 will get AstraZeneca doses, with an interval of four weeks, Kim said.
In a statement, SK Bioscience said data from early trials of 80 healthy adults who received the two-dose protein-based vaccine showed they all induced neutralising antibodies against the virus.
Shares of the company, which debuted in March, rose as much as 29.5% to hit a record on Tuesday, outperforming a decline of 0.6% in the benchmark index.
SK is also a contract manufacturer of vaccines for AstraZeneca and Novavax Inc.
South Korea, with a tally of 213,987 infections and 2,134 deaths, has fully vaccinated 15.4% of its population of 52 million, largely using doses from AstraZeneca, Pfizer and Moderna Inc.
But on Monday, the government said Moderna would deliver less than half this month’s planned shipment, due to production issues.
The government had earlier said seven local drugmakers were set to launch the final phase of clinical trials in the year’s latter half.
SK is the world’s second firm to try a comparative trial with another vaccine after French biotech Valneva’s Phase III trial against the AstraZeneca shot, the drug safety ministry said. – Reuters
Image via Benh LIEU SONG/Flickr/CC BY-SA 4.0/Wikimedia Commons
HONG KONG – Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam said on Tuesday she supports the implementation of a mainland Chinese law in the former British colony to respond to foreign sanctions, the strongest signal yet that the city is set to adopt the legislation.
Ms. Lam, speaking at her weekly news conference, said she would prefer the law be introduced through Hong Kong legislation rather than Beijing legislation, by adding it to an annex of Hong Kong‘s mini-constitution, known as the Basic Law.
“(Hong Kong) will do its utmost to fulfil its constitutional responsibility, including safeguarding the country’s autonomy, safety and interest for its development,” Ms. Lam said.
“We support this nationwide law – the anti–sanctions law – to be listed in Annex 3,” she said, referring to an annex of the Basic law.
Local enactment would better clarify the legal framework around implementation, she said, adding that Beijing had already consulted her regarding listing the law in Annex 3.
Beijing adopted a law in June under which individuals or entities involved in making or implementing discriminatory measures against Chinese citizens or entities could be put on a Chinese government anti–sanctions list.
Under China’s law, such individuals could then be denied entry into China or be expelled. Their assets in China may be seized or frozen. They could also be restricted from doing business with entities or people in China.
The mainland law comes as the United States and European Union step up pressure on China over trade, technology, Hong Kong and the far western region of Xinjiang.
Critics have warned that Hong Kong‘s adoption of the law could undermine its reputation as a global financial hub.
Hong Kong returned to Chinese sovereignty in 1997 with a guarantee of a high degree of autonomy and freedoms.
On Sunday, Hong Kong Justice Secretary Teresa Cheng said the “most natural and appropriate way” to introduce the anti–sanctions law into Hong Kong would be to add it to an annex of the Basic Law.
But that would first have to be approved by the highest organ of China’s parliament, the National People’s Congress, she said. Media have reported that a decision would likely be made during a meeting in Beijing on Aug. 17-20.
The U.S. government has imposed sanctions on Hong Kong and Chinese officials over Beijing’s crackdown on the city’s freedoms under a sweeping national security legislation that the central government enacted on the financial hub a year ago. – Reuters
Four small companies and startups based in the Philippines made it into Forbes Asia’s “100 to Watch” list:
ChatGenie, an e-commerce platform that launched in February 2020, is a sales channel that provides an automated ordering process and checkout experience via social media and messaging apps that are also integrated with mobile wallets and delivery services.
CloudEats, a cloud kitchen company that launched in June 2019, prepares on-demand meals for numerous brands. Affiliated with various delivery services, CloudEats’ kitchens are located in non-retail, cost-efficient spaces with operations and layouts that are designed specifically for food delivery.
Kalibrr, a job-matching platform founded in 2013, connects job seekers with companies and startups looking to hire talent. The company raised $7.5 million from Omidyar Network, Wavemaker, and Kickstart Ventures. It was the first Filipino company to be accepted by startup accelerator Y Combinator.
PayMongo, a financial technology company that launched in June 2019, allows businesses in the Philippines to receive online payments through its payment platform, which can be integrated with the online business’s website and social media. PayMongo is backed by Y Combinator.
“Companies on the 100 to Watch list are making remarkable progress and impact in spite of the challenging climate brought on by the COVID-19 [coronavirus disease 2019] pandemic. Their inclusion on the list comes in part from addressing significant problems with innovative solutions,” said Justin Doebele, editor of Forbes Asia, in a statement on Tuesday.
The list includes private-owned, for-profit companies from various industries like biotechnology and healthcare, e-commerce and retail, food and hospitality, and education and recruitment.
The 900 submissions were evaluated by their impact on the region or industry, track records of revenue growth or ability to attract funding, business models or markets, and the persuasiveness of their stories.
Of the 17 Asia-Pacific countries and territories in the list, India and Singapore had the “liveliest startup communities” with 22 and 19 companies, respectively.
To qualify for consideration, companies had to be headquartered in the Asia-Pacific region, be at least one year old, privately owned, for-profit, and have no more than $20 million in its latest annual revenue or total funding through Aug. 1. — Brontë H. Lacsamana
CANBERRA – A small group of protesters on Tuesday painted slogans in support of climate action on Australia’s parliament and the prime minister’s residence, as the government failed to give assurances of stronger targets to reduce carbon emissions.
The action came after a United Nations report warned global warming is close to spiralling out of control, adding to mounting pressure on Australia – one of the world’s largest per capita carbon emitters – to cut greenhouse gas emissions.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison has resisted efforts to commit to a target of net zero emissions by 2050, and said again on Tuesday his government would prioritise investment in technology to lower emissions.
“I won’t be signing a blank cheque on behalf of Australians to targets without plans,” Morrison told a news conference. “Blank cheque commitments you always end up paying for, and you always end up paying in higher taxes.”
The protesters attempted to spray paint “climate duty of care” on the walls of the two buildings before police intervened. They also glued their hands to the parliament forecourt and set a pram on fire. A total of eight people were arrested.
“We take responsibility for our actions and are willing to face the consequences, unlike our politicians who won’t even acknowledge they have a duty of care to the children of this country,” said Lesley Mosbey, one of the protestors.
In April, Australia said it will spend A$566 million ($415 million) to co-fund research and pilot projects in green technologies. – Reuters
Global warming is dangerously close to spiralling out of control, a U.N. climate panel said in a landmark report Monday, warning the world is already certain to face further climate disruptions for decades, if not centuries, to come.
The deadly heat waves, gargantuan hurricanes and other weather extremes that are already happening will only become more severe.
Monday alone saw 500,000 acres of forest burning in California, while in Venice tourists waded through ankle-deep water in St. Mark’s Square.
U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres described the report as a “code red for humanity”.
“The alarm bells are deafening,” he said in a statement. “This report must sound a death knell for coal and fossil fuels, before they destroy our planet.”
In an interview with Reuters https://reut.rs/2U4reeV, activist Greta Thunberg called on the public and media to put “massive” pressure on governments to act.
In three months, the U.N. COP26 climate conference in Glasgow, Scotland, will try to wring much more ambitious climate action out of the nations of the world, and the money to go with it.
Drawing on more than 14,000 scientific studies, the IPCC report gives the most comprehensive and detailed picture yet of how climate change is altering the natural world – and what could still be ahead.
Unless immediate, rapid and large-scale action is taken to reduce emissions, the report says, the average global temperature is likely to reach or cross the 1.5-degree Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) warming threshold within 20 years.
The pledges to cut emissions made so far are nowhere near enough to start reducing level of greenhouse gases – mostly carbon dioxide (CO2) from burning fossil fuels – accumulated in the atmosphere.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said he hoped the report would be “a wake-up call for the world to take action now, before we meet in Glasgow”.
U.S. President Joe Biden tweeted Monday: “We can’t wait to tackle the climate crisis. The signs are unmistakable. The science is undeniable. And the cost of inaction keeps mounting.”
The report says emissions “unequivocally caused by human activities” have already pushed the average global temperature up 1.1C from its pre-industrial average – and would have raised it 0.5C further without the tempering effect of pollution in the atmosphere.
That means that, even as societies move away from fossil fuels, temperatures will be pushed up again by the loss of the airborne pollutants that come with them and currently reflect away some of the sun’s heat.
A rise of 1.5C is generally seen as the most that humanity could cope with without suffering widespread economic and social upheaval.
The 1.1C warming already recorded has been enough to unleash disastrous weather. This year, heat waves killed hundreds in the Pacific Northwest and smashed records around the world. Wildfires fuelled by heat and drought are sweeping away entire towns in the U.S. West, releasing record carbon dioxide emissions from Siberian forests, and driving Greeks to flee their homes by ferry.
Further warming could mean that in some places, people could die just from going outside.
“The more we push the climate system … the greater the odds we cross thresholds that we can only poorly project,” said IPCC co-author Bob Kopp, a climate scientist at Rutgers University.
IRREVERSIBLE
Some changes are already “locked in”. Greenland’s sheet of land-ice is “virtually certain” to continue melting, and raising the sea level, which will continue to rise for centuries to come as the oceans warm and expand.
“We are now committed to some aspects of climate change, some of which are irreversible for hundreds to thousands of years,” said IPCC co-author Tamsin Edwards, a climate scientist at King’s College London. “But the more we limit warming, the more we can avoid or slow down those changes.”
But even to slow climate change, the report says, the world is running out of time.
If emissions are slashed in the next decade, average temperatures could still be up 1.5C by 2040 and possibly 1.6C by 2060 before stabilising.
And if, instead the world continues on its the current trajectory, the rise could be 2.0C by 2060 and 2.7C by the century’s end.
The Earth has not been that warm since the Pliocene Epoch roughly 3 million years ago – when humanity’s first ancestors were appearing, and the oceans were 25 metres (82 feet) higher than they are today.
It could get even worse, if warming triggers feedback loops that release even more climate-warming carbon emissions — such as the melting of Arctic permafrost or the dieback of global forests.
Under these high-emissions scenarios, Earth could broil at temperatures 4.4C above the preindustrial average by the last two decades of this century. – Reuters
The following is a roundup of some of the latest scientific studies on the novel coronavirus and efforts to find treatments and vaccines for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).
Moderna’s vaccine may be best against Delta
The mRNA vaccine from Pfizer and BioNTech may be less effective than Moderna’s against the Delta variant of the coronavirus, according to two reports posted on medRxiv on Sunday ahead of peer review.
In a study of more than 50,000 patients in the Mayo Clinic Health System, researchers found the effectiveness of Moderna’s vaccine against infection had dropped to 76% in July — when the Delta variant was predominant — from 86% in early 2021. Over the same period, the effectiveness of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine had fallen to 42% from 76%, researchers said.
While both vaccines remain effective at preventing COVID hospitalization, a Moderna booster shot may be necessary soon for anyone who got the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines earlier this year, said Dr. Venky Soundararajan of Massachusetts data analytics company nference, who led the Mayo study.
In a separate study, elderly nursing home residents in Ontario produced stronger immune responses — especially to worrisome variants — after the Moderna vaccine than after the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine.
The elderly may need higher vaccine doses, boosters, and other preventative measures, said Anne-Claude Gingras of the Lunenfeld-Tanenbaum Research Institute in Toronto, who led the Canadian study.
When asked to comment on both research reports, a Pfizer spokesperson said, “We continue to believe… a third dose booster may be needed within 6 to 12 months after full vaccination to maintain the highest levels of protection.”
Breakthrough COVID-19 more likely months after vaccination
People who received their second dose of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine five or more months ago are more likely to test positive for COVID-19 than people who were fully vaccinated less than five months ago, new data suggest.
Researchers studied nearly 34,000 fully vaccinated adults in Israel who were tested to see if they had a breakthrough case of COVID-19. Overall, 1.8% tested positive. At all ages, the odds of testing positive were higher when the last vaccine dose was received at least 146 days earlier, the research team reported Thursday on medRxiv ahead of peer review.
Among patients older than 60, the odds of a positive test were almost three times higher when at least 146 days had passed since the second dose. Most of the new infections were observed recently, said coauthor Dr. Eugene Merzon of Leumit Health Services in Israel.
“Very few patients had required hospitalization, and it is too early to assess the severity of these new infections in terms of hospital admission, need for mechanical ventilation or mortality,” he added. “We are planning to continue our research.”
Ovarian egg sacs not harmed by COVID-19 antibodies
The sacs in the ovaries where eggs are stored are not harmed by COVID-19 antibodies, whether those antibodies are the result of infection or vaccination, a small study suggests.
Israeli researchers analyzed fluid from ovarian sacs, or follicles, from 32 women who were having their eggs retrieved to be fertilized by sperm in a test tube. Fourteen women had not been vaccinated against the coronavirus nor infected with it. The others had either recovered from COVID-19 or received the Pfizer/BioNTech mRNA vaccine, and in these two groups the researchers saw antibodies against the virus in follicle fluid.
There was no difference among the groups in the follicles’ ability to make female sex hormones, nourish and nuture the egg so it will form a good quality embryo, and release the egg during ovulation.
There was also no difference in “the rate of good quality embryos” from the eggs retrieved from each patient,” said Dr. Yaakov Bentov of Hadassah-Hebrew University Medical Center in Jerusalem, who coauthored a report published on Saturday in Human Reproduction. — Reuters
The Philippine economy exited the recession in the second quarter following five straight quarters of decline, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported earlier this morning.
The country’s gross domestic product (GDP) posted a year-on-year growth of 11.8% in the April to June period, a reversal from the revised 3.9% decline in the first quarter of 2021 and the record 17% plunge in the second quarter of 2020.
This marked the first time the Philippine economy posted growth since the fourth quarter of 2019, right before lockdown measures aimed to curb the spread of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) hampered economic activity.
On a year-on-year basis, the second-quarter result was the fastest growth recorded since the 12% print in the fourth quarter of 1988.
The country’s first-half performance stood at a 3.7% growth, still below the government’s growth target of 6-7% for this year.
Gross national income — the sum of the nation’s GDP and net income received from overseas — grew by 6.6% in the second quarter compared with the 17.6% contraction in 2020’s comparable three months. — Bernadette Therese M. Gadon
AGRICULTURAL output shrank by 1.5% in the second quarter. Hog production continued to decline due to the African Swine Fever outbreak. — PHILIPPINE STAR/ MICHAEL VARCAS
By Revin Mikhael D. Ochave, Reporter
PHILIPPINE AGRICULTURAL output contracted by an annual 1.5% in the second quarter due to a slump in livestock and fisheries production, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said on Monday.
In a report, the statistics agency said the value of agricultural production at constant 2018 prices declined by 1.5% during the April to June period, a reversal of the 0.5% growth during the same period in 2020.
“Decreases in the production levels were noted for livestock and fisheries. Meanwhile, production of crops and poultry posted increases during the period,” PSA said.
However, the second-quarter agricultural output drop is a slight improvement from the 3.4% decline seen in the first quarter.
Agriculture Secretary William D. Dar said in a mobile phone message that the figures show a “resilient agriculture” sector despite the ongoing coronavirus pandemic and the African Swine Fever (ASF) outbreak.
At current prices, the value of agricultural production stood at P503.3 billion in the second quarter, up 7.2% year on year.
The PSA is scheduled to release second-quarter gross domestic product (GDP) data on Tuesday morning. Agriculture usually contributes around a tenth to GDP.
For the first half, the value of agricultural production contracted by 2.5%, worse than the 0.6% drop a year ago.
Livestock production, which accounted for 14.2% of total farm output, slid by 19.3% in the April to June period. For the six-month period, livestock output declined by 21.4%, worse than the 4.5% contraction seen during the same period a year ago.
The ASF outbreak continued to affect the industry, with hog production falling 26.2% in the second quarter. In contrast, double-digit growth was seen for cattle (32.6%), carabao (26.2%), and goat (23.4%) production.
Rolando E. Tambago, Pork Producers Federation of the Philippines, Inc. president, said in a mobile phone message that hog production is expected to further drop until early 2022.
“Many hog raisers are still scared due to the risk of ASF and with low consumer demand brought by the COVID-19 pandemic,” Mr. Tambago said.
“Further, with the major consuming population affected by lockdowns, and with the entry of cheap pork imports, local pork producers just cannot compete in terms of production,” he added.
Fisheries output, which accounts for 16.1% of overall agricultural production, also slipped by 1.1% in the second quarter. For the first half, fisheries production dipped by 0.5%, easing from the -0.9% a year earlier.
The PSA reported double-digit declines in yellowfin tuna (-34.9%), roundscad (-18.3%), threadfin bream (-17.1%), frigate tuna (-16.9%), fimbriated sardines (-13.7%), skipjack (-12%), and Bali sardinella (-10%).
Other fish species saw higher output such as blue crab (24.2%), tilapia (14.3%), mudcrab (13.4%), milkfish (12.5%), grouper (8.7%), slipmouth (5.1%), squid (4%), and bigeye tuna (3%).
Roy S. Kempis, Pampanga State Agricultural University professor, said Filipinos’ fishing activity in the West Philippine Sea may have been affected by the presence of Chinese vessels.
“We are continually losing access to this fishing area. The other is water temperature in our seas. While warmer waters aid in food digestion in fish, there is a limit to this. Dissolved oxygen decreases as sea and freshwater temperature rises. This is stressful and could kill or develop diseases among fish,” Mr. Kempis said in a mobile phone message.
Meanwhile, crops and poultry production were bright spots for the agriculture sector in the second quarter.
Accounting for more than half of total agricultural output, crop production rose by 3.1% in the April to June period and by 3.2% in the first half.
Production of palay — or unmilled rice — and corn went up 1.2% and 6.3%, respectively.
Others crops that recorded double-digit growth in production include sugarcane (34.8%), potato (24.8%), onion (22%), and cabbage (13.1%). Other crops such as mongo (-8.5%), calamansi (-7.8%), cassava (-4.2%), tobacco (-2.1%), abaca (-1.2%), coffee (-0.3%), and mango (-0.2%) saw lower production.
Mr. Kempis said higher crop output can be attributed to the generally good weather in the second quarter.
“With good prices because of good quality harvest plus more quantity harvested, overall value of rice and corn rises,” he said.
Poultry production, which shared 13.5% of overall farm output, jumped 2.5% for the quarter. However, for the first half, poultry output fell by 2.6%.
PSA data showed production increased for duck (38.4%), chicken eggs (13.1%), and duck eggs (1.8%), while chicken production went down by 1.6%.
Rolando T. Dy, executive director of the Center for Food and Agri-Business of the University of Asia and the Pacific (UA&P), said in a mobile phone message that poultry production improved after a shift in demand when pork prices spiked due to the supply shortage earlier this year.
“The demand has shifted in terms of poultry production. I think hog production will face challenges until the end of the year,” Mr. Dy said.
PESSIMISTIC OUTLOOK The Department of Agriculture (DA) recently downgraded its full-year growth target for the agriculture sector to 2%, lower than its previous goal of 2.5%.
Foundation for Economic Freedom (FEF) President Calixto V. Chikiamco said the 2% growth target will now be harder to reach as a result of the second-quarter figures.
“It was also negative in the first quarter. Then you have another lockdown disrupting demand and production in the third quarter. I think full-year agricultural growth will now be at 1% growth or even less,” Mr. Chikiamco said in a mobile phone message.
Federation of Free Farmers (FFF) National Manager Raul Q. Montemayor said the agriculture sector has to show significant growth in the second semester to achieve the DA’s target.
“We need to achieve a 6.3% increase in gross value-added (GVA) for agriculture in the second half to end 2021 with a net 2% growth in constant 2018 prices. Between 2016 and 2020, the highest second semester growth rate was only 2.78% registered in 2017. This means that the 6.3% is historically difficult to achieve,” Mr. Montemayor said.
THE BUREAU of the Treasury (BTr) will likely launch its maiden issuance of retail dollar bonds (RDBs) later this year, as the capital region remains under the strictest form of lockdown.
“[The issuance is] not postponed since we have not officially set a launch date. Of course, plan is to do it this year,” National Treasurer Rosalia V. de Leon told reporters via Viber on Monday.
The Treasury in July revealed plans to launch its first-ever retail dollar-denominated bond offering by mid-August as the government seeks to raise more funds amid the pandemic.
Ms. De Leon said the BTr can no longer offer RDBs this month and will need to adjust its timetable to reassess market developments, particularly the reimposition of an enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) in Metro Manila and other provinces.
The government placed the National Capital Region, Laguna, Iloilo City, Cagayan de Oro and Gingoog City in Misamis Oriental under ECQ for two weeks until Aug. 20. Restrictions in most parts of the country have been tightened as well to curb the spread of the Delta variant of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).
For now, Ms. De Leon declined to give a firm timetable on when the RDBs will be launched this year.
The country’s onshore RDBs aim to provide safe investment opportunities for retail investors, especially overseas Filipino workers (OFWs), with a minimum investment of $300 (P15,000) and higher-than-market rates.
The government and its partner banks have adopted more ways to attract small investors to participate in the RDB offering, by removing the maintaining balance of dollar accounts that will be used to buy the securities.
The Department of Finance (DoF) said in a press release on Monday that several unnamed banks agreed to lower the minimum initial deposit and average daily balance requirement to zero for dollar accountholders who will buy RDBs, citing a report from the BTr.
Prior to this, depositors were required to have a balance of at least $500-$1,000 in their dollar accounts before they could invest.
The BTr said investors can buy the bonds by either using their dollar accounts with participating banks, or through the PesoClear option where holders of peso bank accounts can buy RDBs at their peso value based on the current exchange rates.
“During the life of the RDBs, the investor’s settlement bank will automatically convert the quarterly interest payments and principal repayment at maturity into pesos and credit these to the Philippine account of the investor, all at the market exchange rate during the transactions,” the Treasury said.
The bonds can be purchased through various online channels like the BTr’s online ordering facility, Bonds.PH mobile app, and the Overseas Filipino Bank (OFBank) mobile app. Opening dollar accounts can also be done online, according to the BTr.
The Treasury hosted several financial literacy webinars for OFWs in 20 countries to promote the RDBs.
The last time the BTr offered onshore dollar-denominated bonds was in December 2012, when it raised $500 million in 10.5-year bonds from $1.7 billion in total tenders. The issuance, however, was only available to institutional investors due to high minimum investment requirement.
Similar to the RDB is the peso-denominated retail Treasury bonds (RTBs) that the government offers each year to attract retail investments to invest in safe assets at relatively higher rates.
In March, the BTr raised P463.3 billion in three-year RTBs to mark its second-biggest retail bond sale in history, following the record P516.3 billion sold in five-year papers last year.
The government aims to raise P3 trillion from local and foreign lenders this year to plug the budget deficit seen to widen to 9.3% of gross domestic product. — B.M.Laforga
THE PHILIPPINE ECONOMY in the first quarter declined at a slower pace than previously reported, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said a day before it announces preliminary figures for the second quarter.
Gross domestic product (GDP) — the value of all finished goods and services produced in the country at a given period — fell by 3.9% in the January-March period, slower than the 4.2% drop initially reported on May 11, the PSA said on Monday.
The services sector fell by 4.1% in the first quarter, slower than the initially reported decline of 4.4%.
The following subsectors in services saw higher growth or slower contractions in the revisions for the first quarter: professional and business services (-4.4% from -6.5%); real estate and ownership of dwellings (-11.7% from -13.2%); human health and social work activities (13.2% from 11.7%); education (0.2% from -1%); wholesale and retail trade (-3.4% from -3.9%); and information and communication (6.5% from 6.3%).
Meanwhile, sharper declines or slower growth were noted in the following subsectors: accommodation and food service activities (-22.5% from -20.6%); financial and insurance activities (4.3% from 5.2%); transportation and storage (-19.6% from -18.8%); and other services (-38.7% from -38%).
The industry sector’s performance was revised to a 4.4% contraction in the first quarter, from the initial 4.7% drop. Subsectors that saw upward revisions were mining and quarrying (1% from -1%) and construction (-22.6% from -24.2%).
Electricity, steam and water and waste management posted slower growth at 1.1% from 1.9% previously. On the other hand, manufacturing growth was roughly unchanged at 0.5%.
The decline in the agriculture, hunting, forestry, and fishing sector was revised to 1.3% from 1.2% initially.
Among the items on the expenditure side, capital formation saw the largest revision with a 14.8% decline in the first quarter compared with the initial 18.3% during the same period.
Household spending posted a revised 4.7% fall from the previously reported 4.8% drop, while government spending remained steady with a 16.1% growth.
Trade in goods and services figures were also tweaked, with exports (-8.8% from -9%) and imports (-7% from -8.3%) contracting less than initially reported.
“The revision to the first-quarter GDP is a welcome development and a reminder of how the economic recovery and virus mitigation go hand in hand,” said ING N.V. Bank Manila Branch Senior Economist Nicholas Antonio T. Mapa in an e-mail.
He added that the major contributors such as construction and select services likely benefited from the looser mobility restrictions at the time when the country was reporting relatively low new cases of COVID-19.
Meanwhile, Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. Chief Economist Michael L. Ricafort attributed the upward revision to faster infrastructure spending and the accommodative monetary policy by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), which kept key interest rates at the record-low 2%.
“The start of the vaccination versus COVID-19 in the country since March could have also helped boost confidence by both businesses and consumers, thereby supporting economic recovery prospects for more industries,” he said in a separate e-mail.
The first-quarter 2021 revision comes ahead of Tuesday’s release of the preliminary estimate for GDP performance in the second quarter.
A BusinessWorld poll of 20 analysts yielded a GDP growth estimate of 10.6% for the second quarter, a turnaround from the annual contractions of 3.9% and 17% posted in the first quarter of 2021 and the second quarter of 2020, respectively.
The government expects the economy to grow by 6-7% this year.
“We expect all sectors to contribute to growth save for the government expenditures on the expenditure accounts. [Based on industrial origin], both services and industry are set to post double-digit gains while agriculture [is expected to be] pulled back,” Mr. Mapa said on his outlook for the second quarter.
However, he noted that the double-digit growth across these sectors is driven largely by base effects and that quarter-on-quarter growth is likely to remain negative given the reimposition of a lockdown in April, coupled with elevated unemployment and soured sentiment by the second quarter onwards.
“As such, the Philippines exited recession [in the second quarter] but will likely experience a double-dip recession by the third quarter after quarter-on-quarter GDP falls negative for at least two quarters,” Mr. Mapa said.
Mr. Ricafort, for his part, said measures to further reopen the economy would have supported the rebound in the second quarter if it were not for the stricter restrictions imposed in late March to mid-April.
He cited increased government spending, the implementation of a law that cuts corporate income tax and reforms the tax incentive system, and low interest rates as economic drivers for the second quarter.
The Philippine economy may still expand in the third quarter due to base effects, Mr. Ricafort said, with the ongoing two-week enhanced community quarantine in Metro Manila and other areas weighing on growth.
RESIDENTIAL HOUSEHOLDS consuming 200 kilowatt-hours (kWh) will see an increase of around P19 in their electric power bills in August, after Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) raised rates on the back of higher transmission charges.
In a statement on Monday, Meralco said that the overall rate for August rose by P0.0965 per kWh to P9.0036 per kWh from last month’s P8.9071 per kWh, mainly due to the higher transmission fees.
Households consuming 300 kWh, 400 kWh and 500 kWh, will see an increase of P29, P39 and P48, respectively, in this month’s bills.
“This month’s rate is still lower than the pre-pandemic rate — when it settled at P9.5674 (per kWh) in August 2019 and P10.2190 (per kWh) in August 2018 — proof that the series of competitive biddings by Meralco resulted in lower electricity charges,” the utility giant said.
Meralco said that its transmission charge went up by P0.1331 per kWh to P0.7323 per kWh on higher ancillary service or reserve charges, which made up 36% of the grid operator’s total transmission charge.
Despite the rise in transmission charges, higher power rates in August were cushioned by the implementation of the distribution rate true-up refund.
“The refund rate for residential customers is at P0.2761 per kWh and appears in customer bills as a line item called ‘Dist True-Up,’” Meralco said.
The energy regulator previously approved Meralco’s proposal to refund around P13.9 billion over a 24-month period. This represents the difference between the actual weighted average tariff and the Energy Regulatory Commission’s approved interim average rate for distribution-related charges from July 2015 to November 2020.
Meralco also gave updates on its generation charge which inched up this month, after registering an increase of P0.0615 per kWh to P4.9322 per kWh.
However, the firm said the higher generation charge was offset by lower subsidies, taxes, and other fees, which decreased by P0.0981 per kWh.
Charges from the Independent Power Producers (IPPs) also went up by P0.7389 per kWh due to the continued depreciation of the peso, and higher natural gas prices from the offshore Malampaya field.
“The increase in IPP charges was mitigated by the decrease in charges of Power Supply Agreements (PSA) and the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM), which registered reductions of P0.0347 and P2.6903 per kWh, respectively,” Meralco said.
PSA charges slipped after plants operated by the Ayala-led AC Energy Corp. sold excess power at a discount. Meanwhile, WESM prices decreased in the second half of July on the back of improved operations of generating facilities and cooler temperatures.
PSA, IPP, and WESM accounted for 53%, 40.8%, and 6.2% of Meralco’s power requirements.
The distribution utility said that its distribution, supply, and metering charges have been unchanged for 73 months, after recording reductions back in July 2015.
It emphasized that it does not earn from generation and transmission charges, since these payments go to power suppliers and the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines, respectively.
Meralco also said it remits taxes, universal charges and the feed-in-tariff allowance to the government.
Shares of Meralco in the local bourse shed 2.17% or P6 to close at P270 each on Monday.
Meralco’s controlling stakeholder, Beacon Electric Asset Holdings, Inc., is partly owned by PLDT, Inc.
Hastings Holdings, Inc., a unit of PLDT Beneficial Trust Fund subsidiary MediaQuest Holdings, Inc., which has interest in BusinessWorld through the Philippine Star Group, which it controls. — Angelica Y. Yang
