Fitch affirms Philippines’ debt rating
FITCH RATINGS has maintained its grade for Philippine debt, citing the country’s sustained strong overall economic growth even as it flagged overheating risks evidenced by rapid bank lending and a growing trade gap.
More local projects in focus
THE NATIONAL Economic and Development Authority’s (NEDA) Investment Coordination Committee-Cabinet Committee (ICC-CabCom) approved on Wednesday the P14.07-billion Regional Fish Port Project for the Greater Capital Region and the P3.87-billion Philippines-Korea Project Preparation Facility, as well as adjustments in the scope of road and rehabilitation projects in Mindanao.
DENR pushes, DoF backs tax on use of plastic
THE Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), with the support of the Finance department (DoF), is pushing an environmental tax on companies to discourage the use of plastic, with a goal to implement the tax before President Rodrigo R. Duterte ends his term in mid-2022.
Asia’s central banks have almost no reason to increase policy interest rates in 2019
HONG KONG -- Weaker economic growth and tepid price pressures in Asia will leave central banks in the region with few reasons to tighten policy next year -- especially as US rate hikes slow -- unless a new bout of currency weakness forces them to do so.
PSE targets P200B from fund raising
THE PHILIPPINE Stock Exchange, Inc. (PSE) is projecting P200 billion from listed companies’ fund raising in 2019, despite falling short of the same target this year.
Nov. external payment balance marks this year’s second surplus
THE PHILIPPINES’ external payments position swung to a surplus in November, supported by a stronger peso and by bigger incomes from the central bank’s foreign investments despite a wider trade gap.
Business confidence in Asia wallows near three-year low
SINGAPORE -- A very cautious optimism remains among Asian companies in the fourth quarter as they wait to see whether there will be any breakthrough in a trade dispute between the United States and China, a Thomson Reuters/INSEAD survey showed.
Disaster-prone sites get P20.5-B insurance coverage
A ONE-YEAR World Bank-backed P20.49-billion parametric insurance policy for disaster-prone provinces in the Philippines takes effect today, the Department of Finance (DoF) said in a statement on Wednesday.
Moratorium on new mines stays for now
THE GOVERNMENT is maintaining for now a six-year-old moratorium on new mining permits as it awaits enactment of a new revenue-sharing scheme with the industry that has just hurdled the House of Representatives, according to a press statement on Tuesday of the Finance department (DoF), which co-chairs the Mining Industry Coordinating Council (MICC) with the Environment department.
PHL edges up on gender gap report’s top 10 list
THE PHILIPPINES edged up in the world’s top 10 and took the helm in East Asia and the Pacific in an annual report that tracks how countries have been closing the gap between women and men in more than 70 indicators in the fields of health, education, economy and politics.
Banks’ bad loans rising
BAD LOANS held by big banks climbed further in October but remained modest compared to growth of total lending, data from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) showed.
IMF: Trade war already hurting Asia, may cut growth forecasts
TOKYO -- US-China trade frictions are already affecting business confidence and investment in Asia, a senior International Monetary Fund (IMF) official said, warning that the fund could cut global growth forecasts in January.