Business
Cebu City collects P7.3-B taxes in 2020
March 9, 2021, 7:19 pm
CEBU CITY – The city government of Cebu collected a total of PHP7.347 billion in taxes in 2020 despite the pandemic. This was disclosed by City Mayor Edgardo Labella in a press conference at the City Hall on Tuesday after weeks of working from home. Labella said the 2020 tax take is lower than… Read More
DTI, DOLE call for reinforcement of health protocols in workplace
March 9, 2021, 6:50 pm
MANILA – Amid the threats of new coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) variants in the country, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) and the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) issued Tuesday an advisory calling for reinforcement of health protocols to prevent the spread of the virus… Read More
Carbon tax makes PH energy sector uncompetitive: DOE chief
March 9, 2021, 6:47 pm
MANILA – The Philippines is not yet ready to impose carbon tax as a move to reduce carbon dioxide emission particularly in the power sector, the country’s top energy official said. At the virtual panel session of Asia Pacific Energy Week organized by Siemens Energy Tuesday, Department of… Read More
Stocks rise; peso nearly unchanged as investors stay on sidelines
March 9, 2021, 6:42 pm
MANILA – The local main equities index ended its three-day slide on Tuesday as investors stayed at the sidelines amid concerns about the coronavirus pandemic. The Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) rose by 0.15 percent, or 9.91 points, to 6,766.83 points. However, All Shares went down by… Read More
Further economic reopening eyed to address unemployment
March 9, 2021, 5:24 pm
MANILA – Further reopening of the domestic economy and easing of movement restrictions are seen to help address the country’s unemployment rate, which stood at 8.7 percent in January 2021. Economists expect the unemployment rate to remain around this level until next year given the impact… Read More
7-year T-bond rate rises
March 9, 2021, 5:18 pm
MANILA – The rate of the Philippines’ seven-year Treasury bond (T-bond) rose Tuesday, which National Treasurer Rosalia de Leon traced to a similar trend in the secondary market due to the elevated inflation rate. The average rate of the debt paper inched up to 3.732 percent from 2.719 percent… Read More
5G data traffic up 24x in February: Globe
March 9, 2021, 4:45 pm
MANILA – Mobile network provider Globe Telecom (Globe) reported a significant increase in 5G data traffic in February, 24 times the data traffic back in September last year. In a statement on Tuesday, Globe said data traffic reached 416.76 terabytes (TB) in February after recent network upgrades… Read More
DOE studying gov’t participation in power sector
March 9, 2021, 4:21 pm
MANILA – Department of Energy (DOE) Secretary Alfonso Cusi said Tuesday his office is conducting a study whether it is advisable for a developing country like the Philippines to have its power sector to be completely owned by the private sector only. Speaking at the virtual panel session of… Read More
More jobs restored with safe reopening of economy
March 9, 2021, 3:04 pm
MANILA – The country is gradually getting back the jobs lost due to the pandemic but the smaller progress in the past quarter suggests the need to address remaining restrictions before the economy can get closer to normal, economic managers in a joint statement released by the National Economic… Read More
HCG unit eyes to produce Covid-screening device in PH
March 9, 2021, 2:58 pm
MANILA – A unit of Hocheng Corp. (HCG), a leading bathroom equipment manufacturer, aims to expand its operation in the Philippines by producing and selling its coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) screening device. In a statement Tuesday, the Board of Investments (BOI) said executives of Hocheng… Read More
SEC set to open online portal for reports submission
March 8, 2021, 8:15 pm
MANILA – Corporations and partnerships may start using the online submission tool (OST) to submit their annual financial statements (AFS), general information sheet (GIS), and other annual reports to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) by March 15. The commission on March 8 issued… Read More
T-bill rates up anew
March 8, 2021, 7:32 pm
MANILA – The country’s treasury bill (T-bill) rates rose Monday in line with the path of US Treasuries. The average rate of the 91-day T-bill increased to 1.139 percent, the 182-day to 1.316 percent, and the 364-day to 1.852 percent. These were at 1.040 percent, 1.226 percent, and 1.680… Read More
Launch of DITO major development in PH telco: PCC
March 8, 2021, 7:30 pm
MANILA – The Philippine Competition Commission (PCC) has welcomed the launching of DITO Telecommunity in the telecommunications sector in the country. In a statement Monday, PCC chair Arsenio Balisacan said the launching of the third telecommunications player is a major development in the… Read More
Peso flat vs. dollar; stocks slip as risk-off sentiments prevail
March 8, 2021, 7:27 pm
MANILA – Risk-off sentiments resulted in the negative close of the Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) Monday but the peso was almost unchanged against the US dollar. The main equities index shed 1.81 percent, or 124.45 points, to 6,756.92 points. All the other indexes also finished the… Read More
Market volatility encourages investors to be risk-takers
March 8, 2021, 5:46 pm
MANILA – The volatility brought about by the pandemic made some investors more risk-takers, especially on the equities market, officials of Pru Life UK Investments said. In a briefing Monday, Pru Life UK Investments chief executive officer Lee Longa said economic recovery is expected this year… Read More
Economic rebound still possible amid rising Covid cases: DTI
March 8, 2021, 5:42 pm
MANILA – The country’s top trade official believes that the economic recovery is still possible this year if only localized or granular lockdowns will be imposed amid the rising coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) cases in the past week. Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Secretary… Read More
Oil firms announce rollback after successive price hikes
March 8, 2021, 5:28 pm
MANILA – After a month of successive oil price hikes, pump prices will go down this week starting Tuesday. In separate advisories, Caltex, Cleanfuel, Petro Gazz, Petron, PTT Philippines, Seaoil, Shell, and Unioil said they will reduce gasoline prices by PHP0.10 per liter and diesel prices by… Read More
PH employees seen to get 5.6% salary increase in 2021
March 8, 2021, 3:18 pm
MANILA – Workers in the country are projected to have an average increase of 5.6 percent in their salary this year, the Salary Budget Planning Report of global advisory, broking, and solutions firm Willis Towers Watson (WTW) said. The average salary increase in the Philippines this year,… Read More
Cycling, protected bike lanes can augment public transpo shortage
March 8, 2021, 1:48 pm
MANILA – Promoting cycling and building protected bike lanes can augment public transportation and help people safely get to work during the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic, the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) said. “The Covid-19 pandemic has hurt the… Read More
Economists eye steady BSP rate this year
March 5, 2021, 7:56 pm
MANILA – Economists forecast a steady policy rate for the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) this year as inflation remains elevated, which is projected to even rise to around 5 percent level in the coming months. This, after the domestic inflation rate accelerated to its two-year high in… Read More
