Investments

Majority of Filipino investors are worried about their jobs as companies are likely to defer expansion plans this year amid the global economic crisis, a Dutch investment bank reported.

FOREIGNERS have started buying shares of listed Philippine companies and other peso-denominated financial assets in March due to the country’s favorable economic data. In a statement, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said net foreign portfolio investments—which is incoming less outgoing foreign money—posted a net inflow of $32.2 million in March from the $198.7-million net outflow…

MANILA, Philippines – Broadcast giant GMA Network Inc. and energy firm Aboitiz Power Corp. (APC) are the two new entrants to the Philippine Stock Exchange’s (PSE) elite roster of listed companies in the PSEi, the main index of overall stock market performance.

Local investors are less confident about the country’s economic situation in the first three months of the year, saying it will neither get worse nor get better anytime soon, a survey revealed Thursday.

MANILA, Philippines – Foreign direct investments continued to plummet, tumbling by 52 percent to only $13 million in January this year from $27 million in the same period last year and $184 million in January 2007.

MANILA, Philippines – Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Governor Amando M. Tetangco Jr. said foreign direct investments (FDIs) would slow down this year because of lingering uncertainty over global prospects in the next two to three years.

MANILA, Philippines – The Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) was the top performer among Southeast Asian markets in the first quarter of the year, thanks to its strong fundamentals and wide ranging reforms that have allowed it to stay afloat amid the global economic crisis.

MANILA, Philippines – The government announced they will continue to give tax incentives to the logistics industry because of the crucial role it plays in all functions of companies.

MANILA, Philippines – The Department of Finance (DOF) warned against the negative impact of income tax holidays granted to foreign and local investors.

The Board of Investments (BOI) is currently fast tracking the guidelines of the proposed 2009 Investment Priorities Plan (IPP), including the “contingency list” that would include firms, which would save or give jobs.

MANILA, Philippines – The government is expecting more investments from European countries as a 40-man business delegation from Belgium and Spain visited the country and announced they are interested in locating their manufacturing and services operations here.

The Finance Department will ask the Senate to consider its proposed bill phasing out the grant of income tax holidays to prospective foreign and local investors to raise revenues.

Marubeni Corp. of Japan will bid for the contracts to operate the 700-megawatt Pagbilao and 1,000-MW Sual coal power plants, an industry source said over the weekend.

MANILA, Philippines – MG Leasing Corp. (MGL), a joint venture between Japanese industrial giants Sumitomo Mitsui Finance and Leasing Corp. (SMFLC) and Marubeni Corp., is planning to invest in renewable energy projects in the Philippines.

Long-standing problems on corruption in the Philippines, inadequate infrastructure, poor governance, unsound business policies and a weak rule of law continue to keep European investors at bay, the European Union’s top diplomat to the country said.

The Board of Investments has identified nine areas of activities or a negative list that are not qualified as “job saving” under the Contingency List of the 2009 Investment Priorities Plan (IPP), which the Board has approved for Malacañang’s signature.

Intex Resources Philippines Inc., a unit of Intex Resources ASA of Norway, yesterday signed a $2.95-billion agreement with the Philippines to develop a nickel reserve on an area straddling Occidental and Oriental Mindoro provinces.

MANILA, Philippines – Despite the global financial crunch, job opportunities in Clark freeport zone continue to expand as 3,000 new jobs are about to open after four new lease agreements were signed recently.

ABOUT 3,000 jobs will be created with the P20-billion worth of investments in the tourism industry this year, the Department of Tourism (DoT) has said.

MANILA, Philippines – The Bureau of Immigration (BI) has started implementing a program that provides indefinite visa to foreign investors and businessmen who employ at least 10 Filipino workers as part of the government’s job-generation strategy.

MANILA, Philippines — In a bid to boost foreign investments in the country amid the global economic crisis, the Bureau of Immigration has begun implementing an indefinite visa program that would allow foreign investors and businessmen who employ at least 10 Filipino workers to stay in the Philippines.

MANILA, Philippines – In an attempt to further encourage entrepreneurship, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) announced that it will implement the automatic renewal of business name registrations even without applications for renewal.

MANILA, Philippines – Hot money fled the country last month as the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) reported a net outflow of $199 million in foreign portfolio investments, reflecting more caution among investors amid a deepening global slowdown.

MANILA, Philippines — Net foreign direct investment (FDI) in the Philippines last year dropped 48 percent to $1.52 billion from $2.92 billion in 2007, the central bank reported Tuesday.

JAPAN’s biggest bathroom and sanitary wares manufacturer expects sales of high-tech toilets in the Philippines to be “better” this year despite the global crisis.

MANILA, Philippines – The government has launched new incentive packages for Taiwanese investors, including tax breaks in an attempt to attract more investors especially in the Clark and Subic Freeport zones.

Last week, I warned that government intervention in business was a major deterrent to business. We have a government that professes its wish to attract investors and its desire to do everything necessary to make the Philippines a desirable place to invest, yet its actions too often do the very reverse.

MANILA, Philippines – Toshiba Information Equipment Philippines Inc., a subsidiary of Toshiba Digital Media Co., is investing an additional P110 million to expand its operations in the country.

MANILA, Philippines – Investors putting in big projects in the Philippines will be needing the approval of President Arroyo and at least three Cabinet officials to quality for fiscal incentives.

MANILA, Philippines – Foreign direct investments surged by 68.1 percent to $232 million in November last year, a rare increase fueled largely by huge capital inflows into the mining sector.