Tag: Janina C. Lim

ACCORDING to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development’s (UNCTAD) 2019 World Investment Report, released in June, global investment flows in 2018 fell 13% to $1.3 trillion, marking the third consecutive year that global flows have fallen.

THE Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) said it launched the official Philippine Halal logo, which will be used to identify all Halal products made in the country.

A CONSUMER GROUP said the Tariff Commission’s (TC) hearings to evaluate safeguard duties on cement are “moot and academic” because the commission failed to comply with the timelines provided by the law.

THE Philippine Competition Commission (PCC) has approved the proposed joint venture between the Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) and the consortium of Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) and Japanese firms Marubeni Corp., Kansai Electric Power Co., Inc. and Chubu Electric Power Co., which will undertake the development of a power distribution system in New Clark City (NCC).

THE Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) said it will commission an independent study to establish which of its fiscal incentives the are effective in driving economic growth, to establish the case for retaining the perks when the legislation comes before Congress.

THE PHILIPPINE UNIT of Dyson Electronics Pte. Ltd., a British-founded technology company that anounced a strategic relocation to Singapore, is seeking pioneer status from the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) to manufacture hair dryers, vacuum cleaners and motors for its appliances.

TWO state-owned facilities in Misamis Oriental and Cebu are being auctioned off by the Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp. (PSALM).

THE GOVERNMENT has warned that prolonged trade disputes or the outbreak of armed conflict in strategic parts of the world pose big risks to even small trading economies like the Philippines.

SOME P34.238 billion worth of business process outsourcing (BPO) projects are at risk due to President Rodrigo R. Duterte’s recent order to halt the processing of economic zone applications in the National Capital Region.

A DELEGATION from France has urged the Philippines to ease investment rules in more sectors, particularly in public service and retail, the Department of Trade and Industry said following a bilateral economic meeting between Manila and Paris.

JFC Holdings Corp., which controls the Jollibee fast food chain, said it hopes to achieve a 50/50 mix between foreign and domestic store revenue in five to seven years, noting that growth rates are stronger at its overseas locations.

METRO Pacific Hospital Holdings Inc. (MPHHI) has made an offer to buy P2.261 billion worth of shares from Medical Doctors Inc. (MDI) to boost its stake in the latter to 49.9%.

THE Department of Energy (DoE) said its Philippine Conventional Energy Contracting Program (PCECP) continues to attract interest from potential investors.

THE MAIN INDEX ended the week back below the 8,000 mark for the first time in eight trading sessions on Friday, leading a fall across Asia as investors took profit ahead of top-level Sino-US trade talks at the sidelines of the G20 summit in Osaka, Japan this weekend.

THE PHILIPPINES, along with neighbors Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam, can expect to benefit from decisions to relocate by companies adversely affected by the ongoing trade war between China and the United States, investment bank J.P. Morgan said in a June 26 report e-mailed to journalists on Wednesday evening.

THE Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) said it issued an order to all businesses to restrict the language used in their signage and marketing materials to English or Filipino only.

THE Philippine Independent Power Producers Association, Inc. (PIPPA) asked President Rodrigo R. Duterte to veto a bill granting a renewable energy (RE) distribution franchise to Solar Para sa Bayan Corp.

BUSINESS groups are urging President Rodrigo R. Duterte to order a Cabinet-level review of the bill that granted Solar Para sa Bayan Corp. (SPB) a renewable energy (RE) distribution franchise, citing the undue advantage it will have over other RE players.

THE Department of Trade and Industry said it is working on a “special program” that will attract investors to various segments of the electronic vehicle (EV) industry all across the value chain.

THE Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) and the business process outsourcing (BPO) industry said they will seek more time to meet the requirements of the Office of the President (OP) to obtain an official proclamation for economic zones.

THE Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) said it hopes the Tax Reform for Attracting Better and High-quality Opportunities (TRABAHO) bill will help develop supplier networks here to make economic zones more attractive for potential locators.

PLDT, Inc.’s wireless arm Smart Communications, Inc. on Thursday said it has inked a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Ateneo de Manila University for the development of next-generation applications and services that will run on Smart’s 5G wireless network.

VIVANT CORP. is diversifying into the water treatment business through a joint venture formed by its subsidiary and an Israeli company.

MANILA Water Co., Inc. said it tapped Weather Solutions, Inc. as its exclusive weather data provider, a move seen to boost the efficiency of its dam operations and management.

MONSOON Blockchain Storage, Inc. has partnered with two government agencies to provide support and consultancy services on how to leverage blockchain technology in various areas of operations.

LOCAL suppliers are hoping that automotive electronics solutions made here can satisfy the standards of German auto maker BMW AG, which is looking into expanding its supply network in the country.

BUSINESS groups said the government should implement any pay hike for public school teachers in phases in order to keep inflation contained and not hinder the government’s other spending priorities.

THE next Congress will look into warnings of a power shortage caused by the Supreme Court ruling requiring distribution utilities to implement a competitive selection process for their power supply agreements (PSA), a senator overseeing the chamber’s energy committee said.

THE PHILIPPINE Competition Commission (PCC) is allowing faster review of certain merger and acquisition (M&A) deals that are “less likely to substantially prevent, lessen, or restrict competition” in the market.

THE ASIAN Development Bank (ADB) and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) signed Tuesday an agreement to mobilize about $7 billion worth of investment for energy projects in Asia and the Pacific.

THE National Electrification Administration (NEA) said it achieved its short-term goal of connecting 13 million additional households ahead of the 50^th anniversary of the Rural Electrification Program in August.

THE Department of Energy (DoE) has designated Palawan capacity addition and transmission projects proposed by the National Power Corp. (Napocor) as energy projects of national significance (EPNS), a milestone that allows for expedited approvals for such projects.

THE Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) said it will seek to balance of the interests of the agriculture industry, which wants to export more produce to South Korea, and the auto and parts industry, which might be disadvantaged by Seoul’s demands for lower tariffs for its products.

THE Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) encouraged Cebu-based businesses to file complaints and report on corrupt practices they encounter in government transactions.

LOCAL equities finished Friday in negative territory as investors took caution over the geopolitical tensions at home and abroad, particularly the continued worries over the US-China trade tensions and the attack on two oil tankers in the Middle East that was seen as a cause for the increase in oil prices.

BMW AG is exploring the possibility of ordering more auto parts from the Philippines, according to the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), which will organize a business matching event to line up potential suppliers for the German automaker.

THE Department of Energy (DoE) said it will complete within the year its inspection of power projects implemented by local government units (LGUs) covered by new rules allowing them to benefit financially from such projects.

FOREIGN direct investments (FDI) inflows to the Philippines dropped in 2018 even as most Southeast Asian countries saw gains that pushed the region’s overall haul for the year to an all-time high.

THE Frabelle Group of Companies said the price of hotdogs may jump by 20% next month if the government fails to retain the 5% import tariff for mechanically deboned meat (MDM) for chicken which meat processors have enjoyed for nearly a decade.

FRESH PROJECTS pledged at the Board of Investments (BoI) in the first five months of the year climbed 40.1% from a year ago, with power projects spurring the growth.

THE Philippine Competition Commission (PCC) and the Department of Energy (DoE) have signed an agreement that will allow for coordination in their power sector investigations.

A NEW start-up is aiming to provide celebrity-designed franchising and licensing options in fashion, health, beauty, and food businesses.

THE Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI) said government agencies, including local government units (LGUs), need to make public declarations renouncing corrupt practices to help improve the investment environment.

THE ENERGY Regulatory Commission (ERC) said it will hold this month a hearing to evaluate the Philippine Hybrid Energy Systems, Inc.’s (PHESI) application to develop, own and operate a transmission line that will connect its 16-megawatt wind farm in Oriental Mindoro to one of National Power Corp.’s transmission lines.

THE Climate Change Commission (CCC) said the renewable energy sector is among the “biggest” opportunities for investment amid the global shift by companies seeking ways to pursue a greener energy strategy.