Investments

THE Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is giving companies that may be in violation of the 40-percent foreign-ownership limit up to five years to comply, based on the new draft rules for covered Philippine corporations released on Monday.

Foreign capital in the form of portfolio flows, also called “hot” money, continue to flow inward on net basis even though the volume of outflows or repatriation has gathered steam, as well. Data obtained from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas showed that gross portfolio outflows in the year to September 14 was up 6 percent…

There could be a context for the obsessive verbal attacks mounted against the usual suspects by the President while he was abroad last week. That context could very well be a slew of adverse international reviews of our economic performance so far.

MANILA – (UPDATE2- 5:17 p.m.) For the second year, the Philippines barely improved in its performance as a business-friendly location, according to an annual World Bank survey. It actually slipped two notches in the 2013 Ease of Doing Business report, but because two countries were added to the list, the Philippines remained as is.

A FAILURE to implement reforms has meant the Philippines not having improved in the World Bank and International Finance Corp.’s latest global Doing Business report. World Bank to conduct consultations about its strategyChanges in project evaluation soughtProgress to be toutedRural projects identifiedWB forecast raised anew.

Manila, Philippines – Foreign portfolio investments – also called “hot money” for the ease with which they enter and exit economies – posted a net outflow last month as uncertainties in Europe resulted into risk aversion, data from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) showed.

MANILA, Philippines – The government is being urged to focus on reforms in the energy, agriculture and services sectors to attract more investments to the country, the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI) said.

MANILA – The country enjoyed a near tripling of “hot money” inflows at the close of the third quarter, according to data released by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas.

MANILA, Philippines – Foreign direct investments (FDI) breached the $1-billion mark in the first seven months of the year – nearing official forecast – on the back of the country’s good macroeconomic environment, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) reported yesterday.

THE PHILIPPINES must rationalize its fiscal incentives since many overlap, officials of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said. Kiyoshi Nakayama and Selcuk Caner of the IMF Fiscal Affairs Department last week warned of “double-dipping” since incentives are granted to investors depending on the law they invoke.

The Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI) submitted to President Aquino on Thursday its 14-page wish list made up of policy recommendations that would address top concerns of businesses in the country today.

Foreign direct investment (FDI), the kind that stays for the long haul in the country and generates not just employment but taxes for the national coffers as well, almost doubled in the first seven months to $1.025 billion.

MANILA, Philippines – The Philippine government can increase the value of foreign direct investment (FDIs) in the country by creating a more competitive environment and by addressing barriers to investment such as corruption, an International Monetary Fund (IMF) official said.

MANILA, Philippines – The passage of a measure that would rationalize fiscal incentives could help the Philippines achieve the much-awaited credit rating upgrade, the International Monetary Fund’s new resident representative for the Philippines said.

The Philippines should not rely solely on economic zones to attract investments, but improve its business environment outside of these areas as well, the World Bank said. In the latest issue of the Philippine Quarterly Update, its magazine on the country’s latest economic and social trends, the WB said improving the Philippines’ overall business environment…

The Philippine business climate is getting a boost from Japan, which extended a $100-million Official Development Assistance (ODA) loan last Friday. Japanese Ambassador Toshinao Urabe and Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario signed and exchanged notes on the ODA last Friday in Manila.

Ambassador Harry K. Thomas has urged Congress to do its bit to work on Philippine laws that restrict foreign ownership of land and pave the way for the inflow of investments into the country. He said the restriction is one of the several reasons American investors shy away from doing business in the Philippines.

FEARS THAT the fiscal incentives bill could be shelved were downplayed yesterday by a Cabinet official, who said legislators still had time to pass the priority measure before turning their focus to next year’s elections.

THE registration of fresh foreign direct investments (FDI) picked up in the second quarter of the year, increasing 9.4 percent to P44.1 billion compared to the same period last year.

SHANGHAI/BEIJING – Some major Japanese brand-name firms announced factory shutdowns in China on Monday and urged expatriates to stay indoors ahead of what could be more angry protests over a territorial dispute between Asia’s two biggest economies.

The demonstrations against Japan have turned violent in some places There are fears over the economic impact of the dispute between China and Japan if the row over islands in the East China Sea is not resolved soon.

SHANGHAI – Major Japanese firms have temporarily shut factories and offices in China after angry protests flared across the country, the result of a territorial dispute that has triggered one of China’s worst outbreaks of anti-Japan sentiment in decades.

MANILA – The Philippines enjoyed net inflows of foreign direct investment last June on the back of a Dutch company’s takeover of Alaska Milk Corp. In a statement, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas said net inflows of FDI reached $73 million this year, or 16 percent higher than the $63 million in June last year.

Foreign-fund managers looking to cash in on the country’s long-haul growth prospects poured $917 million worth of foreign direct investments (FDI) in the first six months, pushing the level 10.6 percent higher.

FOREIGN DIRECT investments (FDI) were up a tenth in the first semester given continued confidence in the country, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) yesterday reported. June FDI alone rose by 16% to a net inflow of $73 million from a year earlier, bringing the first half tally to a net $917 million, up 10.6%…

MANILA, Philippines – The economy has been doing well on the first two years of the Aquino administration, climbing up to achieve inclusive growth by introducing reforms recognized by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) as vital to alleviating poverty, the organization’s new resident representative in the country said.

2015 APEC meet in Ph VLADIVOSTOK, Russia — The 20th Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Economic Leaders’ Meeting ended on Sunday with the formal announcement that the Philippines will host the APEC Summit in 2015. The Philippines will host the summit after Indonesia and China.

CITES NEED TO REVIVE PHILIPPINE INDUSTRIAL SECTOR TO GENERATE MORE JOBS A Higher investment rate is needed to sustain Philippine economic growth and reduce poverty, state think-tank Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS) said on Monday. According to PIDS President Josef Yap, the country shows improvement when it comes to the economy, because of government…

As it has missed out on the foreign direct investments, the Philippines has been left behind in the regional integration that led to the deterioration of the manufacturing sector.

MANILA, Philippines – Japanese toy manufacturer Bandai, the company behind Power Rangers and Gundam action figures, will build a P400-million factory in Batangas. The LiMA Technology Center (LiMA), a 485-hectare business park in Lipa-Malvar, Batangas, will host the new toy factory. LiMA is owned by the Alcantara family that is primarily engaged in power production…