Travel bubbles within region, in countries to aid tourism revival

Creating travel bubbles within the region and within Asia Pacific countries could help revive the tourism industry, according to the ASEAN+3 Macroeconomic Research Office. In its latest Analytical Note, AMRO said creating these regional tourism corridors or bubbles in the Asia Pacific region would help make up for the decline in Chinese tourists who used to boost tourism in the region. Domestic tourism corridors, meanwhile, can help maximize the already strong domestic tourism in Asia Pacific countries, including the Philippines where 86 percent of tourism revenues were wiped out by the pandemic.

AMLC: Budget okay to help PHL exit from FATF grey list

Philippine authorities are looking to completely resolve soon all the issues flagged by the Financial Action Task Force on money-laundering, officials said, boosting hopes of having the country exiting a grey list. The Philippine action plan for resolving the rest of the issues—with about “84 percent” already responded to by Manila—has been submitted to FATF, which will review it in its meeting later in October, senators were told. In June 2021, when the Philippines was once again put on the FATF grey list, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Governor Benjamin Diokno vowed that Philippine authorities will “work unceasingly” to satisfactorily respond to FATF recommendations, in hopes of exiting the grey list on or before 2023.

Exporters told to make more use of EFTA privileges

Exporters seeking to expand their markets need to take advantage of preferential access offered via the free trade agreement with the European Free Trade Association, a bloc of four non-European Union states.  According to the Department of Trade and Industry, all industrial and fisheries tariff lines have duty-free market access to EFTA, while agricultural products such as frozen tuna, mackerel, canned pineapple, crude coconut oil, and fresh and dried bananas can benefit from significant tariff concessions. EFTA members are Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, and Switzerland, and the FTA took effect in 2018.

July FDI inflows highest in 19 months

FDI net inflows climbed by 52% to $1.263 billion in July from $831 million a year earlier, based on data released by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas. This is also 52% higher than the $833 million inflows seen in June. The July FDI inflows were the highest in 19 months or since the $1.36 billion in December 2019. In the first seven months of 2021, FDI inflows increased by 43.1% to $5.562 billion from the $3.885 billion in the same period of 2020.   

PH among least attractive to foreign investors

The Philippines placed second to the last among 14 Asia-Pacific economies ranked by UK-based Oxford Economics on attractiveness to foreign direct investment due to its poor infrastructure and competitiveness rankings. In a report, Oxford Economics lead Asia economist Sian Fenner ranked the Philippines only ahead of Taiwan in the think tank’s latest FDI attractiveness scorecard. In first place was China, followed by Vietnam, which Oxford Economics said was “set to continue gaining from supply chain restructuring.” Malaysia, India, Australia, Indonesia, South Korea, Hong Kong, Japan, New Zealand, Singapore, and Thailand also ranked higher than the Philippines.

BSP chief hopes to exempt digital transactions below ₱500 from VAT

The head of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said Friday digital transactions below ₱500 must be spared from the proposed imposition of a 12% value-added tax (VAT), which may hit users of tech giants such as Netflix and Lazada. BSP Governor Benjamin Diokno welcomed the proposed bill seeking to impose 12% VAT on digital transactions. However, Diokno said small amount transactions should be exempted from the value-added tax to still entice Filipino consumers to tap online services.

Philippines updates COVID-19 testing, quarantine rules for travelers from abroad

Effective Oct. 8, fully vaccinated travelers from green and yellow countries need to undergo facility-based quarantine until the release of their negative RT-PCR testing taken on the 5th day, said Palace spokesman Harry Roque.  They shall then be required to undergo home quarantine until their 10th day, with the day of arrival as their first day.  On the other hand, unvaccinated, partially vaccinated, or individuals whose vaccination status cannot be verified "shall be required to undergo facility-based quarantine until the release of their RT-PCR testing taken on the seventh day," said Roque.

UK to remove PH from travel ‘red list’ beginning Oct. 11

The United Kingdom has announced it will be removing a number of nations, including the Philippines, from its travel “red list” beginning October 11. The UK imposed travel restrictions on the Philippines in April amid the surge in COVID-19 cases and to prevent the spread of more contagious variants. In a separate statement, the British Embassy in Manila said fully vaccinated travelers from the Philippines will not be required to stay at a quarantine hotel.

Metro Manila might be 'low-risk' for COVID-19 by end-October: OCTA

Metro Manila might be classified as "low risk" for COVID-19 by the end of the month, OCTA Research Group said. Virus cases in the capital region has peaked and is tallying a 7-day average of 2,000, according to Guido David. Hospital occupancy is also expected to decline as Metro Manila currently has a 0.6 percent COVID-19 reproductive number, or the number of people infected by a single virus patient, and a positivity rate of 13 percent, David said. The Department of Health had also observed a decline in new infections in the capital region, home to around 13.5 million people and which accounts for about a third of the country's gross domestic product.

Govt OKs protocols for travel from NCR to GCQ, MGCQ areas

Presidential spokesperson Harry Roque said in a virtual briefing that the pandemic response task force is now allowing the interzonal point-to-point movement of individuals from Metro Manila to areas under general community quarantine and modified general community quarantine. The new travel protocols also cover those below 18 years old, fully vaccinated individuals over 65-years of age, fully vaccinated individuals with comorbidities or other health risks, and fully vaccinated pregnant women.

PHL to start 100% check on all imported farm goods

The government has established a “second border” wherein the Department of Agriculture (DA) and the Bureau of Customs (BOC) will undertake the mandatory inspection of imported goods, authorities said. Under the new inspection system, imported farm goods will first undergo an “open-close” examination at the port of entry or “border,” and then the shipment will be subjected to a 100-percent inspection once it arrives at its designated warehouses, which the DA calls “second border.”

Central bank sees prices easing in Q4

The Philippine central bank expects consumer price increases to slow in the coming months as meat prices go down. Meat prices, which contributed to faster inflation in the past months, have eased, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas ng Pilipinas Governor Benjamin E. Diokno said. Meat inflation slowed to 15.6% in September from 22.1% in May. Mr. Diokno said food inflation had remained elevated in the past months because of low fish, vegetables, and meat supply caused by typhoons and an African swine fever outbreak.

Fitch says will assess ‘scarring effects’ of pandemic on economy

Fitch ratings said it is keeping a close eye on the pandemic’s long-term impact on the Philippine economy, which is seen to return to pre-pandemic levels by the latter part of 2022. In July, the debt watcher revised its outlook on the Philippines to “negative” from “stable.” This means Fitch may downgrade the country’s investment grade “BBB” rating in the next 12 to 18 months. The Philippine economy suffered a record 9.6% contraction in 2020, as the government implemented strict lockdowns to curb the COVID-19 outbreak. Last week, Fitch trimmed its forecast for growth this year to 4.4% from 5% previously, citing the resurgence of COVID-19 infections and the low vaccination rate.

PH jobless rate in Aug highest in region–Neda

The revert to the strictest lockdown restrictions in August made the Philippines’ unemployment rate the highest among emerging Asian economies, the state planning agency National Economic and Development Authority (Neda) said. The Philippines’ latest jobless rate, at 8.1 percent last August, topped the six countries in the Neda report. The four-month high unemployment rate in August meant 3.88 million Filipinos were without work that month.

PH on track to receive cumulative 100M doses by end-October

Half of the more than 1.8 million doses of Pfizer Covid-19 vaccines donated by the United States government through the COVAX Facility arrived Sunday afternoon (10 October) at Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 3, a boost to the government’s target to acquire a total of 100 million doses by the end of this month. More than 14.2 million doses were delivered to the Philippines in the first week of October, with average daily arrivals hitting 1.5 million doses. As of October 8, more than 49 million doses have been administered and 23 million individuals are already fully vaccinated.