Facebook Instagram Linkedin Twitter Youtube
Home Blog Page 8583

Central Luzon reopens economy amid COVID-19

Clark International Airport
Construction has resumed at Clark International Airport. Authorities hope to reopen by the end of the year or the beginning of 2021.

Around 80,000 employees have returned to work

By Mariel Alison L. Aguinaldo

Companies across various industries have restarted their operations in Central Luzon amid the COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019) pandemic.

“We can no longer stay in this prolonged lockdown because the economy is reeling from the effects not only of COVID-19 but of the lockdown. We have to start easing up slowly but surely,” said Vince Dizon, president and chief executive officer of the Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA), during the Asia CEO Clark Online Forum held on July 16.

As of July 15, there were 766 active cases of COVID-19 in Central Luzon, making it the region with the fourth-highest number of active cases after the National Capital Region (15,947 cases), Central Visayas (7,488 cases), and CALABARZON (2,387 cases), according to data from the Department of Health.

Mr. Dizon reported that around 80,000 employees or 65% of Clark’s total workforce, across industries such as manufacturing, leisure, and business process outsourcing (BPO), have returned to work.

Dennis Magbatoc, industry head of One Luzon at PLDT Enterprise, shared that businesses in Clark Freeport Zone have been utilizing PLDT and Smart’s internet network for online selling and payment transactions. He cited Home2Home, Mekeni Food Corporation’s own delivery service for their products, which was launched in April during the lockdown.

PLDT also partnered with the Department of Education (DepEd), Commission on Higher Education (CHED), and other academic institutions in the region. For instance, ePLDT, the company’s information and communications technology (ICT) arm, is helping students and teachers of Holy Cross Colleges in Pampanga to access school systems and records from home through Microsoft Azure, an enterprise-grade cloud computing platform.

Other experts in the forum said the pandemic has actually floated new opportunities. Cathy Saldana, managing director of architecture firm PDP Architects, discussed how health concerns are influencing design.

“We are seeing new communities now that are being remaster-planned and repurposed to accommodate a way of living that practices social distancing, that allows for people to still interact and yet create a whole new way of living where there is that element of safety, where health and wellness is a priority,” she said.

Mr. Dizon likewise believes in the economic benefits of infrastructure. He shared how construction has resumed at Clark International Airport, in the hopes of re-opening by the end of the year or the beginning of 2021.

“It’s meant not only to create jobs but to create all the necessary multiplier effects that infrastructure provides… Having a new airport makes it easier for tourism to kickstart and makes it easier for businesses to kickstart, knowing that there is a new gateway to the country,” he said.

While the kickstarting of the economy is vital, participants emphasized that this should not make the pandemic any less of a threat or priority. As more people return to on-site work, local government units (LGUs), the private sector, and citizens must be even more vigilant and disciplined in following health and safety protocols, they said.

“That’s what I wanted to talk about: how each and every LGU, each and every company, and most importantly, each and every individual, needs to pitch in to this effort. Because the national government cannot do this alone,” said Mr. Dizon.

Apple expands news offerings with audio, local newspaper stories

Apple Inc. on Wednesday expanded its news offerings with audio versions of stories narrated by voice actors for subscribers, a morning newscast hosted by two journalists, and more access to local newspaper stories.

Apple says it has 125 million monthly active users of its Apple News product, but it does not disclose revenues or the number of subscribers to the paid version, Apple News+, which costs $9.99 a month for US users. The iPhone maker maintains a staff of editors that curate the stories in both the paid and free versions of its app.

Apple said Wednesday that paying subscribers will gain access to audio versions of longer stories from magazines such as Esquire and Vanity Fair, along with newspapers such as The Wall Street Journal, and the Los Angeles Times.

The audio effort intensifies competition with Amazon.com Inc and Alphabet Inc.’s Google, both of whom offer audio news options on their smart home speakers, as well as Spotify Technology SA, which has been expanding its podcast business with news content.

Apple is also launching a weekday morning audio news program called Apple News Today, which will be hosted by New York-based journalists Shumita Basu and Duarte Geraldino and highlight stories from the publishers that work with Apple. The show will be available to both free and paying users, and both it and the audio stories will also be adapted for Apple’s CarPlay, the system that connects iPhones to many newer vehicles.

Apple also said it would offer expanded access to local news in its app, starting with five metro areas in the United States: San Francisco and the rest of the Bay Area, Houston, Los Angeles, and New York. Apple will maintain editors in each area to curate local stories, and paying News+ subscribers will get access to premium content from the local newspapers that take part in the program.

Last month, the New York Times left Apple News, saying publishers should be fairly compensated for their content and that the program is not aligned with its strategy of building direct relationships with paying readers. — Reuters

Google ties more work tools into Gmail, aiming to get ahead of Microsoft

OAKLAND — Alphabet Inc.’s Google said on Wednesday its corporate Gmail customers would now be able to edit documents and other files without leaving the e-mail service, as it aims to lure clients from rivals by making its tools more integrated.

The announcement was made at Google’s cloud unit’s annual customer and partner conference, which has been turned into a virtual gathering over several weeks because of the novel coronavirus pandemic.

Google has been trying for more than a decade to catch up with Microsoft Corp.’s Office, which dominates the global market for corporate email and document-editing tools.

Both companies have been adding video-calling features and other collaboration tools to attract new business from companies operating from home during the pandemic.

Google contends it has found an edge with potential customers by promoting Gmail as a single hub for workers to access text chats, video calls, and now documents. Microsoft has limited tie-ins between its e-mail and chat tools, Outlook and Teams.

“Microsoft is still telling you there’s two separate places to check, two different habits, two inboxes to look at,” Javier Soltero, a Google vice-president who used to work for Microsoft, said in an interview on Wednesday.

“They are not incentivized to do a deep integration between Teams and Outlook,” Mr. Soltero said, without elaborating.

Consumers using the free version of Gmail may have access to the new integrations in the future, Soltero said.

Microsoft, which has continued to post fast Office revenue growth, declined to comment.

Google on Wednesday introduced some options already on Microsoft Teams, including the ability for chat users to list an “out of office” notice and “pin” conversations to make them easier to find later. — Reuters

German watchdog under EU scrutiny as it widens Wirecard investigation

FRANKFURT — The European Union’s markets watchdog said on Wednesday that it was reviewing Germany’s financial reporting set-up in the wake of Wirecard’s collapse as Germany widened its own investigation into the failed company.

The assessment by the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) will focus on Germany’s financial supervisor BaFin and the accounting watchdog—the privately owned Financial Reporting Enforcement Panel (FREP).

BaFin and FREP have come under scrutiny for their oversight of Wirecard, which filed for insolvency last month owing creditors 4 billion euros ($4.58 billion) after disclosing a 1.9 billion euro hole in its accounts that its auditor EY said was the result of a sophisticated global fraud.

“High quality financial reporting is core to investor trust in capital markets and Wirecard’s collapse has undermined this trust,” ESMA said.

“Therefore, it is necessary to assess these events to help in restoring investor confidence,” it added.

ESMA said that it would complete the review by Oct. 30.

FREP, asked to comment on ESMA’s investigation, noted that a 2017 review of its work by ESMA found “highly positive results.”

BaFin didn’t respond to a request for comment, but a spokeswoman separately disclosed that the watchdog had widened its own examination into possible insider trading of Wirecard shares.

It is looking at trades of any individuals who sat on the company’s management and supervisory boards in 2020, the spokeswoman said, adding that all Wirecard trades over the past few months were being scrutinised for irregularities.

Earlier this week, BaFin said that it had filed a complaint of alleged insider trading with Munich prosecutors for shares controlled by Wirecard’s former chief executive, Markus Braun. — Reuters

A resilient food sector needs a new managerial mindset, expert says

by Patricia B. Mirasol

Restaurateurs have to rethink and change their managerial mindset in order to create a resilient food sector, said Carlos Martin-Rios, an associate professor of management at Ecole Hôtelière de Lausanne (EHL), in his presentation at Saladplate’s Food and Hotel Digital Week. “The past crises were a lost opportunity. Businesses went back to normal right away without much reflection.”

“What we see is a scenario where there is a slow recovery, unfortunately,” Mr. Martin-Rios shared in a talk aimed at independent restaurant and bar owners. “The way we run our businesses doesn’t give us time to reflect and rethink how we do business. This pandemic has given us a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to do so. What are we doing right? What can we do better? Share these with stakeholders and ask for help.”

The consensus among academics and experts is that food service is big on tactics (the steps, actions, or tasks one must implement to achieve a goal) but light on strategy (an overarching plan or set of goals). Mr. Martin-Rios discussed how innovation, sustainability, and collaboration are vital for the industry to move forward.

INSPIRING INNOVATION

A crisis is always an opportunity for transformation. Here are three core activities restaurants and bars can do to inspire innovation, according to Mr. Martin-Rios:

•  Co-creation of brands — Customers are more important than marketers themselves when it comes to influencing a brand’s reputation. “The more time we spend on recreating our brand with our customers and our community, the higher the results that will come later on,” said Mr. Rios. “It doesn’t take much resources but it does take time and a clear mindset.”

•  Organization — Restaurant stakeholders should join forces to facilitate collaboration across existing departments and foster innovation. “Let’s open up communication channels. Every single individual has ideas and some are very useful.”

•  Personalization — Commit to data science and conduct forecasting and improve pricing by segment. “These tools are not necessarily expensive… We can work with local associations and use technology and software to learn how to position our brand.”

SUSTAINABILITY SUCCESS FACTORS

“Sustainability is more than the environment. It’s the present and the future of our business. It is not a market niche,” Mr. Martin-Rios said. “We can no longer afford a non-sustainable world—and this fact is clearly brought to the fore because of this pandemic.”

Restaurants and bars can make sustainability the core of their strategy by assessing their emissions and formulating a strategy to reduce their carbon footprint. “People care and they want to know what we’re doing to help the planet.” Establishments can also check their operational processes that take into account sustainability and the use of resources in a circular way. Empowering associates helps too: What skills do they need to thrive in this environment that they can put into practice later on in the workplace?

“The most important aspect of sustainability is leadership commitment… In the short-term, sustainability can be expensive. It the mid- to long-term, it really pays off. This is the message we need to convey. We need to work with the local community and farmers and develop agreements that are win-win,” said Mr. Martin-Rios.

MORE COLLABORATION NEEDED

Mr. Martin-Rios reiterated the need for collaboration in an industry known for being one of the least collaborative ones. “It is not good for us. This is something we really have to say out loud. Let’s develop better ties with the authorities and among restaurants. We are not lonely soldiers fighting only for our own restaurants.”

“We keep being one of the least profitable industries as well,” he added. “We are focused on costs, keeping prices down, and reducing profits. This thinking must be challenged. Food brings us culture. Restaurants are part of culture; they are not just a commodity. Pay a fair price for the experience we are giving you.”

COVID ICU patients’ survival rate has improved — study

The death rate for COVID-19 intensive care patients has dropped by about one-third since the start of the pandemic, due at least in part to better hospital care, a review of published studies found.

The global analysis of 24 observational studies of COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus, was published on Wednesday in the journal Anaesthesia.

The research, led by Professor Tim Cook of England’s Royal United Hospitals Bath, found the overall mortality rate of COVID-19 patients in intensive care units (ICUs) has fallen from almost 60% since the end of March to 42% at the end of May. The rate was not significantly different across Europe, ,and North America.

Study authors offered several explanations, including “rapid learning that has taken place on a global scale due to the prompt publication of clinical reports early in the pandemic.” They also suggested that hospital ICUs might have been under greater pressure early in the pandemic.

Doctors have reported progress in learning enough about the highly contagious virus to have a better grasp of key problems for many patients, although much work remains to be done on the development of treatments and preventive vaccines.

The researchers said their findings could reflect the time for long ICU stays to show up in the data, noting that nearly a third of UK ICU admissions lasted more than 28 days and 9% lasted more than 42 days.

The authors emphasized that the recent COVID-19 ICU mortality rate of around 40% is still much higher than the 22% for other viral pneumonias.

“Optimistically, as the pandemic progresses, we may be coping better with COVID-19,” they said. — Reuters

MultiSys launches cash disbursement platform CashBox

The COVID-19 restrictions are here to stay for the foreseeable future and people need new ways to transact with each other to cope with the “new normal”. With this, leading software solutions company Multisys Technologies Corporation developed and launched its new cash disbursement platform, CashBox, that will provide a new cash disbursement option for companies, organizations, and the public, in general.

CashBox enables people to transfer cash from digital channels to physical branches and vice versa. With the platform, private and public organizations can smoothly accomplish money transfers such as employee salaries, monetary incentives, financial distributions, and other corporate disbursements, digitally anytime and anywhere.  

Existing employees’ list, for instance, can easily be uploaded, added, or edited by company administrators, and disbursement transactions can be virtually tracked and managed in real-time at the comfort of their homes or offices, at day or night, even on Sundays and holidays. The recipients, on the other hand, would receive the cash transfer through their chosen financial institution within their vicinity, hassle-free.

Among the financial institutions that tapped MultiSysis P.J. Lhuillier Inc. (PJLI), the parent company of the Philippines’ largest microfinancial services provider Cebuana Lhuillier. MultiSys is integrating PJLI’s Corporate Payout and Remittance to CashBox. 

“We developed CashBox to make it easier for companies and organizations to responsibly handle routine financial tasks, while making sure that their recipients are given convenience. CashBox is adaptable to both tech and non-tech savvy users,” MultiSys CEO and founder David Almirol, Jr. said.

CashBox Dashboard

Cebuana Lhuillier, the country’s leading microfinancial services company, has established its dominance in the field through offering pawning, remittance, micro savings, micro insurance, bills payment, e-load, and business-to-business micro loan solutions services. For more than 30 years, Cebuana Lhuillier continuously provides fast, easy, secure, and convenient microfinancial products and services to more than 30 million customers through over 2,500 branches nationwide, an overseas branch in Hong Kong, and a marketing office in Dubai, UAE.

“PJLI’s integration with MultiSys’ Cashbox is a great move into the future.Their advanced technology coupled with our expansive network will ensure security while providing convenience to clients on a large scale,” added Cebuana Lhuillier president and CEO Jean Henri Lhuillier.

Status quo for Metro Manila quarantine; lockdown in Cebu City eased

METRO MANILA will remain under its current quarantine category, the general community quarantine(GCQ), from July 16 to 31 while restrictions in Cebu City will be eased.

Palace Spokesperson Harry L. Roque, in a late night talk to the nation with President Rodrigo R. Duterte Wednesday, said the decision was made as mayors in the country’s capital region vowed to strengthen testing and treatment capacity as well as the implementation of protocols as coronavirus cases continue to increase.

“Nangako ang mga mayor sa Metro Manila na paiintingin nila ang kanilang localized lockdown,palalakasin nila ang testing and treatment, at itutupad ng mas malawakan yung mga restrictions (The mayors of Metro Manila promised they will intensify their localized lockdowns, strengthen their testing and treatment, and they will expand implementation of restrictions),” he said.

Mr. Roque noted that researchers from the University of the Philippines recommended a return to the stricter quarantine category, but the national task force decided to retain the GCQ status.

Other areas that will be under GCQ are: the provinces of Laguna, Cavite, Rizal, Southern Leyte, Agusan del Norte, and Basilan; cities of Lapu Lapu, Mandaue, Ormoc, Zamboanga, and Butuan; and the towns of Talisay, Minglanilla, and Consolacion in Cebu Province.

In Cebu City, which was under a strict lockdown due to a spike in the number of cases that overtook cities in Metro Metro, some businesses are expected to resume partial operations with the eased quarantine rules.

Most other parts of the country will be under a modified GCQ, which has more relaxed rules and focusing on a more stringent implementation of village-level lockdowns. — Gillian M. Cortez

Gov’t retracts cop-led house-to-house search

GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS on Wednesday clarified the supposed plan to conduct house-to-house searches, to be led by the police, for coronavirus patients with mild or no symptoms and compel them to move to a quarantine facility.

“We don’t have a provision for house-to-house. It’s only political critics of the government again, weaponizing this very important task of tracing,” Palace Spokesperson Harry L. Roque said in an interview with ANC on Wednesday.

Interior Secretary Eduardo M. Año on Tuesday said policemen and local government personnel will conduct the search for patients who are not supposed to be quarantined at home due to lack of isolation space.

Mr. Año’s pronouncement raised concerns from various sectors who likened it to Oplan Tokhang, the administration’s flagship anti-drugs program where police officers knock on the door of suspected drug personalities and persuade them to stop their illegal activities.

The program has been linked to drug-related extra-judicial killings.

Lt. Gen. Guillermo T. Eleazar, police deputy chief for operations, explained that the house-to-house search under Oplan Kalinga will be led by local health authorities.

“It is not the policemen who will do the explaining and the police will not even the one who would knock on the doors of the houses of COVID-19 patients. Our personnel would just be on standby unless they are invited inside the house or their presence is needed inside,” he said in a statement on Wednesday.

Human rights group Karapatan, on the other hand, said it will just further facilitate state terror and police brutality in communities.

“These searches would only intimidate patients and their families and what are the police going to do when patients refuse to come with them, shoot them dead and peddle the ‘nanlaban’ (fought back) narrative? Karapatan Secretary General Cristina Palabay said in a statement.

The Department of Health (DoH) has said home quarantine for mild and asymptomatic patients is allowed if there is a bedroom and bathroom that can be used solely by the infected household member.

NOT AWARE
Justice Secretary Menardo I. Guevarra, meanwhile, said the inter-agency task force (IATF) in charge of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) response has not discussed such a “house-to-house” program.

“I am not aware of any ‘house-to-house’ search for COVID-afflicted persons. We have not discussed this matter in the IATF, nor have I been consulted about it,” he told reporters via Viber.

The justice chief said should there be such an undertaking, village-level health authorities must take the lead, not police officers.

“Health workers are in a better position to determine if transfer to a government quarantine facility is appropriate,” he said.

Mr. Guevarra, however, noted there is “ample legal basis for transferring COVID-infected persons to government quarantine facilities if they are incapable of voluntarily isolating themselves.”

He said that under the law on mandatory reporting of notifiable diseases, “it is the duty of the person afflicted or his family to report or give notice of his communicable disease to prevent any contagion.”

“On the other hand, it is the duty of the government, for public health reasons, to place the afflicted person in a quarantine facility if there is no adequate isolation area in such a person’s home,” he added.

Senate Minority Leader Franklin M. Drilon, among those who raised the alarm over the interior secretary’s statement, said the coronavirus pandemic does not suspend the effectivity of the provisions under the 1987 Constitution.

“There’s no question that we need to protect the people, but we should do it with deference to the Constitution because the pandemic does not set aside constitutional restrictions and constitutional protection under the bill of rights,” Mr. Drilon said in an online briefing on Wednesday.

He said the plan to search houses for asymptomatic patients could “run afoul with our right to unreasonable search and seizures.”

Mr. Drilon said what is needed for tracing is an effective tracking system, which the government has failed to do since mid-March, when the Luzon-wide lockdown was imposed.

“The problem is, four months after, we have no effective tracking system and, therefore, we do the shotgun approach of declaring a general lockdown. To be more effective in this fight, we urge that the matter of our tracking system should be improved,” he said.

Senator Emmanuel Joel J. Villanueva, in a separate briefing, said the house-to-house plan is “impractical.”

“I think this plan is impractical and again, as a lot of us would say, may run against the constitutional prohibition on warrantless searches and seizures,” he said.

Senator Ralph G. Recto, meanwhile, recommended that health-related announcements be left to medical professionals to encourage more people to comply.

“If the positivity is borne by test results, then the address and contact details of the patient are on record, which cancels the need for boots on the ground to do a house-to-house sweep,” Mr. Recto said in a statement. — Vann Marlo M. Villegas, Gillian M. Cortez, Charmaine A. Tadalan, and Emmanuel Tupas/PHILSTAR

June dollar reserves rise to record

By Luz Wendy T. Noble, Reporter

THE country’s dollar reserves rose to a record last month, supporting the peso amid market volatilities and protecting the economy from shocks brought by a global coronavirus pandemic.

Gross international reserves (GIR) rose by a tenth from a year earlier to $93.32 billion at the end of June, according to preliminary data from the Philippine central bank released on Wednesday. The dollar reserves increased by $30.5 million from the May level.

Ample reserves cushion financial markets from volatility and assure foreign investors and debt watchers that the government can pay its debt despite a worsening fiscal outlook and the economy’s first contraction in the first quarter after more than two decades of growth.

“The month-on-month increase in the GIR level reflected inflows mainly from the National Government’s foreign currency deposits with the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP),” the central bank said in a statement.

But these inflows were offset by foreign currency withdrawals made by the government to pay its foreign currency debt, it added.

The June buffer was higher than BSP’s $90-billion projection by yearend. Central bank Governor Benjamin E. Diokno has said the reserves could reach an all-time high of $95 billion this year.

The end-June reserve level was equivalent to 8.4 months’ worth of imports of goods and payments of services and primary income. It was also 7.3 times the country’s short-term external debt based on original maturity and 4.8 times based on residual maturity.

“This is more than twice the acceptable minimum international standard of three to four months of imports,” Michael L. Ricafort, chief economist at Rizal Commercial Banking Corp., said in an e-mail.

The higher reserves reflected increased borrowings in recent months by the government and private sector, “apart from gains in foreign investments by the Philippine government and residents,” he added.

Gross borrowings hit P290 billion in May, 58.8% of which were local and 41.2% were from overseas, according to data from the Treasury bureau. Gross borrowings from foreign creditors jumped by 59.72% to P199.307 billion.

Robert Dan J. Roces, chief economist at Security Bank Corp., said the ample reserves would boost the peso amid uncertainties.

“Yet again, record-high reserves continue to provide a good buffer for the peso to ensure structural support from external shocks,” he said in a mobile-phone message.

The peso closed at P49.48 on Wednesday, 6.5 centavos stronger than Tuesday’s close. The currency has been trading at the P49-50 level in recent months amid uncertainties caused by the coronavirus outbreak.

Gold reserves of the central bank, which are part of the foreign exchange buffer, have remained at their $8.02-billion level since June last year.

Gains from investments abroad, which make up the bulk of the dollar reserves, reached $80.805 billion at the end of June, 11.39% higher than a year earlier.

The country’s reserve position in the International Monetary Fund (IMF) stood at $730.7 million, 39.5% higher than a year earlier and 7.8% more than the month earlier..

On the other hand, foreign currency deposits fell by 2.73% to $2.592 billion from a year earlier. These were also 5.54% lower than the previous month’s level.

The continued increase in dollar reserves bodes well for the country amid a weakness in some key economic indicators, Mr. Roces said.

“We expect reserves to continue with its record buildup stepwise with payment financing needs such as imports and debt service, especially with the current economic climate where there could be very little export earnings and remittances,” he said.

The Philippines, which had been one of Asia’s fastest-growing economies before the pandemic, is on the edge of a recession after economic growth shrank by 0.2% in the three months through March.

Economists expect the contraction to have worsened last quarter as an extended lockdown in Manila, the capital and nearby cities took a heavier toll on local consumption.

President Rodrigo R. Duterte locked down the main island of Luzon in mid-March, suspending work, classes and public transportation to contain the pandemic. People should stay home except to buy food and other basic goods, he said.

He extended the lockdown — one of the strictest and longest in the world — for the island twice and thrice for the capital region. The lockdown in Metro Manila has since been eased, with more businesses allowed to reopen with a skeletal workforce. Mass gatherings remained banned.

April remittance contraction hits 19-year record

MONEY sent home by Filipinos overseas continued to dwindle for the second straight month in April — the biggest drop in almost two decades — as many of them lost their jobs amid a global coronavirus pandemic.

Cash remittances from overseas Filipino workers (OFW) coursed through banks shrank by 16.2% from a year earlier to $2.046 billion, the Philippine central bank said in a statement on Wednesday. This is the widest drop since the 33.5% contraction in January 2001.

Remittances fell by 3% to $9.448 billion in the four months through April, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) data showed.

The central bank traced the slump to the repatriation of Filipino workers from countries heavily affected by the pandemic, and the closure or limited operating hours of some banks here and overseas during the lockdown.

More than 82,000 Filipino workers from about 60 countries and 132 cruise ships displaced by the coronavirus pandemic have been repatriated, according to the Foreign Affairs department.

Remittances from land-based OFWs dropped by 3.5% to $7.335  billion, while inflows from sea-based workers fell by 1.3% to $2.114 billion.

Cash remittances could have dropped further in May, when quarantine measures were the strictest, Ruben Carlo O. Asuncion, chief economist at UnionBank of the Philippines, Inc. said in an e-mail.

A potential contraction in remittance inflows could further pull economic growth by 0.4% this year, central bank Governor Benjamin E. Diokno said last month.

Remittance inflows might recover next year, depending on how fast host countries can bounce back from the global health crisis, he said.

The BSP expects remittance inflows to drop by 5% this year after projecting 2% growth in May.

The US was the top remittance source in the first four months, accounting for 29.6% of the inflows, followed by Singapore, Saudi Arabia, Japan, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, Canada, Qatar, Hong Kong and Korea. Cash remittances from these countries made up 79.1% of the total.

Cash remittances fell by 4.7% to $2.397 billion in March as the coronavirus pandemic took its toll on host countries and global oil prices plunged.

This was the first contraction since the 2.9% fall in June last year, and the highest decline since the 9.8% contraction posted in March 2018.

In 2019, cash remittance inflows rose by 4.1% to a record $30.13 billion despite global uncertainties and the decline in money sent home from the Middle East.

Personal remittances, which include inflows in kind, plunged by 16.1% to $2.276 billion, also the widest contraction since the 33.5% drop in January 2001. It dropped by 2.9% to $10.494 billion in the four months through April.

Global remittances are expected to fall by 20% this year due to the economic crisis induced by the COVID-19 pandemic and shutdown, according to the World Bank.

The projected decline, which would be the sharpest in history, is largely due to a fall in the wages and employment of migrant workers, who tend to be more vulnerable to loss of employment and wages during an economic crisis in a host country, it said in an April report.

Remittances to low and middle-income countries were projected to fall by 19.7% to $445 billion, representing a loss of a crucial financing lifeline for many vulnerable households.

Remittance flows to the East Asia and Pacific region, which includes the Philippines, were expected to fall by 13% this year from $147 billion in 2019.

Mr. Asuncion said remittances could still bounce back “as overseas workers who have retained their jobs respond to seasonal needs back home, including school enrollment and during the holidays.”

The remittance drop would hit households that use the money for basic needs especially during the pandemic, John Paolo R. Rivera, an economist at the Asian Institute of Management, said in an e-mail.

“They might have to rely on social amelioration and other government subsidies to finance their consumption until their income source is restored,” he added. — Luz Wendy T. Noble

PEZA-approved projects seen to create 9,000 jobs

THE Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) approved at its board meeting last week P22.5 billion of investments covering 50 projects that are expected to create almost 9,000 jobs.

Of the total approved on July 10, 33 are projects of existing locator companies worth P13.8 billion that will create 7,116 jobs, the agency said in a statement on Wednesday.

The rest are new projects, including 10 economic zone proposals and seven ecozone facility enterprise projects. Together, these are valued at P8.7 billion and are expected to generate 1,801 jobs, PEZA said.

Luzon attracted the most investments with 40 new ones, while six are in the Visayas and four are in Mindanao, the agency said. By region, Calabarzon (Calamba, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal and Quezon) attracted the most investments with 26 projects.

Broken down by nationality, 44.15% were investments from Filipinos, while 55.85% were from foreigners.

Export enterprises made up 16 of the new projects, followed by information technology companies with 15, facilities with seven and logistics with two.

Combined with its year-to-date total in May, PEZA has approved P52 billion of investments this year covering 163 projects.

The agency approved P29.5 billion in investments in the five months through May, or 32% less than the same period last year after delayed meetings amid a lockdown on the main Philippine island of Luzon — one of the longest and strictest in the world — meant to contain a coronavirus pandemic.

The PEZA board did not meet in June due to health risks at its offices.

In 2019, PEZA posted a 16% decline in investment pledges to P117.54 billion after domestic and foreign investors faced tax reform uncertainties.

“The approval of new projects and investments is the agency’s positive action to continuously support the Philippine economy in our endeavor to maintain our competitiveness for investments despite the impact of COVID-19,” PEZA Director General Charito B. Plaza said in the statement.

“COVID-19 cannot stop PEZA in performing its mandate to register, manage and operate public and private economic zones in the country,” she said. “PEZA continues to attract investors to come and invest in the Philippines despite the crisis.”

Ms. Plaza on July 6 told a news conference she was optimistic about investments for the rest of the year as the agency rolls out virtual investor forums, but noted that foreign investors see shortcomings in the Philippines’ cost of doing business and poor information technology infrastructure.

She earlier expressed worry that some export companies may shut Philippine operations and consolidate their resources in other countries amid economic downturns caused by the pandemic.

The Board of Investments (BoI), which accounts for the bulk of planned projects registered with investment promotion agencies, approved P645.3 billion in investments in the first half, mostly accounted for by a P530.8-billion airport project from San Miguel Aerocity, Inc.

Domestic investments under BoI jumped almost three times to P626.7 billion in the first half from a year earlier. In contrast, foreign investments plummeted by almost three-quarters to P18.6 billion. — Jenina P. Ibañez

1...8,5828,5838,584...13,507Page 8,583 of 13,507
© 2024 BusinessWorld Publishing.
All rights reserved.
Read our privacy guidelines
Facebook Instagram Linkedin Twitter Youtube