Privacy watchdog probes erring online lending apps
THE NATIONAL PRIVACY COMMISSION (NPC) has begun looking into 48 online lending applications that have been subject to almost 500 harassment complaints.
PEZA chief addresses talk she is at risk of losing post for opposition to...
THERE IS TALK in the foreign business community that the head of the government’s economic zone promotion agency is at risk of losing her job due to a drop in committed investments and her opposition to the Finance department’s push to remove tax incentives deemed redundant.
BoP marks 6th month of surplus in April
THE COUNTRY’s balance of payments (BoP) -- a summary of the Philippines’ economic transactions with the rest of the world for a given period -- registered a surplus for the sixth month in a row in April due to inflows from the central bank’s foreign exchange operations and income from its investments abroad that were partially offset by state foreign debt payments, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) reported on Monday.
Gov’t on road show to draw interest to energy auction
THE DEPARTMENT of Energy (DoE) is taking to the United States and other parts of the globe its road show to drum up interest in the Philippine Conventional Energy Contracting Program (PCECP) after it extended the deadline for investors to submit their application to explore pre-determined oil and gas reserves in the country.
No more tax reforms to make it out of 17th Congress
THE 17th CONGRESS will likely end with enactment of the anti-terrorism, the security of tenure and the expanded anti-wiretapping measures, but without any of the remaining tax reforms wanted by the Executive, Senate leaders signaled on Monday.
Trade department notes investors lured from China
THE DEPARTMENT of Trade and Industry says the Philippines has been able to attract investors from China, which is in the middle of a trade war with the United States.
QC could put land value hike on hold
QUEZON CITY (QC) residents and businesses are likely to get a reprieve from an already deferred hefty increase in real property tax looming in January next year, as Mayor-elect Maria Josefina “Joy” G. Belmonte said she plans to put on hold implementation of higher land fair market values (FMV) pending “further consultation with the people.”
Midterm polls bare campaign lessons
THE RECENT MIDTERM elections showed the ineffectiveness of negative campaigning and the limits of social media drives, observers said in separate interviews late last week.
San Miguel power unit disputes gov’t claim of unpaid fees
SOUTH PREMIERE Power Corp. (SPPC) said it had paid the government P289.1 billion since 2010 in various fees as administrator of the Ilijan power plant in Batangas, as it disputed the P19.75 billion in supposed unpaid dues being claimed by the state energy privatization agency.
Central bank chief signals more reserve ratio cuts
THE BANGKO SENTRAL ng Pilipinas (BSP) will consider reducing the reserve requirement ratio (RRR) for lenders further if banks don’t misbehave and speculate against the peso, Governor Benjamin E. Diokno said.
Energy department extends deadline for service contract bids
THE DEPARTMENT of Energy (DoE) has extended the deadline for interested entities to submit their bids to secure service contracts for the 14 areas in the Philippines offered by the government for oil and gas exploration.
BSP cuts big banks’ reserve requirement
FRESH from slashing benchmark interest rates just a week ago by 25 basis points in the face of easing inflation and slowing economic growth, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) on Thursday fired off a 200-basis-point (bp) phased reduction in big banks’ reserve requirement ratio (RRR).