Philippines morning news for December 11

Philippines morning news for December 11
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Philippines morning newsADB agrees to lend $7.5 billions in loans to Philippines over 3 years
Multilateral lender Asian Development Bank said Monday it will extend loans of up to $2.5 billion annually to the Philippines, or a total of $7.4 billion from 2019 to 2021, to support the government’s ‘Build, Build, Build’ infrastructure program.
— Manilastandard.net

Office space sector hit record sales of 1.5 million sqm this year
Demand for office space hit a record 1.5 million square meters this year, as the strong take-up by the online gaming industry offset the slowdown in demand from the business process outsourcing sector, real estate services firm Leechiu Property Consultants said Monday.
— Manilastandard.net

MAP proposes lower gratuitous tax on transfer of real property
The Management Association of the Philippines (MAP) has recommended lower tax level for gratuitous tax of real property.
— Manila Bulletin

Slower growth seen with reenacted budget
Should there be a reenacted budget for 2019, the economy will grow at a slower-than-expected pace next year, while more people will be pushed into poverty and could become unemployed, government documents showed.
— Malaya

Rediscount loans hit P9.6 billion in Nov.
BANKS took additional loans from the central bank’s rediscount window in November, boosting money supply to service bigger capital expenses and commercial lending.
— BusinessWorld Online

Philippines slides to 73rd spot worldwide in freedom index
The Philippines is the third-freest country in South Asia, but global freedom has continued its slight decline—from 7.07 to 6.89 on a 10-point scale—since 2008, according to the fourth annual Human Freedom Index (HFI), a project co-published by influential American, Canadian, and German institutes.
— Manilastandard.net

3rd telco faces franchise trouble before House panel
Legal matters led the House committee on legislative franchises to suspend its deliberations on the transfer and sale of the controlling interest of Mindanao Islamic Telephone (Mislatel).
— Rappler

World Bank tells PHL, East Asia: Liberalize services sector, boost SME capacity
The Philippines has to liberalize its services sector and grow the capacity of its small and medium enterprises (SMEs) if it intends to sustain its productivity growth, a World Bank report said.
— Business Mirror

Trillanes posts P96K bail over libel raps
Sen. Antonio Trillanes 4th avoided detention after paying a P96,000-bail bond before a Pasay City court for four counts of libel lodged in Davao City by President Rodrigo Duterte’s son, Paolo Duterte and son-in-law Manases Carpio.
— The Manila Times

PH trade gap likely wider in Oct – HSBC
The country’s trade deficit likely expanded in October, banking giant HSBC said ahead of today’s release of official data.
— The Manila Times

House franchise body defers deliberations on Mislatel ownership
Lawmakers on Monday deferred deliberations on whether or not Chelsea Logistics and China Telecom should assume a controlling stake in the designated third telco, Mislatel.
— ABS-CBN News

Narrowing rates prompt full award of P15-billion T-bills
THE Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) has awarded the P15 billion on offer in its latest Treasury bills (T-bills) auction on Monday on the back of a very liquid domestic market as investors expect the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) to relax tightening measures.
— Business Mirror

PRRD awards 1st 500 housing units to Army Scout Rangers
Living up to his promise to provide decent and affordable housing units for military and police, President Rodrigo Duterte on Monday led the initial awarding of the 500 housing units to the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP)’s Army Scout Rangers.
— Philippine News Agency

PH seen running out of office space
The Philippines may run out of office space for lease as early as 2021 due to brisk demand from local and foreign businesses even as growth from the business process outsourcing (BPO) sector—a key driver of the real estate industry—has slowed down in the last two years.
— Philippine Daily Inquirer

ADB to fund finance, infrastructure inclusiveness
THE ASIAN Development Bank (ADB) and the Philippines exchanged loan documents for a combined $600 million credit line for two projects that seek to expand private-sector participation in public infrastructure projects and promote financial inclusion.
— BusinessWorld Online

House OKs bill lowering gov’t retirement age to 56
The House of Representatives on Monday overwhelmingly approved on third and final reading a measure lowering the optional retirement age of government employees from 60 to 56.
— Philippine News Agency

House OKs bill penalizing e-violence vs. women
The House of Representatives on Monday approved on third and final reading a measure that criminalizes electronic violence, which involves the use of information and communication technology.
— CNN Philippines

17th Congress clock ticks on tax reform
TIME IS RUNNING OUT on a second tax reform package to cut corporate income tax rates and streamline fiscal incentives under the current Congress, which is about to adjourn for its Dec. 15-Jan. 13 Christmas break.
— BusinessWorld Online

MRC Allied to power up 2 North Luzon rice mills
MRC Allied Inc. has formalized a deal with local firm Edward Marcs Philippines Inc. to power up two rice milling plants in North Luzon using solar power.
— The Philippine Star

PLDT seals USD40-M investment deal with IFC
PLDT Inc. has managed to close a USD40-million investment deal with the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and IFC Emerging Asia Fund for the purchase of newly-issued shares on its digital innovations unit Voyager Innovations.
— Philippine News Agency

Senate OKs new measure on child-adoption process
With 17 yes votes, no negative vote and no abstention, the Senate on Monday approved on third and final reading simplifying the adoption process of a child by allowing the rectification of simulated births through a simpler administrative proceeding.
— Business Mirror

Fitch unit sees 50 bps rate lift in 2019
Fitch Solutions Macro Research said the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) may raise interest rates anew by as much as 50 basis points next year after pausing from its tightening episode during its rate-setting meeting this Thursday.
— The Philippine Star

DOLE seeks rigid issuance of SWP to foreign workers
To cut the number of foreign workers entering the country, the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) on Monday vowed to push for restrictions on the issuance of the special work permit (SWP).
— Business Mirror

3rd telco faces franchise trouble before House panel
Legal matters led the House committee on legislative franchises to suspend its deliberations on the transfer and sale of the controlling interest of Mindanao Islamic Telephone (Mislatel).
— Rappler

PRRD grants P7K monthly aid to CAFGU members
President Rodrigo Duterte has signed an executive order granting PHP7,000 per month financial support for each member of the Citizen Armed Forces Geographical Unit (CAFGU) Active Auxiliary units.
— Philippine News Agency

PH hosts gender mainstreaming confab for ASEAN economic cluster
The Philippine government opened on Monday a three-day regional conference seeking to infuse gender perspectives into the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Economic Community (AEC).
— PTV News

Mindanao martial law contributes to human rights abuses in PH — group
Local human rights watchdog Karapatan countered the government and national police’s statements that there have not been any human rights violations in Mindanao, where a martial law is currently in effect.
— CNN Philippines

BDO plans to issue P15 B worth of CPs
BDO Leasing and Finance, Inc. (BDOLF), the leasing and finance arm of the BDO Group, is applying for a license from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to issue P15 billion in commercial papers (CPs).
— Manila Bulletin

Philippines Facility Management Market is Expected to Cross USD 138 Million 2022: Ken Research
The Philippines facility management market is still in the nascent to early growth stage.
— PR Newswire (media release)

PCSO charity assistance, down by 56 percent in October 2018
Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office general manager Alexander Balutan announced on Monday that the agency’s charity assistance registered a 56-percent decrease from P416,663,375 in October 2017 to P181,956,434 for the month of October 2018.
— Manilastandard.net

PH, 5 other countries to map next Coral Triangle action plan
Six countries are preparing to map the next regional plan of action (RPOA 2.0) to undertake in further protecting the 6.0 million-square kilometer Coral Triangle, the roughly triangular-shaped marine area at the junction of the Western Pacific and Indian oceans, cited by experts as center of marine biodiversity on Earth.
— Philippine News Agency

Retail CDOs to Watch Indonesia, Philippines Markets in 2019
This year had been an interesting one for retailers. Trade wars, regulations, data breaches and aggressive moves by online retailers have made it a challenging year.
— CDO Trends

 

Feature photo World Bank

This week’s Philippines morning news feature photo acknowledges International Universal Health Coverage Day, December 12.

 

Find our previous morning news feature photos in the AEC News Today Morning News Feature Photos gallery where you will find a pictorial display of daily life throughout the Asean Economic Community (AEC).

Philippines morning news by AEC News Today is your one stop source for Philippines news on matters of governance and policies affecting Asean business communities. It is published M-F by AEC News Today: Governance, not government; policies not politics.

 

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Stella-maris Ewudolu

Journalist at AEC News Today

Stella-maris graduated with a Bachelor of Arts, Education from Ebonyi State University, Nigeria in 2005.

Between November 2010 and February 2012 she was a staff writer at Daylight Online, Nigeria writing on health, fashion, and relationships. From 2010 – 2017 she worked as a freelance screen writer for ‘Nollywood’, Nigeria.

She joined AEC News Today in December 2016.

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