Investments

Thai firm’s P2.2-B project tops February list Thailand ranked highest among the Philippines’ top investors for February 2012 with Thailand’s Charoen Pokphand Foods Phils. Corp.’s (CP Foods) aqua feed production project in Bataan, according to the Board of Investments.

MANILA, Philippines – Total foreign direct investments (FDI) totaled P256.1 billion last year, the highest amount of investment pledges recorded since 1996, the National Statistical Coordination Board (NSCB) reported yesterday.

MANILA, Philippines – Manabat Sanagustin & Co. (MS&Co.), one of the leading auditing and advisory firms in the country and an independent member firm of KPMG International Cooperative, believes the Philippines can expect a strong flow of Japanese investments this year as the country continues to emerge as an ideal investment hub and a potential…

MANILA, Philippines – The Department of Finance wants to limit the incentives given to foreign and local investors by rationalizing the incentive-granting bodies of government such as the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) and the Board of Investments (BOI).

The Finance Department plans to put an end to the “unlimited” fiscal incentives and other perks enjoyed by the Philippine Economic Zone Authority locators by putting in a so-called sunset provision in the pending fiscal incentives bill in the Senate.

MANILA, Philippines – Bank of America-Merrill Lynch says investors are bullish on the Philippines because many stocks have little or no exposure to the weak economies of Europe and the US.

MANILA, Philippines – Investments generated by the 13 investment promotion agencies (IPAs) went up 38 percent in 2011 to P763.018 billion, from P554.641 billion in 2010 as businesses continue to show strong appetite for projects on the back of the country’s stable economic performance, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) reported.

Arangkada also had a score card for LGUs and it isn’t pretty. Essentially, Arangkada reports that LGUs have mostly remained a big disincentive for investors. Efforts of national officials to entice investors into our country are largely negated by on-the-ground experience with local government units. Getting the LGUs excited about our investment incentives program is…

The Joint Foreign Chambers (JFC) has called on the government of President Aquino to fast-track the implementation of projects under its flagship program public-private-partnership (PPP) as economic growth and investments in the country did not turn out as expected.

Seven foreign chambers of commerce have joined to offer their views on how the country can accelerate economic growth. Left behind by high growth neighbors that have benefitted from the remarkable inflows of foreign direct investment, the joint chambers offer their advice on how to accelerate the country’s growth rate.

MANILA, Philippines – Portfolio investment inflows, also known as “hot money,’’ retreated by 11.5 percent in 2011, reflecting the jittery mood of fund managers worldwide brought about by rising growth concerns in the US and the debt crisis in Europe.

FOREIGN direct investments (FDIs) in the Philippines made a turnaround in October to net inflows, but was weaker during the first 10-month period as investment decisions were stalled by renewed concerns over uncertainties in the global economy.

MANILA, Philippines – The net inflow of foreign portfolio investments or “hot money” managed to breach the $4 billion level last year despite the economic uncertainty in the US as well as the debt crisis in Europe, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) reported over the weekend.

MANILA, Philippines – The Philippines has the inherent attractiveness and ability to seize upcoming business opportunities as it steps up as the next favored destination in ASEAN.

The Board of Investments (BoI) registered P368.9 billion in investments for 2011, up by 22 percent from the P302 billion the previous year. According to the BoI, the figure was also 35 percent higher in terms of number of projects approved.

GLOBAL executives are considering investing in Southeast Asia, except in the Philippines, according to a consulting firm’s international survey.

MANILA, Philippines –  The amount of foreign portfolio investments or hot or speculative money that was pulled out of the Philippines surged 55 percent in the first 11 months of the year as the sovereign debt crisis in Europe caused jitters and heavy sell-offs of investments, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) reported yesterday.

MANILA, Philippines – The country has received an upgrade in its credit rating outlook – to positive from stable – from the New York-based Standard & Poor’s (S&P) Ratings Services.

The worsening conflict among branches of the government underlined yesterday by a court holiday that was spontaneously made by members of the Judiciary and court employees had started to send jitters through the financial markets as investors see a brewing political instability with the Executive and the Legislative being pitted against the Judiciary.

The vicious clash between the Executive and the Judiciary along with efforts to oust Chief Justice Renato Corona by President Aquino and his allies have the potential of rocking the markets which are already feeling the pinch of the European debt crisis, business executives said yesterday.

MANILA, Philippines – The number of companies planning to expand their operations in the first quarter of next year remained steady amid the uncertainties brought about by the fragile economic recovery in advanced countries led by the US and the debt crisis in Europe, a Central Bank survey showed.

MANILA, Philippines – Foreign direct investments approved by government agencies in the third quarter of the year rose by 32 percent compared to the same period last year, the National Statistical Coordination Board (NSCB) reported yesterday.

Business confidence showed an improvement for the final quarter of this year as the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ (BSP) periodic survey’s confidence index (CI) rose to 38.7 percent from 34.1 percent the previous quarter.

The Joint Foreign Chambers (JFC) is pressing President Aquino to reconsider his views giving low priority on proposals to amend the Constitution by relaxing so-called anti-foreign capital provisions in the Constitution.

Joint Foreign Chambers says doing business in the Philippines is getting more costly and difficult, urges economic reforms THE Joint Foreign Chambers and local business groups on Tuesday warned President Benigno Aquino III that time is running out on the economy because doing business in the country is getting costly and difficult.

MANILA, Philippines – The head of the European Chamber of Commerce in the Philippines praised leaders of Congress for working on constitutional reforms but lamented that President Aquino was not prioritizing amending the 1987 Constitution that could boost the country’s economic standing.

MANILA, Philippines – The inflow of foreign portfolio investments or “hot money” plunged 78.2 percent to $237.44 million in October from $1.088 billion in the same month last year as investors remained jittery due to the lingering debt crisis in Europe and the economic uncertainty in the US, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said.

MANILA, Philippines – The inflow of foreign portfolio investments or “hot money” plunged 78.2 percent to $237.44 million in October from $1.088 billion in the same month last year as investors remained jittery due to the lingering debt crisis in Europe and the economic uncertainty in the US, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said.

FOREIGN investments fell 55 percent in August as investors continued to shy away from the Philippines, where the planned infrastructure projects are still to take off more than a year into President Benigno Aquino III’s term.

The Trade Department said Monday the renewal of import duty privileges under the Generalized System of Preference by the United States will secure close to $1 billion in Philippine export earnings.