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Phl economy still strongest this year — RCBC
The Philippine economy will remain among Asia’s strongest in the fourth quarter despite a possible higher interest rate because of strong consumer demand for certain products and services and more employed Filipinos, the chief economist of Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation said Saturday. “This growth forecast is still among the fastest in the region because our economy is doing well,” RCBC’s Michael Ricafort said. The World Bank recently downgraded this year’s Philippine economic growth to 5.6 percent from 6 percent due to inflation risks, apart from lower government spending and weaker demand for exports. However, it is still higher than China’s 5.1 percent, Indonesia’s 4.9 percent, and Malaysia’s 4.3 percent growth forecast. Ricafort said the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) might raise its policy rate this year to slow inflation to 4 percent by year-end after it accelerated again to 6.1 percent last month. “The BSP is working to bring down prices of goods and services. As an unintended consequence, the economy could slow down. Borrowing costs for business owners also increase and consumer demand weakens,” he said. Ricafort said global oil prices have started falling which could discourage the central bank from raising its rate drastically. “Global oil prices have declined to $82 to $83 per barrel from a peak of $95 per barrel last month or since the war between oil-rich countries Russia and Ukraine began,” the economist said. He also expected a downtrend in rice prices starting this month as he said local farmers have begun collecting fresh harvests. “Inflation quickened last month mainly from higher prices of rice which accounted for nearly 9 percent of the inflation basket and grew 17 percent year-on-year,” Ricafort said. While a higher interest rate aims to slow consumption, Ricafort said the continued flow of remittances from overseas Filipino workers, or at least 3 percent growth yearly will still support substantial levels of consumer spending, especially during the Christmas season. “That is more than $40 billion a year. That’s the fourth largest in the world after India, China and Mexico,” the economist said. He added more Filipinos or 800,000 could earn from business process outsourcing or BPO this year as the industry’s revenue could rise from $32.5 billion to $59 billion based on data from the Contact Center Association of the Philippines. Another growth area is tourism, which Ricafort said saw 4 million foreign visitors last month, nearing the 4.8 million full-year target of the government. He added higher productivity among Filipinos is also expected as the country’s unemployment rate declined to 4.4 percent in August from 4.8 percent in July, based on data from the Philippine Statistics Authority. Moving forward, Ricafort said the government must improve science and technology education for higher quality jobs and increase spending on infrastructure amid the full reopening of most economies. “We are now fully reopened. Students are also back in schools which encourages putting up food businesses. Labor market in the US also improved which will affect export trade,” he said. Ricafort added the government could continue distributing financial and other assistance to farmers to control inflation. He believed the inflation rate will approach 3 percent next year, close to the ideal 2 percent for healthier economic growth. The post Phl economy still strongest this year — RCBC appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
S& P: AsPac sectors face skewed recovery
China’s slower growth, higher interest rates, and slower global demand are putting a dampener on corporate and financial sectors in Asia-Pacific. However, the impact is uneven. Credit stresses emanating from the Chinese property sector have reverberated throughout China’s economy, squeezing businesses and consumers’ propensity to spend. Across the region, credit availability is anticipated to become more selective as financiers turn increasingly conservative amid uncertain economic conditions. Meanwhile, trade activities are slowing, hurting the region’s export-dependent industries. That’s according to a report published by S&P Global Ratings titled “Asia-Pacific Sector Roundup Q4 2023: A Skewed Recovery.” China recovery encountering challenges S&P’s Global Rating’s analyst Eunice Tan says, “China’s post-Covid economic recovery is encountering a host of challenges. At the same time, the ‘higher for longer’ interest rate environment means costlier borrowing will persist.” Rising interest rate differentials with the US mean the region could see capital outflows, sparking domestic currency depreciation. With energy and food prices increasing, higher input costs could weigh on corporate profits and household’s discretionary spend. The net rating outlook bias of Asia-Pacific issuers is steady at negative 2 percent, the same as last quarter. However, the distribution suggests uneven credit conditions across sectors, pointing to a divergent recovery. For most sectors in the region (excepting gaming and consumer staples), risks are seen to be skewed to the downside. The post S&P: AsPac sectors face skewed recovery appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Climate change ‘dystopian future already here’: UN rights chief
Climate change is sparking human rights emergencies in numerous countries, the UN rights chief said Monday, stressing the need to fight the impunity of those who "plunder our environment". Speaking before the United Nations Human Rights Council, Volker Turk pointed to recent examples of the "environmental horror that is our global planetary crisis". He described visiting Basra, Iraq, where date palms once lined canals, but now "drought, searing heat, extreme pollution and fast-depleting supplies of fresh water are creating barren landscapes of rubble and dust". "This spiraling damage is a human rights emergency for Iraq, and many other countries," he said in his address opening the 54th council session in Geneva. "Climate change is pushing millions of people into famine. It is destroying hopes, opportunities, homes and lives. In recent months, urgent warnings have become lethal realities again and again all around the world," Turk said. "We do not need more warnings. The dystopian future is already here. We need urgent action now." Turk was speaking after the G20 at the weekend failed to commit to a phase-out of fossil fuels, something he said was desperately needed. - 'Nonchalance' at migrant deaths - At a time when the ravages of climate change are forcing more and more people to leave their homes, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights said he was "shocked by the nonchalance" seen towards surging numbers of migrant deaths. "It is evident that far more migrants and refugees are dying, unnoticed," he said, pointing to the more than "2,300 people reported dead or missing in the Mediterranean this year, including the loss of more than 600 lives in a single shipwreck off Greece in June." He also highlighted migrant deaths in the English Channel, the Bay of Bengal, in the Caribbean, along the US-Mexican border, and at the Saudi border, where he said his "office is seeking urgent clarification about allegations of killings and mistreatment". The UN rights chief also highlighted a wide range of other concerning situations around the world, including in Russia, Pakistan and the Palestinian territory. On China, he reiterated concerns raised in a report by his office a year ago about the situation in the far-western Xinjiang region, which cited possible crimes against humanity against Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities. "As my Office highlighted a year ago, the concerns in the Xinjiang ... requires strong remedial action by the authorities," Turk said Monday, also voicing concern at "continued detention of human rights advocates". - 'Ecocide' - Turk also spoke about the situation in Lebanon, decrying a total lack of accountability for the 2020 Beirut port blast, that killed more than 220 people, urging "an international fact-finding mission to look into human rights violations related to this tragedy." And he mentioned the situation in Iran, one year after the death of Mahsa Amini in custody after her arrest for allegedly breaching the strict dress code for women. Turk voiced concern at a bill that would impose harsher penalties for breaching the dress code, and "renewed deployment of the morality police." Climate change and environmental degradation played a role in a number of the rights situations he mentioned, including in Africa's Sahel region. Turk insisted on the need to "counter the impunity of people and businesses who severely plunder our environment", welcoming a proposal to recognize "ecocide" as an international crime. Amid the towering problems facing the world, Turk decried "politics of deception". "Helped by new technologies, lies and disinformation are mass-produced to sow chaos, to confuse, and ultimately to deny reality and ensure no action will be taken that could endanger the interests of entrenched elites," he said. "The most apparent case of this is climate change." nl/apo/yad © Agence France-Presse The post Climate change ‘dystopian future already here’: UN rights chief appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Gov’t seeks Indon capital
Finance Secretary Benjamin Diokno presented to Indonesia’s business community the Philippine economic plans for securing investments in infrastructure, energy and technology. In a statement by the Department of Finance on Thursday, it said Diokno conducted the talk in Jakarta City on Wednesday ahead of the 10th ASEAN Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors’ Meeting from 24 to 25 August. The listeners included members of the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Philippine Business Club Indonesia, and officials of foreign embassies in Jakarta. Diokno said the Philippine lawmakers are now studying all measures for faster public-private partnerships or PPPs as the Marcos administration aims to build 197 infrastructure flagship projects, including railways, airports and water management, among others. PPP crucial “The PPP Act, which is currently pending in the Senate, consolidates all legal frameworks on PPP and creates a unified system for investors to refer to when engaging in PPP projects,” DoF said. To build more capital for Philippine infrastructure development and diversify investment channels, Diokno said government agencies are now crafting the rules and regulations of the Maharlika Investment Fund. “This is the Philippines’ first sovereign investment fund that will serve as a platform for investors to engage in direct equity investments in Philippine ventures,” he said. Diokno said both the legislative proposal and newly approved sovereign fund will support economic expansion from liberalized investment laws passed by the previous Duterte administration. Diokno shared amendments to the Public Service Act which now allows full foreign ownership from 40 percent previously of various businesses, such as airlines and telecommunications. Amid growing concerns with climate change, the finance chief said this applies also to renewable energy facilities, such as solar plants. Indonesia, along with China and India, is among the world’s largest exporter of coal, according to the International Energy Agency. However, Indonesia vowed to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2060, while it is 2050 for the Philippines. To ensure efficient management and profitability of infrastructure, Diokno said the government also eased processes for foreign investors under the Build-Operate-Transfer Law. “To help foster the development of high quality, modern, and sustainable infrastructure in the country, we wasted no time in building a fertile business and investment ecosystem for private players,” Diokno said. The post Gov’t seeks Indon capital appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
India announces new French fighter jet deal as Modi visits Paris
India announced a new multi-billion-dollar deal for French fighter jets on Thursday as Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Paris for a two-day trip that will see him feted as the guest of honor during France's national day celebrations. India's defense ministry said that the country intended to order 26 more Rafale jets as well as another three Scorpene-class submarines, with the price and other terms still being worked out. India is one of the biggest buyers of French arms, and Modi announced a landmark deal for 36 Rafale fighter jets during a 2015 trip to Paris that was worth around 4.0 billion euros at the time. Some of those Indian-piloted Rafales will take part in a flypast on Friday during France's Bastille Day military parade where Modi will sit alongside French President Emmanuel Macron as guest of honour. "This closeness is not limited to just the leaders of two countries, it is in fact a reflection of the unwavering friendship between India and France," Modi told an enthusiastic crowd of Indians living in France on Thursday evening. Despite differences over the war in Ukraine and tensions over human rights in India, Western democracies are courting Modi and India as a counterweight to China in Asia. Macron's red carpet welcome comes weeks after Modi was given the rare honor of a White House state dinner in Washington -- a city he was once banned from visiting. "India is one of the pillars of our Indo-Pacific strategy," an aide to Macron told reporters this week on condition of anonymity. Human rights But amid the pomp and diplomatic courting in France, a resolution from the European Parliament on Thursday served as a reminder of Modi's controversial leadership style and Hindu nationalist agenda that has critics at home and abroad. Sitting in Strasbourg in eastern France, EU parliamentarians approved a motion that urged India to end violence in the country's restive northeastern Manipur state and to protect minorities there. Clashes between the majority Meitei, who are mostly Hindus, and the mainly Christian Kuki tribe have left at least 120 people dead, 50,000 displaced and over 1,700 houses destroyed, the parliament said. It criticized the "nationalistic rhetoric" of the local state government, run by Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party. Modi's role during Bastille Day in France was "an affront not only to India's minority communities, journalists and human rights defenders but also to India as a democracy," the text's chief negotiator, Pierre Larrouturou, said. A protest called against Modi drew only a few dozen people in central Paris on Thursday. Strategic partnership Modi has visited France four times since Macron came to power in 2017, while Macron was honored with a state visit to New Delhi in 2018. Aides on both sides have talked up the personal chemistry between the two leaders and pointed to cooperation on climate change, space technology, and nuclear power as part of a 25-year-old "strategic partnership" between France and India. Modi told the French newspaper Les Echos that bilateral trade had doubled in the last nine years and Macron's "thinking really matches ours". India and France "are naturally compatible" and "we see France as one of our foremost global partners," Modi added. Few observers expect Macron to raise rights concerns with Modi publicly. "The fact that explains France's relative success in this relationship is that unlike the US, the UK, Canada, Germany and a few other European countries, you've hardly seen France commenting on the internal affairs of India," Constantino Xavier from the Centre for Social and Economic Progress, a New Delhi-based think tank, said this week. "That has been appreciated on the Indian side." Modi has been dogged by allegations he was complicit in religious violence during his tenure as chief minister of the western state of Gujarat in 2002 when around 1,000 people, mostly Muslims, were killed in sectarian riots. The Indian government and judicial probes have cleared him of culpability. Since his first crushing electoral victory in 2014, he has also been denounced by rights groups for increased discrimination and violence towards the country's Muslims, as well as stifling independent media. "Diversity is the biggest strength of our democracy," he told the meeting on Thursday evening that also lauded the country's economic growth. Many European and American businesses, including US tech giant Apple, are ramping up production there to mitigate the threat of supply chain disruptions from China. The war in Ukraine has heightened concerns in the West about the risk of conflicts disrupting the flow of key raw materials and technology from China, but it has also exposed a rift with India. New Delhi, which has long sought to balance its ties with Moscow and the West, has declined to condemn Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine and has emerged as a top buyer of discounted Russian oil during the biggest conflict in Europe since World War II. The post India announces new French fighter jet deal as Modi visits Paris appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Chinese-owned Dito also assists in fight against virus amid security fears
China’s Ambassador to the Philippines Huang Xilian recently identified Dito Telecommunity and National Grid Corporation of the Philippines as Chinese businesses in the Philippines that have ‘stood firmly behind the country in the fight against COVID-19.’.....»»
US reaffirms support for Philippines sovereignty amid its tensions with China
Washington, DC [US], March 28 (ANI): US Secretary of Defence Llyod Austin has reaffirmed Washington's commitment to Manila in defending its sovereignty while criticising China's "dangerous" water cannon attack at the Philippine supply mission vessel on Saturday. In a telephonic conversation between Austin and his Philippine counterpart Gilberto Teodoro, the US Secretary reiterated the US-Philippines Mutual Defence Treaty.....»»
Philippines announces decisive measures amid tensions with China
Manila [Philippines], March 28 (ANI): Amid the escalating tensions in the South China Sea, Philippine President Ferdinand R Marcos Jr has announced decisive measures to protect his country's sovereignty and maritime rights while ensuring peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific. Marcos, known as Bongbong, said that the measures, aimed at addressing what he said is the "open, unabating, and illegal" actions by China's Coast.....»»
‘Trade with China should continue’
The Philippines should continue to pursue stronger trade ties with China despite rising tensions in the West Philippine Sea, according to the Federation of Filipino-Chinese Chambers of Commerce and Industry Inc. and the Department of Trade and Industry......»»
Indian Coast Guard ship docks at Manila port amid tensions in South China Sea
Manila [Philippines], March 26 (ANI): Amid tensions in the South China Sea, the Indian Coast Guard ship, Samudra Paheredar docked at the Manila Bay in the Philippines as part of a broader initiative aimed at demonstrating ICG Marine Pollution Response capabilities, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) said in an official release on Tuesday. The ICG ship which arrived at the port on Monday, is on an overseas deployment to ASEAN c.....»»
3 Navy personnel hurt amid China’s continuous aggression in WPS
3 Navy personnel hurt amid China’s continuous aggression in WPS.....»»
Consider alliances with Netherlands, Norway, DFA urged
The Department of Foreign Affairs should consider alliances with non-defense allies like Norway, the Netherlands and other countries for maritime exploration, research and development amid conflict with China over the West Philippines Sea (WPS), Sen. Francis Tolentino said yesterday......»»
Fish catch in West Philippine Sea grows despite tensions with China
Despite rising tensions with China, the Philippines expanded its fish catch in the West Philippine Sea (WPS) last year to a four-year high of over 200,000 metric tons on the back of higher state support to fishermen......»»
Global box-office hit na ‘YOLO’, masisilayan na rin sa Pilipinas sa Abril
BREAKING the limits. Rising from the ashes. A fiery soul. Ganyan mailalarawan ang bagong pelikula na malapit nang dumating dito sa ating bansa. Ito ang “YOLO,” isang inspirational comedy drama film ng bansang China na nakatakdang ipalabas sa mga lokal na sinehan sa darating na April 17. Ang Chinese comedienne na si Jia Ling ang.....»»
Airports and trains
Over breakfast some years back, in one of those times I had the opportunity to sit down with tycoon Ramon S. Ang or RSA, together with a small group of fellow journalists, he talked about the importance of having an airport express similar to Hong Kong’s much-touted MTR which connects the airport to the rest of the city. .....»»
Cebu Pacific receives fuel-efficient A321 aircraft
Gokongwei-led Cebu Pacific continues to ramp up its commitment to advance sustainability and strengthen its operational resiliency amid the rising demand in air travel as it received another Airbus A321neo last Thursday......»»
March inflation may pick up amid high food prices
Inflation likely accelerated for the second straight month in March, mainly driven by high rice prices, prompting the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) to keep borrowing costs unchanged at its next policy review in April, analysts said......»»
US Bolstering Philippines Amid Increasing Assertiveness by China
washington - The U.S. and Philippines will for the first time venture outside Manila's territorial waters when they begin joint annual combat drills in April, a Philippines government spokesman said Thursday.Colonel Michael Logico said elements of the Balikatan 2024 drills would be conducted about 22 kilometers (more than 12 nautical miles) off the west coast of Palawan, an island in the archipelago nation that.....»»
GCash sets sights on further international expansion
With GCash Overseas, Filipinos in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Spain, Italy, Germany, Qatar, Kuwait, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Singapore, Hong Kong and Australia can now download and use the GCash app, whether they have Philippine SIMs or local mobile phone numbers in the countries or territories where they live......»»
Teen centers in Cebu City pushed amid rising teen pregnancy cases
CEBU CITY, Philippines — In response to the alarming rise in teenage pregnancy cases across Cebu, a local legislator penned a resolution urging the establishment of local adolescents and teen centers in Cebu. City Councilor Rey Gealon stipulated in the resolution the importance of providing essential support and education to empower young individuals in making.....»»