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A broader look at today’s business
n Sunday, November 22, 2015 Vol. 11 No. 45
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Apec leaders firm up commitment on PPP infrastructure development
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By Lorenz S. Marasigan
HE heads of Asia-Pacific economies have firmed up their commitment to develop quality infrastructure that promote inclusive growth through the so-called Public-Private Partnership (PPP) Program, which is included in the Cebu Action Plan adopted by the 21 economies on Friday. week ahead
ECONOMIC DATA PREVIEW n Previous week: The local currency only traded for one day this week, as trading was suspended for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) summit. On Monday the peso traded at 47.14 to a dollar. This is a depreciation from the previous week’s end at 47.05 to a dollar. The total traded volume during the day is at $670.5 million. n Week ahead: Players in the foreign-exchange market look for fresher leads following the long trading holiday. Markets are likely to be swayed by the sentiment surrounding the release of the local GDP growth for the third quarter, which will be released by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) on Thursday.
GDP
November 26, Thursday n Q2 GDP: The PSA earlier reported that GDP grew year-on-year by 5.6 percent in the second quarter of 2015. This is lower than the 6.7 percent in the same period last year but higher than the growth rate of 5.0 percent in the first quarter of 2015. The second-quarter growth was said to be driven by the Services sector, with the positive growth exhibited by Trade, Other Services, Real Estate, Renting & Business Activities, and supported by the growth of Manufacturing and Construction. n Q3 GDP: Economists have expressed their views that GDP will likely pick up in the third quarter owing to stronger government spending. The acceleration from the previous quarter’s growth rate, how-
See “Outlook,” A2
BusinessMirror media partner The region’s political and economic leaders vowed to aid one another in promoting initiatives that will significantly improve connectivity and infrastructure in the Asia-Pacific region, advancing the program that taps private-sector expertise and funding in develop-
ing much-needed facilities that spur economic growth. “We appreciate progress in implementation of initiatives, which will greatly improve connectivity and infrastructure in the Asia-Pacific region; and progress of the initiatives, which will help resolve the bottleneck of financing in this field,” economic leaders belonging to the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) group said in a joint statement. Financing issues, they said, can be resolved through collaboration and aid, as transport, power, housing and water facilities will help advance economic integration and expansion in the region. “We encourage further collaboration among these initiatives, in order to promote regional economic integration and the common See “Apec,” A2
PHL needs to integrate more with Asean, Apec countries By Bianca Cuaresma
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ESPITE the Ph i l ip pi ne s ’s solid growth owing to domestic consumption, the country still needs to work on being more integrated to the region to be able to ride with its strong growth momentum— one which is seen to outpace other economic blocs across the globe. For the Philippines to do this, the country must be able to shift some of its attention from enter-
PESO exchange rates n US 47.0320
ing into bilateral-trade agreements to making adjustments within the country by being more accessible to foreign trade and transactions through the institution of domestic structural reforms. In the recently held Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) summit, heads of economies and industry leaders of the group concluded that the Asia-Pacific region is set to take center stage as one of the economic blocs that will lead global growth down the line, despite expectations of a slowdown of See “Phl,” A2
Air strikes hurt, but don’t halt, I.S. oil-smuggling operations
Two Rafale jet fighters fly over Iraq in this September 19, 2014, file photo. AP/ECPAD
How Islamic State gets money Although Islamic State receives some money from outside donors, those donations will come under increased scrutiny from the U.S. With outside donations cut, the group could still make an estimated $100million to $200 million this year through criminal and terrorist activities. Here are some ways they get funding.
Through extortion of small businesses Some shopkeepers have paid the militants $100 a month six or seven times in fear of retaliation. The militants take money from small merchants, gas station owners, generator owners, even pharmacists and doctors,
Through checkpoints on roads Checkpoints in the last few months demanding money from passing cars and trucks. The money purportedly goes into a fund, but some sums go to pay bonuses or salaries of fighters.
Through export of oil The Islamic State now has access to five oilfields in Iraq, each of which has between 40 to 70 oil wells.They deal with middle men, some of whom are affiliated with Iraqi oil companies. They have checkpoints to move around the oil convoys, specifically to export the oil to Turkey. They can make up to $1.2 million a day.
Through hostages
Source: Reuters Graphic: Greg Good
ABC News reported that one U.S. hostage held by Islamic State is a 26-year-old female aid worker. The Islamic military has demanded $6.6 million in ransom. Focus, a German magazine, said in April that France paid $18 million for the release of four French hostages who had been held by Islamic State.
© 2014 MCT
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EIRUT—The United States and Russia are going after the Islamic State (IS) group’s oil industry, destroying refineries and hundreds of tanker trucks transporting oil from eastern Syria in a heavy bombardment in recent days aiming to break the extremists’ biggest source of income. The campaign already appears to be having some effect, with oil prices rising in areas of Syria that rely on crude smuggled out of IS areas. But experts say it will be difficult to cut off the militants’ trade completely, since they are likely to switch to smaller, more elusive vehicles. See “Air strikes,” A2
n japan 0.3835 n UK 71.6438 n HK 6.0679 n CHINA 7.3787 n singapore 33.0327 n australia 33.4771 n EU 50.5688 n SAUDI arabia 12.5416
Source: BSP (16 November 2015)