Business
Filipino tech firm targets gov’t offices for digitization, AI services
January 11, 2024, 4:05 pm
MANILA – Listed technology company Xurpas, Inc. has seen big potential in offering its services to national government agencies (NGAs) and local government units (LGUs), especially with the Marcos administration’s push to digitize government services. Xurpas chief executive officer Joey… Read More
PH pitches mineral processing, halal to visiting Indonesian biz
January 11, 2024, 8:23 am
MANILA – Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Secretary Alfredo Pascual has pitched mineral processing, halal, and creative industries as sectors where the Philippines and Indonesia could further collaborate. Pascual on Wednesday met with Indonesian businessmen who are part of the delegation… Read More
PH exports need to grow 40% to catch up with 2024 target
January 10, 2024, 7:29 pm
MANILA – Philippine exports of goods and services should grow by 40 percent to catch up with the over PHP140-billion export revenues target for 2024 under the Philippine Export Development Program (PEDP), a Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) official said. DTI-Export Marketing Bureau (EMB)… Read More
Massive quakes to cause heavy toll on Japan’s GDP
January 10, 2024, 6:55 pm
ISTANBUL – The destruction caused by earthquakes will cause a “heavy blow” to the gross domestic product of Japan, the country’s economists have predicted. Japan was hit by a massive earthquake on New Year's Day, killing at least 206 people, while 52 others are still missing, Tokyo-based… Read More
PH manages ‘soft landing’ amid monetary tightening, inflation
January 10, 2024, 6:20 pm
MANILA – An economist said the Philippines has suffered the biggest blow in terms of tightening of monetary policy and inflation pressure among ASEAN peers, but the country still managed to ease the impacts of these headwinds on its economy. In a briefing in Taguig City on Tuesday, HSBC… Read More
Calabarzon posts 'mild' 3.4% inflation in December
January 10, 2024, 6:19 pm
LIPA CITY, Batangas – Inflation in the Calabarzon region was kept to a moderate 3.4 percent in December 2023 due mainly to the stable prices of some heavily-weighted food items despite the high demand during the Christmas season. This represents a notable decline from the 3.8 percent posted in… Read More
PSEi tracks US market decline, peso depreciates
January 10, 2024, 5:39 pm
MANILA – The local stock market ended the day in the negative territory while the peso remained on the PHP56 level on Wednesday. The Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) shed 72.41 points to close at 6,546.11, while All Shares also declined by 34.04 points to 3,469.64. "Philippine equities… Read More
PH to continue to post strong growth
January 10, 2024, 5:15 pm
MANILA – The Philippines is projected to continue to be one of the fastest growing economies in East Asia and the Pacific over the next two years. In its Global Economic Prospects report released on Wednesday, the World Bank maintained its Philippine economic growth forecasts for 2023 to 2025.… Read More
Trade deficit up in November
January 10, 2024, 5:09 pm
MANILA – The country's trade deficit widened by 26.3 percent in November last year, data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) showed. Preliminary data released by the PSA on Wednesday showed that the balance of trade in goods, or the difference between the value of exports and imports,… Read More
Meralco announces higher rates in 2024
January 10, 2024, 4:02 pm
MANILA – Customers in the franchise areas of the Manila Electric Company (Meralco) can expect higher electricity bills in the first month of 2024, as the distribution utility (DU) announced a slight increase in power rate for January. On Wednesday, Meralco said there will be an upward adjustment… Read More
PH 10-month net FDI inflows reach USD6.5B
January 10, 2024, 4:01 pm
MANILA – The net value of inward direct investments by foreign investors into the Philippines amounted to USD6.5 billion from January to October 2023, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) reported Wednesday. The BSP said net foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows in the first 10 months last… Read More
DMCI Holdings maintains positive outlook for 2024
January 10, 2024, 3:35 pm
MANILA – Diversified conglomerate DMCI Holdings Inc. has maintained its positive outlook for 2024 due to cooling inflation and stabilizing interest rates. “Overall, we expect the DMCI group to deliver another resilient performance this year,” DMCI Holdings chairman and president Isidro… Read More
Samsung flags 35% slip in Q4 profit, misses forecast
January 9, 2024, 9:42 pm
SEOUL – Samsung Electronics Co. on Tuesday predicted that its operating profit for the fourth quarter of last year would tumble 35 percent, hurt by persistent weak demand for its mainstay semiconductor division. Samsung, the world's biggest maker of memory chips and smartphones, estimated its… Read More
PH eyes FTA with SoKor to take effect by H1 2024
January 9, 2024, 8:16 pm
MANILA – Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Undersecretary Ceferino Rodolfo said the country targets to implement the Philippines-South Korea Free Trade Agreement (FTA) by the first half of 2024, or around nine months since it was signed by both parties. “We're hoping that the first half… Read More
PSEi gains on jobs data as peso touches 56-level
January 9, 2024, 8:16 pm
MANILA – Local shares improved on Tuesday following the upbeat employment market, while the peso touched the PHP56 level to a US dollar, the weakest in almost a month. The Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) finished the day slightly gaining 9.30 points at 6,618.52, with the broader All… Read More
Manufacturing sector continues to grow in November
January 9, 2024, 5:14 pm
MANILA – Factory output both in volume and value grew at a faster pace in November last year, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported on Tuesday. Results of the PSA's latest Monthly Integrated Survey of Selected Industries showed that the Value of Production Index (VaPI) grew by 2.2… Read More
DTI vows to lure investments producing high-quality jobs
January 9, 2024, 5:05 pm
MANILA – The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), the agency responsible for generating jobs in the country, has vowed to continue attracting investments that produce higher-quality and higher-paying jobs. DTI Undersecretary Kim Bernardo-Lokin said in an interview at the Bagong Pilipinas… Read More
BTr fully awards Treasury bonds
January 9, 2024, 5:03 pm
MANILA – The Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) fully awarded the new five-year Treasury bonds (T-bonds) during Tuesday's auction, setting the coupon rate at 6.125 percent. The BTr said the auction was nearly 2.5 times oversubscribed as the total submitted bids amounted to PHP74.3 billion. With its… Read More
BOC exceeds 2023 collection target
January 9, 2024, 2:22 pm
MANILA – The Bureau of Customs (BOC) collected PHP883.624 billion last year, surpassing its PHP874.16 billion target by 1.08 percent, the Department of Finance (DOF) said on Tuesday. In a statement, the DOF said the BOC's collections last year were also higher by 2.46 percent than the PHP862.41… Read More
Unemployment rate further eases to 3.6% in November 2023
January 9, 2024, 12:22 pm Updated on January 9, 2024, 7:29 pm
MANILA – The country's unemployment rate fell to its lowest level in November last year, while employment reached its highest since April 2005, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported on Tuesday. At a briefing, National Statistician Dennis Mapa said results of the PSA's latest Labor… Read More
