Investors cheer lifting of foreign ownership cap

The ECCP welcomes the amendments to the Public Services Act (PSA) reform. 

Last 3 February, the Joint Foreign Chambers mentioned in a statement that, "With enactment of the PSA amendments important new investment opportunities in telecommunications, most forms of transportation, and other public services will now be open, creating significant larger foreign capital inflows in future years.”

Last 2 February, both Houses of Congress ratified the bicameral report on the said measure. Hear ECCP President Lars Wittig's views on this milestone at the 3 February CNN Philippines interview.

BOC surpasses Jan. goal

The Bureau of Customs (BOC) has exceeded its first monthly collection goal for the year by 11.58 percent, the agency said in a statement yesterday. The BOC said it was able to generate P58.16 billion in January against its P52.12 billion target collection, posting a surplus of P6.04 billion. Based on BOC’s preliminary report, 14 out of the 17 collection districts hit the target, namely, the ports of San Fernando, Manila, Batangas, Legaspi, Iloilo, Cebu, Surigao, Zamboanga, Davao, Subic, Clark, Aparri and Limay and the Manila International Container Port.

PEZA taps unutilized airports as aerotropolis ecozones

The Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) and the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) yesterday signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) which serves as the initial commitment for the establishment of aerotropolis ecozones and/or aerotropolis-linked ecozones in the country. The agreement provides these ecozones will use CAAP’ s idle real estate assets throughout the country. Under the MOU, PEZA and CAAP will jointly promote the establishment of these ecozones to attract investments in aviation industry-related manufacturing industries, logistics services and maintenance, repair and operations, including, but not limited to, emerging companies involved in renewable energy technologies and food terminal hubs.

Senate, House ratify bicameral version of amended Public Service Act

The Senate and the House of Representatives on Wednesday separately ratified their reconciled version of the bill amending the 85-year-old Public Service Act (PSA), which economic managers and lawmakers envision would boost foreign investments in the Philippines by around P299 billion over the next five years.

The House of Representatives ratified the Bicameral Conference Report for House Bill No. 78 and Senate Bill No. 2094 which seeks to amend the 85-year-old PSA.

Lost income from coronavirus pandemic may be recovered by 4th quarter of 2023 — FSCC

The Philippine Economy is expected to continue to rebound, but it may take until the fourth quarter of 2023 to recover lost incomes from the coronavirus pandemic, the Financial Stability Coordination Council (FSCC) said. FSCC Chairman and Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Governor Benjamin E. Diokno said the 5.6% gross domestic product (GDP) growth in 2021 reflects a “solid turnaround” from the previous year’s record contraction.

Rising food, fuel prices likely drove inflation in January, says BSP

January inflation may have been driven by higher prices of fuel and food staples, although this could have been offset by lower electricity costs, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said. The central bank did not give its monthly inflation range for January, as the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) shifts to the 2018-based consumer price index (CPI). “The BSP will not publish its forecast range for the month while waiting for the official release of historical series for the 2018-based CPI by the PSA. This will allow the BSP to re-estimate its inflation models used in monetary policy analysis and macroeconomic forecasting,” the central bank said in a statement.

Lifting restrictions on unvaxxed up to LGUs – DILG

It is up to local government officials to decide whether or not to ease restrictions on unvaccinated persons with the lowering of the alert level in areas where new COVID cases are decreasing. Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) spokesman Jonathan Malaya said stay-at-home orders and the implementation of the ”no vaccine, no ride” or ”no entry” policy depend on local chief executives. Aside from Metro Manila, Cavite, Bulacan, Rizal, Batanes, Biliran and Southern Leyte were downgraded to Alert Level 2 from Feb. 1 to 15.

PH now at moderate risk for COVID-19

The country is now at moderate risk for COVID-19 given negative infection growth rates, a Health official said on Wednesday, even as health care capacity is at low risk. “The Philippines is now at moderate-risk case classification, dati nasa high at critical risk tayo, pero ngayon moderate na lang [we were at high risk and critical risk before but now we are at moderate risk],” said Vergeire in a media forum. “We showed a negative one-week and two-week growth rate.”

New BSP rules boost e-payment services

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) has issued guidelines on the settlement of electronic payments, to encourage wider use of digital channels while ensuring safety and security of transactions. Intended to further promote the stability of the Philippine payments system, BSP Circular 1135 specifies the guidelines on the settlement of e-payments under the National Retail Payment System framework. “The new set of guidelines is expected to strengthen the credit and settlement risk management of BSP-supervised financial institutions participating in automated clearing houses (ACHs),” BSP Governor Benjamin Diokno said in his weekly press briefing.

Value of PH electronics exports hits record in ’21

The country’s electronics exports totaled nearly $46 billion worth last year — an all-time high — after 2020 disrupted its pre-pandemic winning streak of record annual revenues for three years in a row. The electronics sector, the country’s largest exporter, shipped out $45.92 billion worth of goods last year, a 12.9 percent growth from 2020, said the Semiconductor and Electronics Industries in the Philippines Foundation Inc. (Seipi) on Wednesday, Feb. 2.

Bill protecting financial consumers now awaits President’s signature

A measure seeking to provide increased protection for financial consumers against cybercrime will now be sent to Malacañang for President Rodrigo R. Duterte’s signature. The Senate on Wednesday passed on third and final reading Senate Bill No. 2488 or the proposed Financial Consumers Protection Act (FCPA). The House of Representatives also adopted the Senate’s version of the bill, which means it will just need Mr. Duterte’s signature to become a law.

DTI hopeful of RCEP nod this year

Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez yesterday expressed hope the Senate would eventually concur with the ratification of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) Agreement when it resumes session this year. Ratification of the country’s participation in the RCEP was considered deferred as the Senate adjourned without resuming deliberations on the agreement last Wednesday, its last session before the elections. In a statement, Lopez said given the period until the resumption of the session of the Senate, Senators will have ample time to see not only the value and importance of the RCEP agreement but also an opportunity to figure out how to align pending legislative agenda to further support local industries and producers.

Consumption, infra spending to lift growth to 7% this year

IHS Markit sees the Philippine economy growing by 7 percent this year driven by private consumption and government infrastructure investments. Ceferino Rodolfo, managing head of the Board of Investments (BOI) in a statement said this was the forecast of Rajiv Biswas, executive director and APAC chief economist of IHS at an Economic Outlook Briefing organized by the BOI on Jan. 26, 2022. “For the Philippines, we are expecting rapid growth in 2022 due to further progress towards normalization of the economy,” Biswas said.

Philippine Congress Allows Full Ownership in Telco, Rail [mention]

The Philippine Congress approved a bill allowing full foreign ownership of telecommunications and railways, opening up one of the world’s most restrictive economies. The House of Representatives and the Senate ratified Wednesday night a reconciled bill amending the 85-year-old law that caps foreign ownership of public utilities to 40%. The measure will now be up for President Duterete’s approval into law.

‘PSA should benefit small businesses’ [JFC]

With the amended Public Service Act (PSA) a signature away towards becoming a law, the Philippine Competition Commission (PCC) has committed to ensure the expected benefits of liberalization will trickle down to the intended beneficiaries, the consumers. This as the Joint Foreign Chambers (JFC) yesterday welcomed the ratification on Wednesday night by Congress of the bicameral conference committee report reconciling provisions of Senate Bill 2094 and House Bill 78 on the amendments to the 1936 PSA.

With PSA, safeguards vs. abuse in place–PCC

As the amended Public Services Act (PSA) inches closer to enactment, the Philippine Competition Commission (PCC) assured that safeguards are in place to prevent abuse of market dominance and other anti-competitive practices. PCC Commissioner Johannes R. Bernabe said at  a media briefing on Thursday that the Philippine Competition Act (PCA) provides the much-needed safeguards to the measure that seeks to allow full foreign ownership in certain sectors, including transportation and telecommunication.

FDI surge expected as full foreign ownership allowed in more sectors

Allowing full foreign ownership in telecommunications, railways, airlines and airports would likely boost new investments by as much as P299 billion in the next five years and boost economic growth, a lawmaker said. Congress on Wednesday evening ratified the reconciled bill amending the Public Service Act (PSA), which removed telecommunications, domestic shipping, railways and subways, airlines, expressways and tollways, and airports from the definition of public utility. This means they will no longer be subject to the 40% foreign ownership cap under the Constitution.

Inflation eases to 3% in January as new base year takes effect

Prices of basic goods rose at a slower pace in January with household utilities and restaurant services leading the milder increase, the Philippine Statistics Authority reported Friday. Inflation stood at 3% during the month, decelerating both from 3.2% in December and 3.7% in January last year. The latest figures now use 2018 as base year, PSA chief Dennis Mapa said in a virtual briefing.