How PSEi member stocks performed — August 11, 2020
Here’s a quick glance at how PSEi stocks fared on Tuesday, August 11, 2020.
Peso returns to P48:$1 level on Duterte’s remarks
THE PESO surged to return to the P48-per-dollar level on Tuesday following signals from President Rodrigo R. Duterte that the stricter lockdown in Metro Manila will be lifted by next week.
The local unit finished trading at P48.92 per dollar on Tuesday, stronger by nine centavos from its P49.01 close on Monday, data from the Bankers Association of the Philippines showed.
The peso opened the session at P49.08 per dollar, which was also its weakest showing for the day. Its intraday best was its close of P48.92.
Dollars traded increased to P743.4 million from the P409.3 million recorded on Monday.
The peso’s gain came after Mr. Duterte’s remarks that the modified enhanced community quarantine (MECQ) is unlikely to be extended beyond Aug. 18, said Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. Chief Economist Michael L. Ricafort.
“The peso closed stronger amid some signals from Malacañang that the MECQ may be eased to GCQ (general community quarantine) after Aug. 18,” Mr. Ricafort said in a text message.
Metro Manila and some nearby provinces have been put back under lockdown in response to the plea of frontline health workers to slow down the continued infection surge and help the healthcare system not reach exhaustion. However, Mr. Duterte on Monday said funds are running out and Filipinos need “to get out and work” in order to eat.
Meanwhile, a trader said the peso’s appreciation was on the back of signals from the central bank that key policy rates are likely to be maintained.
“The peso strengthened after BSP Governor [Benjamin E.] Diokno hinted that the BSP might keep key interest rates unchanged in its policy meeting this month,” the trader said in an e-mail.
Mr. Diokno said on Monday there is “no compelling reason” to move rates sooner and added their monetary policy stance “could hold for the next few quarters” as their aggressive easing earlier this year is already anticipatory in nature.
The 175 basis points in rate cuts so far this year brought the overnight reverse repurchase, lending, and deposit rates to record lows of 2.25%, 2.75% and 1.75%, respectively. The Monetary Board’s next policy-setting meeting is scheduled on Aug. 20.
For today, the trader expects the local unit to move within the P48.80 to P49 band versus the dollar while Mr. Ricafort gave a forecast range of P48.85 to P49.05. — L.W.T. Noble
PSEi rises as Duterte hints of easing lockdown
By Denise A. Valdez, Senior Reporter
LOCAL SHARES closed higher on Tuesday over investor optimism that the current two-week lockdown will not be extended beyond Aug. 18.
The 30-member Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) climbed by 23.02 points or 0.38% to close at 5,953.94. The broader all shares index moved up 23.92 points or 0.68% to end at 3,537.29.
“The PSEi inched higher (on Tuesday) as investors drew optimism from President Duterte’s speech (on Monday) wherein he announced that the current (lockdown) on Metro Manila will not be extended to allow the economy to recover,” AAA Southeast Equities, Inc. Research Head Christopher John Mangun said in an e-mail.
President Rodrigo R. Duterte in a televised speech on Monday night told healthcare workers he can no longer respond to requests for a lockdown as “funds are already depleted.”
“I can’t stop the public from going out anymore, because I don’t have money to provide for them. They need to go out to work,” he said in Filipino.
This means the stricter lockdown in Metro Manila and select areas — in place from Aug. 4-18 — is unlikely to be extended.
“(The PSEi rose) as investors look forward to the upcoming meeting of top trade officials between the US and China, set to happen this weekend,” Timson Securities, Inc. Trader Darren T. Pangan said in a text message.
In an interview with Xinhua news agency, China’s central bank governor said the country will uphold its commitment to the US for the “phase one” trade deal, despite the tarnished relationship of the two countries relating to the coronavirus pandemic.
“In the remaining days of the week, we’ll have to see if the index revisits the 6,000 territory which most market participants see as a significant resistance area, otherwise 5,800 seems to be the nearest support area,” Mr. Pangan added.
Four of six sectoral indices ended Tuesday’s session with gains. Services rose 21.96 points or 1.52% to 1,459.08; holding firms improved 38.29 points or 0.63% to 6,114.85; property climbed 8.16 points or 0.28% to 2,892.28; and mining and oil picked up 1.71 points or 0.02% to 5,857.96.
On the other hand, financials lost 5.52 points or 0.49% to 1,110.13; and industrials slipped 3.45 points or 0.04% to 7,819.52 at the close of trading.
Value turnover on Tuesday stood at P5.07 billion with 5.31 billion issues switching hands, up from the previous day’s P4.88 billion with 82.96 billion issues.
Advancers outpaced decliners, 115 against 84, while 38 names ended unchanged.
Foreign investors remained sellers, but net outflows were trimmed to P377.14 million from P714.27 million the previous day.
“The general sentiment remains cautious as investors await monetary or fiscal policy adjustment from the central bank in next week’s meeting,” Mr. Mangun said.
Duterte vows to ‘finish off’ PhilHealth officials
PRESIDENT Rodrigo R. Duterte has vowed to “finish off” Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) officials involved in irregularities at the agency even if he has no plan to fire its chief.
“I will finish all of you off,” he said in a speech in Filipino on Monday night. “Believe me.”
Top officials of the state insurance company are under investigation by the Senate. The Presidential Anti-Corruption Commission (PACC) is also conducting a separate probe.
Presidential spokesman Harry L. Roque told a news briefing Mr. Duterte won’t fire PhilHealth President Ricardo C. Morales. “I haven’t heard the President say that he would choose a new PhilHealth chief,” he said in Filipino.
Mr. Duterte last week created a task force headed by the Department of Justice that will investigate PhilHealth, including doing lifestyle checks and audits of its officials and employees.
The President has also ordered the Office of the Special Assistant to the President Undersecretary Jesus Melchor Quitain to conduct a separate probe.
Mr. Morales earlier filed to take a medical leave after he was diagnosed with cancer in February.
The agency allegedly bought overpriced items and gave financial aid to ineligible health facilities.
The PACC last week said it had recommended the filing of charges against three dozen PhilHealth officials, which the Senate may adopt in its committee report.
The Senate committee might recommend that charges be filed by the Office of the Ombudsman and the Department of Justice once it ends its investigation, Senate President Vicente C. Sotto III said on Monday.
PhilHealth officials tried to buy obsolete network switches that were five times the price of newer models last year, according to the resigned aide of the state insurance company’s chief.
The agency nearly bought 15 units of an older model of a Cisco device used to manage computers in a local area network for P420,000 when a newer model costs only P62,000 each, Etrobal Laborte, who resigned as head executive assistant of PhilHealth President Ricardo Morales told an online Senate hearing on Tuesday.
“That item was a bit old,” he told senators investigating corruption at the agency. The price has depreciated over time. It’s already obsolete because it was from 2016.”
Jovita V. Aragona, PhilHealth senior vice-president for Information Management Sector, tried to counter Mr. Laborte’s testimony, saying the former top aide had presented a different product.
Mr. Laborte, a former Marine colonel and Cisco-certified network associate, then presented a document showing that Ms. Aragona had signed papers approving the purchase.
Ms. Aragona insisted that the Cisco products were different, but Senator Panfilo M. Lacson cut her short, warned her not to fool senators.
“Don’t fool the 24 senators,” he said at the hearing in Filipino. “You changed the specifications to justify what you bought.”
Mr. Lacson said the purchase should have been rejected because it was no longer available in the market.
“You’re trying to fool us by claiming that you were buying something else when you have your signature here,” he said.
Mr. Laborte said he had written to Mr. Morales about the discrepancy, telling him that the agency should not buy products based on 2016 prices because these have become cheaper.
“This is a small apparatus that a five-year-old child can carry,” he said in Filipino.“Why should we buy it for almost P400,000? What is this, a car?”
Mr. Laborte also testified that suppliers of several IT equipment had been asked to charge for the training of some IT officials at PhilHealth. He added that the agency should have hired IT staff who already knew how to operate these equipment.
The PhilHealth chief had yet to act on Mr. Laborte’s recommendation to probe the alleged padding of prices at the insurance agency’s IT department.
Mr. Morales earlier said some officials have been trying to discredit the agency’s computerization program because it would be easier to discover anomalies.
“Who will be made liable for the attempted overpricing of equipment” Mr. Lacson asked. “This is not just overpriced. It’s grossly overpriced.”
ADVANCED RELEASE
Meanwhile, senators questioned the legality of a PhilHealth order dated March 20 that provided for the interim reimbursement mechanism, when the Philhealth Board issued its resolution only on March 31.
The mechanism allowed the agency to grant advance payments to health institutions by up to three months during the pandemic, even if only P1 billion had been liquidated.
Mr. Lacson also flagged the month-long delay in the dissemination of the standard operating procedure for the reimbursement mechanism. He said fund releases had reached P9.3 billion even if the manual had not been distributed.
Mr. Morales said the agency had fast-tracked the releases in anticipation of the coronavirus outbreak.
“As of January 2020, we were in a state of anxiety,” he said at Tuesday’s hearing. “We knew COVID was coming, we knew how it hit other countries, we were in a state of panic. We wanted to be preemptive to be able to help prepare our hospitals,” he added.
Senator Franklin M. Drilon doubted his explanation, noting that Health Secretary Francisco T. Duque III had started his COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019) response in March.
“Obviously, this is an excuse because your secretary of Health did not do anything until mid-March,” he said.
PhilHealth Vice-President for Operations Augustus de Villa last week quit his job but promised to cooperate with the congressional probe. Mr. De Villa, a retired military officer, said he had briefed Mr. Morales about his resignation.
Former PhilHealth anti-fraud legal officer Thorsson Keith told senators at a hearing the agency’s top officials had pocketed P15 billion through fraudulent programs.
He said the sum came from overpriced equipment the agency had bought, as well as from a program that gave financial aid to health facilities amid a coronavirus pandemic. Mr. Keith called PhilHealth executive committee officers in-house mafia members.
The agency allegedly gave advance payments to health institutions by up to three months during the pandemic, even if only P1 billion had been liquidated.
PhilHealth has denied the allegations. — Charmaine A. Tadalan and Gillian M. Cortez
Delivery of Russian vaccine expected as early as September
PRESIDENT Rodrigo R. Duterte said he expects to take delivery of coronavirus vaccine shots from Russia soon.
In a speech on Monday evening, Mr. Duterte said he was overjoyed that Russia had offered to send the Philippines COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019) vaccines.
“They said they will give us vaccines,” he said in Filipino. “They never mentioned charging for them.”
Mr. Duterte said he would volunteer to get injected in public, adding that he has “huge trust” in the Russian vaccine.
He said the Russian vaccines could come by September or October, adding that the Philippines would have a “COVID-free December.”
Russia has developed the first vaccine offering “sustainable immunity” against the coronavirus, President Vladimir Putin announced on Tuesday.
“This morning, for the first time in the world, a vaccine against the new coronavirus was registered” in Russia, he said during a televised video conference call with government ministers.
Mr. Duterte also said China would prioritize the Philippines once it finds its own vaccine against the coronavirus.
The Department of Health (DoH) reported 2,987 new coronavirus infections on Tuesday, bringing the total to 139,538.
The death toll rose to 2,312 after 19 more patients died, while recoveries increased by 280 to 68,432, it said in a bulletin.
DoH said there were 68,794 active cases, 92% of which were mild, 7.2% did not show symptoms, and less than 1% each were severe and critical.
Of the new cases, 1,510 came from Metro Manila, 398 from Cavite, 144 from Laguna, 135 from Iloilo and 119 from Cebu, it said.
The agency said 1,290 new cases were reported in the past three days, while 1,697 were reported late.
Seven of the 19 patients who died were from Metro Manila, six from Central Visayas, three from Calabarzon, and one each from the Ilocos region, Western Visayas and repatriates. More than 1.7 million individuals have been tested.
The Department of Health on Monday said it has allotted P2.4 billion for coronavirus vaccines in its budget for next year but it could change depending on the price. — Vann Marlo M. Villegas
Gov’t to bring home 1,000 migrant Pinoys from Qatar — DoLE
THE Department of Labor and Employment (DoLE) will bring home more than 1,000 overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) from Qatar starting Wednesday.
Three chartered flights for 1,062 OFWs had been arranged by the government’s Doha, Qatar Philippine Overseas Labor Office, Labor Secretary Silvestre H. Bello III said in a statement on Tuesday.
The agency said the first batch of 354 distressed Filipino workers would fly home on Wednesday.
The two other flights will be on Aug. 19 and 26, and will bring home 354 OFWs each.
The Labor department said 2,327 OFWs had been repatriated from Qatar amid a global coronavirus pandemic.
The virus has sickened 20.3 million and killed about 740,000 people worldwide, according to the Worldometers website, citing various sources including data from the World Health Organization.
About 13.2 million have recovered from the virus, it said.
The government has allotted P5 billion more to help OFWs affected by the global coronavirus pandemic, according to the Labor department.
President Rodrigo R. Duterte approved the release of the fund for the repatriation of migrant Filipinos and other aid, Mr. Bello said on Sunday.
The agency said the P5 billion would be released to the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA), which is in charge of facilitating the return of OFWs.
The OWWA also pays for the COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019) tests, accommodation of overseas workers under quarantine and their return to their home provinces.
The Labor department earlier said its P2.5-billion emergency fund for OFWs had been depleted. The fund helped about 250,000 OFWs but the agency received half a million applications for aid. — GMC
Regional Updates (08/11/20)
LRT-1 operator cuts over 100 jobs due to low ridership
LIGHT RAIL Manila Corporation (LRMC), the private operator of LRT-1, is letting go of over 100 employees or about 20% of its workforce due to a significant drop in ridership amid the coronavirus pandemic, the company’s spokesperson said. Jacqueline Gorospe, LRMC corporate communications head, told reporters via Viber on Tuesday that the reduction of LRMC’s workforce was triggered by the 90% drop in LRT-1’s ridership. “LRMC management has been closely monitoring the COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019) pandemic situation from the start and has been taking appropriate measures, balancing its financial position while looking after its team members,” she said. “However, as LRMC has scaled down operations during the quarantine period and deferred some projects, the company recognizes the need to optimize human resources by reducing the size of its workforce. This will aim to right-size the organization to better suit the current and future business conditions, as well as maintain stability while navigating through the uncertainty of this global crisis,” she added. The workforce reduction takes effect Sept. 15. The company said all affected employees will receive separation benefits as well as training on alternative livelihood and investment as well as mental health support. LRMC is the consortium composed of Ayala Corp., Metro Pacific Light Rail Corp., and Macquarie Infrastructure Holdings (Philippines) Pte. Ltd. Metro Pacific Rail is a unit of Metro Pacific Investments Corp., one of three Philippine subsidiaries of Hong Kong’s First Pacific Co. Ltd., the others being PLDT, Inc. and Philex Mining Corp. Hastings Holdings, Inc., a unit of PLDT Beneficial Trust Fund subsidiary MediaQuest Holdings, Inc., maintains an interest in BusinessWorld through the Philippine Star Group. — Arjay L. Balinbin
New Metro Manila price list for farm, fishery products out
THE DEPARTMENT of Agriculture (DA) has released a new suggested retail price (SRP) list for basic farm and fishery goods sold in Metro Manila wet markets. In a virtual briefing Tuesday, DA spokesperson Noel O. Reyes announced that Agriculture Secretary William D. Dar signed Administrative Circular No. 10, which adjusts the prices of select food products amid Metro Manila’s return to stricter lockdown protocols. The products covered include imported rice, pork, eggs, and sugar, among others. “We urge sellers in markets, talipapas, and palengkes selling these products to follow the newly adjusted SRP list,” Mr. Reyes said. The list may be accessed at www.da.gov.ph/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/ac10_s2020.pdf. — Revin Mikhael D. Ochave
WVMC laboratory in Iloilo closed after staff tests positive for COVID-19; regional hospital in Bacolod at full bed capacity
THE ILOILO City-based Western Visayas Medical Center’s (WVMC) laboratory, one of the accredited facilities for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) testing, has been temporarily closed starting Aug. 11 after one of its staff has been confirmed to be positive of the virus. “The WVMC Integrated Laboratory including the (COVID-19) Sub national laboratory are undergoing decontamination following the confirmation that one of its medical laboratory technologists is COVID-19 positive,” the hospital’s management said in a statement. Operations will resume “the soonest that decontamination process is completed and our personnel is safe to serve the public.” Aside from WVMC, there are five other accredited COVID-19 laboratories in the Western Visayas Region. Two are government-owned, the CLMM Regional Hospital and the TLJ Provincial Hospital. The three others are private, one located in Iloilo City and two in Bacolod City. Meanwhile, the CLMM (Corazon Locsin Montelibano Memorial) hospital in Bacolod City has suspended the admission of COVID-19 patients as all its 74 allocated beds are now occupied. “The hospital has already reached its full bed-capacity allocated for… patients who are in moderate to critical condition,” said Medical Center Chief Julius M. Drilon in a statement on Monday. The CLMM hospital is also postponing the reopening of its out-patient services, which was supposed to resume Aug. 12, except for those undergoing chemotherapy.
Cagayan de Oro offers isolation facilities to Iligan COVID-19 patients
CAGAYAN DE Oro Mayor Oscar S. Moreno has offered the city’s isolation and treatment facilities for use of mild coronavirus patients from Iligan City to avoid overwhelming the region’s referral hospital. “We don’t want a situation in which the national government will have to send their people to Iligan City similar to what happened in Cebu City and even Zamboanga City. We want to avoid a surge in COVID-19 cases that would overwhelm Northern Mindanao Medical Center (NMMC) and result in a region wide lockdown that would make life harder for the people of Cagayan de Oro,” Mr. Moreno said in a briefing on Aug. 10. The hospital is located in Cagayan de Oro. As of Aug. 9, the Northern Mindanao region recorded 729 coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases, with 333 active, 384 recoveries, and 12 deaths. Majority of the active cases in the region are returning residents at 283, who are under treatment as outpatients. Among locals, Iligan City has the highest number at 29, of which 16 were recorded from Aug. 3-9. NMMC liaison officer Bernard Julius Rocha, meanwhile, said they are further upgrading their facilities in anticipation of more patients once the national government lifts the flight ban in Metro Manila.
Cell tower pending applications down to 428; 1,502 approved
SOME 428 applications for cell tower permits remain pending with local governments this year, while 1,502 have been approved, Interior Secretary Eduardo M. Año said late Monday after meeting with President Rodrigo R. Duterte.
“Ang natira na lang po ay 428 na pending application at ito po ay babantayan namin para siguradong hindi po magtatagal dahil sa lumang sistema, 241 days, 19 permits at saka 86 document requirements (What’s left now are 428 pending applications and we are closely monitoring them to make sure they don’t take excessively long because under the old system, tower approvals took 241 days, 19 permits, and 86 documentary requirements),” Mr. Año said at a video briefing before the government’s coronavirus task force.
He said that the applicants are “Touch Mobile, Globe Telecommunication, Smart Communication, and Dito Telecommunity Corp.” and that the Local Government Units (LGUs) with pending applications totaled 80 – 55 provinces and 25 cities.
Local-government approvals have been identified as a key source of delay by telecommunications companies, which are trying to improve tower numbers to raise the standard of service in the wireless market.
Mr. Duterte said in the meeting that waiting over 200 days for a permit approval is “unacceptable,” according to the transcript of the briefing.
The President in his annual address to Congress threatened telecommunications companies with expropriation of service standards do not improve, but in a subsequent meeting with industry officials, the LGUs were identified as a bottleneck.
Last week the Anti-Red Tape Authority (ARTA) said it will deem as approved all tower permits that take longer than seven days.
ARTA derives its authority from Republic Act (RA) No. 11032, or the Ease of Doing Business and Efficient Government Service Delivery Act of 2018.
The law sets for government agencies approval deadlines of three working days for simple transactions, seven working days for complex transactions, and 20 working days for highly technical applications.
In applying the seven-day standard, ARTA appears to have classified tower applications as “complex transactions” and signaled its intent to enforce the provisions of RA No. 11032. — Gillian M. Cortez
BoC container-scanning yields P72B in revenue
THE Bureau of Customs (BoC) said expanded container-scanning capacity has generated P72.685 billion in duties and taxes arising directly from the issuance of 93 warrants of seizure and detention in the seven months to July.
In a statement Tuesday, the BoC said the number of containers scanned during the period rose to 244,040 from 181,382 a year earlier.
The BoC has 124 x-ray machines as of last month.
“The x-ray scanners are expected to enhance the capability of BoC in detecting smuggled and… misdeclared items, undervalued goods, undeclared goods,” it said.
It said advanced x-ray machines allow for faster and non-intrusive inspections.
“The BoC, through the XIP (the X-ray Inspection Project), ensures the public that it will continue to design measures to ease customs operations, minimize unnecessary delays and enhance trade facilitation,” it said.
The bureau collected P50.07 billion last month, beating its target by 5.03%. However, the year-to-date collections of P303.13 billion were short of the P314.3-billion target.
The BoC collection target for the year was trimmed to P542 billion from the original pre-pandemic goal of P730 billion, in anticipation of a severe economic downturn. — Beatrice M. Laforga
Agriculture dep’t aims to double value of farm and fishery exports to Canada
THE Philippines aims to export more farm and fishery products to Canada with a target of doubling the value of such shipments over the medium term, the Department of Agriculture (DA) said.
In a virtual call with new Canadian Ambassador to the Philippines Peter MacArthur on Aug. 7, Agriculture Secretary William D. Dar said that an agreement has been reached to expand areas of agricultural cooperation and partnership in potato and dairy production, food logistics and markets, and agroforestry, among others.
“We wish to improve our balance of trade with Canada in succeeding years by selling more Filipino products like coconut water, virgin coconut oil (VCO), pineapples, mangoes, and melons,” Mr. Dar said.
Mr. MacArthur said that Canada is ready to assist the government in building producers’ markets, enhancing food supply logistics, and implementing an agro-forestry program that will benefit indigenous communities.
According to the DA, the Philippines exported around $98.8 million worth of farm and fishery products to Canada in 2019.
Coconut products led all exports at $23.8 million, followed by pineapple, dried guava, mango, and mangosteen amounting to $10.3 million, and fish products such as tuna and bangus worth $9.4 million.
“With about one million Filipinos residing and working in Canada — representing 2.7% of that country’s 37.7 million population, according to latest estimates — demand for various Philippine food products is expected to grow,” the DA said.
The DA said that in 2019, Canada exported $192 million worth of food products to the Philippines.
Frozen pork and offal amounted to $57.3 million, followed by deboned meat, ham, and other meat products $20 million, potatoes $11.6 million, and pig fat $6.7 million.
Mr. Dar said the first phase of adaptation tests for eight Canadian potato varieties were completed in Buguias, Benguet province while the second phase will start in October.
“If the adaptation trials succeed, yielding quality and cost-efficient potatoes (compared with) traditional varieties, Cordillera farmers could subsequently produce their own seed instead of relying on imports, and produce in commercial quantities for both table and processing use,” Mr. Dar said.
The potato trial is a joint project of the DA’s Cordillera Administrative Region high-value crops development program, Canada’s Prince Edward Island Potato Board, and the Canadian Embassy. — Revin Mikhael D. Ochave
Pandemic to hit low, mid-level workers hard — ADB
THE pandemic will affect some parts of the labor market more severely, worsening conditions for the low and medium-skill segments just as employers are embarking on their digital transformations, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) said.
In a policy brief, the bank said the pandemic will polarize the labor market, pushing workers into lower-paying jobs, with the exception of those at the very top of the skills ladder.
“Without conscious effort and effective policies, therefore, the unequal impact of COVID-19 on jobs will hit the most vulnerable individuals and communities. They will continue to face greater risks of unemployment, financial losses, and health hazards, exacerbating socioeconomic inequalities and undermining inclusive growth efforts,” the ADB said.
While job polarization is widespread in advanced economies due to the automation of routine work, the ADB said developing countries should also prepare for disruptions as they too start automating while job offshoring activity slows.
Post-COVID-19, it said the digital transformation of the workplace will likely accelerate after offices encountered work-from-home by necessity and learn to integrate it into their operations.
“However, as digital transformation accelerates, job polarization and displacement of middle-skill workers are raising concerns about income polarization, inequality, and inadequate social protection,” it said.
It said there could be a “significant reallocation of jobs” in the coming years, highlighting the need for more training programs and better labor policy as the trends favor the more highly-skilled.
In low- and middle-income countries, automation and increased reshoring of jobs may put those working in the service sector at risk, it said.
Meanwhile, less-skilled workers are at “greater risk” as more companies are projected to increase their reliance on robots and other technologies.
The ADB said “informal workers are at particular risk” especially those employed in the sectors hardest hit by the pandemic such as manufacturing, wholesale and retail trade, transportation and storage, and accommodation and food service.
It also said most women, youth and rural workers have it worse as they account for a large percentage of the informal economy, some have less education, receive lower wages, and “are also often overrepresented in low-skill services.”
Aside from the unequal starting points for various sectors, the ADB said the digital divide in developing countries may also widen between rich and poor, urban and rural, young and old, and men and women.
“The gap in digital readiness and various forms of the digital divide can have longer-term and lasting impact on inequality among individuals and in social groupings and countries,” it said. — Beatrice M. Laforga