BusinessWeek MINDANAO
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Volume IV, No. 84
www.businessweekmindanao.com
THE
FOUR-WAY TEST
of the things we think, say or do
1. Is it the TRUTH? 2. Is it FAIR to all concerned? 3. Will it build GOODWILL and BETTER FRIENDSHIP? 4. Will it be BENEFICIAL to all concerned?
Wednesday|April 2, 2014
‘Tough’ summer X X Briefly ahead as power demand peaks A
P15.00
Market Indicators As of 6:02 pm Apr. 1, 2014 (Tuesday)
FOREX
PHISIX
US$1 = P44.74
6,514.72 points
7 cents
86.01 points
Labor trends
THE Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) Misamis Oriental Field Office intensified its information drive on Labor Market Information (LMI) to high school and college graduating students. The information drive is aimed to help incoming college students choose appropriate Bachelor’s Degree Program, and new entrants to the labor force find suitable work. The massive information drive was conducted to continuously improve the positive job placement rate in Western Misamis Oriental. In a four-year comparative analysis conducted by DOLE regional office 10, it was found out that information dissemination on labor trends is effective in decreasing job mismatch.
By MYRNA VELASCO, Contributor
MID power demand seen peaking at 8,654 megawatts which can be strained by scheduled shutdowns of power plants, system operator National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) is well aware that it shall step up preparations for supply-critical summer months.
In a statement to the media, NGCP noted that “the highest peak demand this year is forecast at 8,654MW in the month of May,” roughly 350MW vis-à-vis last year’s recorded peak demand of 8,305MW. The available capacity for Luzon grid was logged at power/PAGE 11
CORSAGE. Vendors have a field day selling bouquets and leis mostly made of plastic to parents and wellwishers of graduates outside the Bukidnon State University in Malaybalay City. mindanews photo by alexandria m . mordeno
Moody’s: Peace deal is ‘credit positive’
Oil palm DAVAO Oriental — After intensive studies on what possible industries to engage in and crops to grow in the typhoon devastated east coast towns, the Provincial Government of Davao Oriental together with industry experts conducted this morning (March 31) a consultation and orientation on the oil palm industry development poised to be the next mainstay industry in the province. Dr. Pablito P. Pamplona, an expert on oil palm production and the newlyappointed head secretary of the Provincial Oil Palm Development Council told farmers how lucrative the oil palm industry is in comparison to other agri-based industries. He explained that farmers could already start to get yield within two and a half years with harvests as frequent as every 15 days, unlike coconut crop, which takes six years to grow and even has an erratic price in the world market, thus, making it an unstable crop.
DARK SUMMER. The state-owned grid operator NGCP warns power consumers particularly in Mindanao that supply will get thinner this summer where demand for electricity is traditionally higher. File Photo by Mindanews
Improve literacy, linkages in Bangsamoro to spur growth THE Asian Development Bank (ADB) has urged the government to improve education and enhance linkages in the Bangsamoro
in order to unleash the area’s potential to contribute in the economic growth of the country. ADB Country Specialist
Joven Balbosa said in a briefing Tuesday that the Bangsamoro area can share further to the contribution growth/PAGE 11
THE Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro, which marked the end of several decades of rebellion by the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), is credit positive and would attract more investors to develop mining and agribusiness in Mindanao, Moody’s Investors Service said. “Not all Muslim separatist groups are happy with the arrangement, but the greater stability that it will bring will likely encourage investment in the region and provide scope for the development of more profitable industries, such as
mining and agribusiness,” C h r i s t i an d e Gu z m an , Moody’s vice president and senior analyst, said in a report. Moody’s last year assigned an investment grade status for Philippines with a positive outlook. The credit rating firm sees the countr y’s gross domestic product (GDP) getting support from the peace deal. Moody’s forecast growth of 6.5 percent for this year, at the lower end of the government’s target of up to 7.5 percent this year. “The peace deal supports the robust economic outlook for the Philippines, which already has one of the fastest growth rates in the AsiaPacific region,” the debt watcher said. The Autonomous Region i n Mu s l i m M i n d a n a o (ARMM) and Mindanao more broadly, are rich in natural resources. M i n d an a o’s m i n e r a l peace/PAGE 11
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