Investments

MANILA, Philippines – Foreign investors have adopted a wait-and-see attitude, putting on hold or temporarily withdrawing their investments in the Philippines due to jitters over today’s elections, according to Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Deputy Governor Diwa Guinigundo.

THE Philippines, along with strife-torn Thailand, are unattractive destinations for global executives planning to invest in Southeast Asia this year, according to an international consulting firm.

THE PHILIPPINES became the “biggest faller” among 27 emerging markets in a survey that ranked countries based on its growth opportunities.

AMERICAN companies are expected to infuse more investments in the Philippines after the May 10 national elections, the American Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines said Wednesday.

MANILA, Philippines – Albay Gov. Joey Salceda, President Arroyo’s former senior economic adviser, took his oath as Bicol regional chairman of the Liberal Party Monday and projected that a victory by Liberal Party presidential candidate, Sen. Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III would spur much-needed domestic and foreign investments in the country.

MANILA, Philippines – Foreign portfolio investments or “hot money” that entered the country surged by 602 percent in the first quarter of the year on the back of robust corporate earnings, strong peso, the rise in US stock market as well as bouyant Asian markets, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) reported yesterday.

MANILA, Philippines—Agribusiness, business process outsourcing, creative industries, infrastructure (airports and seaports, road and rail, power and water), manufacturing and logistics, mining, and tourism, medical travel, and retirement will frontline the country’s drive for robust investment, foreign investors said in a forum.

IN order for the next president to get the Philippines back on track to achieving sustained and inclusive economic growth, the domestic investment rate must be increased to an annual rate of 25 percent from the current 15 percent, which is the lowest among its neighbor states.

MANILA, Philippines – Investor confidence in the Philippines reached a new high in the first quarter of 2010, rebounding from its rock-bottom level in early 2009, despite political uncertainties in the May polls.

MANILA, Philippines—Senator Benigno Aquino III remains the choice of local and foreign investors as the presidential candidate who can best promote a stable investment climate, according to the latest investor survey of Dutch financial giant ING Bank.

MANILA, Philippines – The Joint Foreign Chamber of the Philippines (JFC) predicted on Monday $75 billion in foreign direct investments (FDI) and the creation of 10 billion new jobs for 2010 to 2020.

It’s very difficult to do business in this country, with a lot of tedious procedures needed in securing all sorts of permits and licenses that take so long to accomplish. By the time the process is done, almost half the investor’s capital has been spent for tiresome paperwork made worse by red tape – plus…

COMMITMENTS to invest in the Philippines grew by more than two-fold in the first quarter of the year, according to the Department of Trade and Industry.

MALACAÑANG on Tuesday approved this year’s Investment Priorities Plan (IPP), which lists the businesses that would benefit from tax and other incentives.

MANILA, Philippines – The government is now looking at fast tracking the 2010 investments priorities plan (IPP) in order to mitigate the power crisis in Mindanao by providing incentives to the importation of generators, the Board of Investments (BOI) said.

MANILA, Philippines – Investment commitments in the country more than doubled during the first two months of the year as investments in the manufacturing sector poured in, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) said over the weekend.

Last February 16, we held a conference on barriers to investment. It was a working conference that brought in a variety of groups that are involved in one way or another with wanting much greater levels of investment in the Philippines. It was to discuss a working paper we have done and have now finalized…

MANILA, Philippines – Japanese electronic firm Nidec Corp. is set to implement a $300 million (P13 billion) expansion program in the Philippines which is expected to create an additional 10,000 direct jobs, officials said yesterday.

THE Export Development Council (EDC) will recommend the removal of the mandatory export requirement so that micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) could also avail of perks granted to businesses that ship their products abroad.

MANILA, Philippines – Investments in the country’s electronics sector went up 20 percent in 2009 compared to the previous year as the global economy starts recovering from the recent financial crisis, the Semiconductor and Electronics Industries in the Philippines Inc. (SEIPI) reported.

CEBU CITY, Philippines – Net inflow of foreign direct investments (FDI) jumped 26.2 percent last year on the back of strong equity inflows as investors continued to plough back earnings to the country in re-cognition of the resilient domestic economy, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas officer-in-charge Diwa Guinigundo reported yesterday.

MANILA, Philippines – The Makati Business Club (MBC) has criticized the alleged “instability of government policies and regulations” after the government ordered Pilipinas Shell Petroleum Corp. to pay back taxes.

THE Board of Investments has extended the contingency list of the 2009 Investment Priorities Plan to the first half of the year after the National Economic and Development Authority declared the global financial crisis is not yet over.

The prices of 97 medicines were ordered halved last week—this is now the second batch after 43 were forced to halve prices last year. Overall, 140 types of drugs have been forced to lower prices despite that there were low-priced alternatives on the market. And it’s mostly the rich, not the poor, who benefit. It’s…

THE Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) is mulling over a plan to ease business requirements for exporters registered with its incentive-giving agencies.

MANILA, Philippines – The country is in danger of losing investments as the business community expressed grave concern on the worsening power crisis in the country.

EXPORTERS are seeking the reinstatement of a “contingency list” in the 2010 Investment Priorities Plan (IPP) to allow them to recover fully from the global economic slump.

Taiwanese electronics and information technology (IT) firms are looking at the possibility of directly investing in the country or partnering with local firms, the Manila Economic and Cultural Office (MECO) said on Thursday.

The top World Bank official in the country said yesterday the investment climate under the Arroyo administration remained weak due to poor governance, pervasive corruption, and lack of policy reforms.

MANILA, Philippines – Money sent home by overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) hit a new monthly record high of $1.567 billion in December, enabling the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) to register a stronger-than-expected growth in remittances for the whole of 2009.