Duterte’s ban clouds PHL’s casino push — gaming chief
THE PHILIPPINES’ gaming chief said she will ask President Rodrigo Duterte to relax a ban on new casino licenses as the nation risks losing out on a gaming boom for which its Asian neighbors are lining up.
BSP signals ‘prudent’ policy steps up ahead
THE CENTRAL BANK will be “prudent” in setting monetary policy this year, with an official hinting that a pause in rate hikes could be in the cards now that inflation has been dropping.
Senate body finalizing bill raising tobacco tax
THE SENATE Ways and Means committee aims to report for plenary action by Feb. 6 the bill further increasing excise taxes on tobacco products before Congress takes its Feb. 7-May 19 break.
Tax bureau increases collections from 2017 but misses 2018 target
THE BUREAU of Internal Revenue (BIR) -- which contributes about three-fourths of total government tax revenues -- grew collections by a tenth last year from 2017, although it fell short of its target by four percent, according to data released at a hearing on Tuesday of the House of Representatives Ways and Means committee.
Meralco names incoming president
MANILA ELECTRIC CO. (Meralco), the country’s biggest power distributor, has named Ray C. Espinosa as its incoming president and chief executive officer (CEO) when Oscar S. Reyes retires in May.
Exemption to poll public works ban eyed
STATE economic managers are looking to ask the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to exempt big-ticket projects from the election ban on public works in order to keep them on schedule and help prop up gross domestic product (GDP) growth.
Bicameral committee targets Jan. 30 OK of 2019 budget
THE HOUSE of Representatives and the Senate on Monday resumed their bicameral conference committee meeting to reconcile differences in the proposed P3.757-trillion national budget for 2019, targeting approval on Wednesday.
Central bank official sees sustained FDI inflows
FOREIGN direct investments (FDI) could roughly sustain estimated 2018 inflows this year as conditions turn more enticing for investors, a senior central bank official said, citing slower inflation and robust domestic activity.
WB advises Philippines to upgrade service sector
THE GOVERNMENT needs to support the upgrade of services and worker talent, the World Bank (WB) said, noting that global trade in goods will be subdued for quite some time.
PHL business found ASEAN’s most bullish
BUSINESSMEN in the Philippines turned out to be Southeast Asia’s most confident about the year ahead even as optimism has slipped, with two out of three respondents “very optimistic” about the economy in 2019 after growing revenues by more than five percent last year, according to the latest International Business Report (IBR) which international consultancy Grant Thornton released on Sunday.
Economy ripe for bank reserve cut — BSP chief
THE ECONOMY is ripe for another cut in bank reserves, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) signaled to the banking industry on Friday last week, even as one senior monetary official noted that liquidity conditions need to be tight enough to warrant such adjustments.
Delay in 2019 budget OK affects P46-B projects
THE DELAYED ENACTMENT of the 2019 national budget will surely hurt economic growth in the first quarter, the Finance chief said, noting that some P46 billion worth of projects have already been pushed back.