Tag: Janina C. Lim

THE Philippine Competition Commission (PCC) said it drafted a circular which will allow the agency to address competition concerns at the pre-bidding phase of public-private partnerships.

IMPORTERS disputed claims that their cement fails to meet regulatory standards, noting that Vietnamese cement in particular meets government standards.

SCHNEIDER Electric (Philippines) Inc., a maker of energy management equipment, said revenue grew 14% in 2018 due to increased output of uninterruptible power supply (UPS) devices.

LOCAL STOCKS rose Friday — and for the second week in a row — on the back of portfolio adjustments in the face of Financial Times Stock Exchange (FTSE) rebalancing and as uncertainty over a United States-China trade deal and Brexit drove funds towards major Asian markets.

SALES of imported automobiles increased by 12% year-on-year in February, although year-to-date sales still dropped, according to data released on Thursday by the Association of Vehicle Importers and Distributors, Inc. (AVID).

THE Philippine Franchise Association, Inc. (PFA) said it expects industry revenue to grow 25% in 2019, driven by growing purchasing power, the spread of jobs outside cities and the continued growth of homegrown brands.

A SLIGHT ANNUAL PICKUP of automobile sales in February was unable to send year-to-date performance into positive territory, according to latest joint data from the Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines, Inc. and the Truck Manufacturers Association that were e-mailed to journalists on Monday.

THE Philippine Competition Commission (PCC) on Tuesday said it is further reviewing the proposed joint venture of Dasmariñas Local Water District (Dasma Water) and PrimeWater Infrastructure Corp.

THE Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) said it wants to expand bilateral cooperation between the Philippines and Malaysia in barter trade and hopes to grow the halal industry with Malaysia’s help.

THE Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and Japan signed an agreement to amend the ASEAN-Japan Comprehensive Economic Partnership (AJCEP) Agreement, which will expand visa access to Japan for Filipinos visiting for business or investment, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) said.

LIFTING regulations that restrict competition can help spur economic growth, according to a study conducted late last year by the World Bank Group that noted that Philippine markets are more concentrated -- with few players -- and more restrictive than those of regional peers.

THE Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPOPHL) said it received 15% more applications for intellectual property (IP) protection in 2018.

THE Philippine Competition Commission (PCC) is seeking to participate in the approval process for technology transfer agreements (TTAs), which are currently the domain of the Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPOPHL), citing competition issues that may arise from such deals.

THE Philippine Competition Commission (PCC) said it approved on Thursday Aboitiz Power Corp.’s acquisition of a stake in AA Thermal Inc., as well as a joint venture agreement signed with a Chinese company by the Bases Conversion Development Authority (BCDA) and the National Housing Authority (NHA).

AUTOMOBILE Central Enterprises, Inc. (ACEI), the exclusive distributor of the German car brand Volkswagen, has set a target of 50% sales growth in 2019, banking on its stable of affordable models and an expected recovery in the auto industry.

THE PHILIPPINE Stock Exchange index (PSEi) closed on Friday at its lowest level since nearly the start of the year as investors sold heavily amid portfolio adjustment in the face of MSCI rebalancing and after US-North Korea talks in Vietnam this week failed to yield denuclearization progress.

THE Philippine Competition Commission (PCC) said it has approved a Bangalore-based company’s plan to acquire Philippine personal care manufacturer Splash Corp.

THE Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) said it will reduce its export target to about 4-5% in 2019 to factor in the global slowdown and stiffer competition in the services sector.

EVER WIN International Corp., a California-based global supplier of device accessories, has shut down one of its factories in China and relocated to the Philippines due to rising manufacturing costs in the former, according to a top official at the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI).

THE INTERNATIONAL Development Corp. (IDC) forecasts slower demand for personal computers in the Philippines this year amid a supply shortage in Intel’s computer processing units.

ACER Philippines, Inc. targets sales volume to grow 10% from last year, slower than the previous year amid the absence of big government projects to supply schools with gadgets.

THE BUREAU of Customs (BoC) is looking to require international shipping lines to build warehouses outside Metro Manila to store empty containers, while fees charged to businesses that leave empty containers in ports beyond the allowable period could rise, as the government explores more ways to ease congestion at the Port of Manila.

A “VERY BIG” Chinese petrochemical player is looking at putting up a petrochemical plant in Davao, according to top official at the Board of Investments (BoI).

THE post-Brexit United Kingdom (UK) expects to establish an export program that will emulate the effects of the European Union’s (EU) Generalized System of Preferences Plus (GSP+) scheme, ensuring a degree of continuity for exporters shipping goods there.

THE British Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines (BCCP) has urged the government to hasten the implementation of the ease of doing business (EoDB) law.

THE LOCAL unit of Osaka-based Daikin Industries Ltd. is eyeing 2019 sales to grow over 60% from last year, hiking its target after achieving record-high sales in 2018 driven by strong demand for air-conditioners.

THE PHILIPPINE Competition Commission will raise next month the threshold values for required notification of mergers and acquisitions (M&As), according to a resolution posted on Thursday on the watchdog’s Web site.

THE Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) released its updated suggested retail price (SRP) list of basic necessities and prime commodities (BNPCs), which reflected price increases in 23% of the items on the list.

THE Association of Vehicle Importers and Distributors, Inc. (AVID) said January sales fell over 25% year on year, noting that the market’s appetite for new vehicles remains weak.

PHILIPPINE companies joined a Dubai trade show this month to expand their exposure to the Middle Eastern and North African halal markets, the Department of Trade and Industry said.

THE ANIMATION INDUSTRY, particularly the cinematic segment, said it set a conservative growth target of between 15% and 18% in the next few years.

VEHICLE SALES slid 15% in January from a year ago, weighed down by reductions across categories, according to data released on Monday by the Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines, Inc. and the Truck Manufacturers Association.

THE Construction Industry Authority of the Philippines (CIAP) has approved a 10-year road map which projects domestic construction spending of at least P40 trillion in the 10 years starting 2020, with the maximum estimated at P130 trillion.

TOYOTA Motor Philippines (TMP) Corp. expects vehicle sales to bounce back this year as it targets a 5% growth after an industry-wide slump in 2018.

THE Semiconductor and Electronics Industries in the Philippines Foundations, Inc. (SEIPI) said it set its 2019 export growth target at 3%, which is higher than its assumption for growth in the global industry of 2% and slightly higher than the industry’s growth in 2018.

MELITO S. SALAZAR, JR., a former president of the Management Association of the Philippines (MAP), and former senior government official, educator and board member of various companies and schools, died Saturday at age 69, the association announced.

THE Department of Trade and Industry may consider imposing a sugar “import fee” equivalent to as much as seven times the current preferential tariff on Philippine sugar under the Association of Southeast Asian Nations’ Trade in Goods Agreement (ATIGA), as a safety net for farmers once sugar importation rules are eased.

THE Philippine Competition Commission (PCC) said divestment could be a remedy for Universal Robina Corp.’s (URC) rejected acquisition of Roxas Holdings, Inc.’s (RHI) Central Azucarera Don Pedro, Inc. (CADPI), based in Nasugbu, Batangas.

THE Philippine Competition Commission and the Department of Trade and Industry signed on Friday a memorandum of agreement (MoA) aimed at facilitating data-sharing between the two agencies and ensuring fair competition among the industries on their watch.

WEAKNESS returned to Philippine equities on Friday — marking the second straight weekly fall — as traders adjusted portfolios ahead of the main index’s rebalancing on Monday, as the ongoing Sino-US trade row weighed on investors’ minds amid a lack of more compelling leads at home and as foreigners snapped back to selling mode.

THE Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) approved Udenna Group unit PH Resorts Group Holdings, Inc.’s (PHR) plan to conduct a follow-on offering of primary shares, with the stock responding by tumbling nearly 12%.

THE Philippine Competition Commission (PCC) on Thursday said it has blocked Universal Robina Corp.’s (URC) takeover of a Roxas Holdings, Inc. (RHI) subsidiary’s sugar milling and refining assets in Nasugbu, Batangas, saying the deal will create a monopoly in Southern Luzon.

THE Anti-Red Tape Authority (ARTA) will now allow government agencies claiming to be covered by special laws to be exempted from the timelines for processing transactions under the Ease of Doing Business (EODB) law.

THE SUBIC BAY Metropolitan Authority is looking to expand its area by about 21,000 hectares, taking in land from municipalities in Zambales and Bataan.

SINGAPORE-BASED start-up Omnistream Pte. Ltd. said its cost-structure model will attract more conglomerates in the region as it expands into Southeast Asia, including the Philippines.