‘DISHEARTENING’ Q3 PHL GROWTH SEEN By Bianca Cuaresma
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2 Filipino WORLD CHAMPS IN LESS THAN 24 HRS Carlos Edriel Yulo pulls off an awe-inspiring display of grace, artistry
and athleticism to win the men’s floor exercise title for the Philippines’s first-ever gold medal in the 49th International Gymnastics Federation Artistic Gymnastics World Championships in Stuttgart, Germany. Less than 24 hours later on Sunday afternoon in Ulan-Ude, Russia, Nesthy Petecio clinches her own gold medal in the International Boxing Association Women’s Boxing World Championships, beating the host’s Liudmila Vorontsove in the featherweight final. Story on C3
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FTER two quarters of lower -t h a n- e x pec ted g ross domestic product (GDP) growth this year, the Philippines is headed toward a “disheartening” third-quarter print anew, a local economist said. In a recent analysis, ING Bank Manila economist Nicholas Antonio Mapa said recent economic indicators are pointing to a disappointing third-quarter number that is threatening to pull the overall 2019 annual GDP even lower than earlier expected. Mapa cited the continued contraction in capital goods and pullback in construction materials, which point to a potential weak print for capital formation in the third quarter of 2019. This, coupled with base effects from last year’s capital formation—which grew at 19.3 percent—will “likely be a
daunting hurdle” for the economy, according to Mapa. The economist also cited lackluster road vehicle sales, with the August print showing a 2.4-percent contraction. The decline—which came more than a year after the excise tax buying spree—shows that households “are bearing the brunt of recent rate hikes as well, with the once-promising investment-driven growth strategy abruptly ended,” the economist said. As such, Mapa said the growth for 2019 is resting solely on the back of the household consumer. “Inflation stalling to sub-1-percent levels should give households a fighting chance to pull off rally all the more with BSP Governor [Benjamin] Diokno pledging further progrowth policies after rattling off a total of 75 bps worth of rate cuts to restore some semblance of investment momentum,” Mapa said. “While investment and government spending remain sidelined by
separate ‘injuries’ that slowed them down in the first half, household spending will be tasked to hold the fort and salvage growth of 6 percent for 2019 with a significantly better second-half performance for the year,” he added. For the local currency, Mapa said the August trade numbers— which showed a sur pr ise contraction of the trade gap—will help bolster the local unit given expectations for softer demand for hard currency ahead of the deluge of remittances in time for the holidays. The World Bank and Asean+3 M ac roeconom ic R ese a rc h O f fice (Amro) recently downgraded growth prospects for the Philippines in 2019 and 2020, citing external headwinds emanating from the ongoing US-China trade spat. The World Bank now expects the local economic growth to average at 5.8 percent while Amro’s forecast is down to 6 percent for the year.
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Monday, October 14, 2019 Vol. 15 No. 04
Palace okays DA bid to raise ASF indemnity ₧5,000 P By Jasper Emmanuel Y. Arcalas
@jearcalas
RESIDENT Duterte has approved a proposal to increase the indemnification to backyard raisers whose hogs were culled due to African swine fever (ASF)—to P5,000 from P3,000 per pig, the Department of Agriculture (DA) said.
In a bulletin released on Sunday, the DA said Duterte approved the department’s recommendation to increase the indemnification during the Cabinet meeting last Friday. “This means previous recipients will receive an additional P2,000 per culled pig,” it added. The DA said the President also approved other measures to contain and prevent the spread of ASF to areas in Luzon. See “ASF,” A2
New per-pig amount approved by President Duterte to give to hog raisers affected by the African swine fever
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CITIRA ‘AS IS’ COULD LOSE FOR PHL VITAL AEROSPACE M.R.O. By Elijah Felice E. Rosales @alyasjah
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HE Philippines is bound to lose its aerospace parts manufacturing, aircraft maintenance repair and overhaul (MRO) industry, projected to pump close to $3 billion in exports by 2022, if the Corporate Income Tax and Incentives Rationalization Act (Citira) bill is passed as is, an industry player has said. Lufthansa Technik Philippines
President and CEO Elmar Lutter said MRO firms will relocate to another Southeast Asian country if their fiscal incentives are stripped from them. He argued that the industry depends on the exemptions from paying import duties for capital gear and spare parts, and VAT for local purchases granted by the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (Peza) to its locators under the existing incentives setup. See “Aerospace,” A2
See “Exports,” A2
DBM studies nurses’ pay ruling impact on govt hike
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OLLOWING the Supreme Court ruling entitling government nurses to a higher basic pay, the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) is now studying its impact on the planned salary hike for civilian government employees next year until 2022. Acting Budget Secretary Wendel E. Avisado said the DBM will look into how the high court ruling could impact the pay hike on other government employees since there could be an “overall implication for all positions.” “We are complying with the Supreme Cou r t dec ision a nd are now studying its impact/ effect in relation to the salary increase already considered for approval and adoption for next year up to 2022,” Avisado told the BusinessMirror. See “DBM,” A2
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NO COLLAPSE, ‘JUST’ TRAFFIC JAM The Sevilla Bridge in Kalentong area near the corner of Shaw Boulevard—the right portion of which has been closed for rehabilitation for months now—is seen on Sunday morning (October 13), a day after social media reported that its makeshift bridge had collapsed. As the photo shows, there was no such collapse, but the traffic flow was congested, as expected, with thousands of vehicles daily making their way through the busy route. ROY DOMINGO
PHL could be 2nd top rice importer
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HE Philippines’s rice imports this year could reach a record-high 3.1 million metric tons, nearly matching China’s, the world’s top buyer of the staple, with its purchase of 3.15 MMT, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) said. In its monthly global grain situation report, the USDA pointed out that the Philippines would become the world’s second top rice buyer this year, accounting for 7 percent of total global imports. “In just a few years, the Philippines has emerged as one of the top global importers of rice, nearly on a par with China,” it said in its report published recently. “The Philippines’s rice imports have nearly quadrupled, from 800,000 metric tons in 2016 to 3.1 million anticipated for 2019, representing 7 percent of total global rice imports,” it added.
“In comparison, China’s share of global rice imports has almost reduced by half, to just over 7 percent,” the report added. The country’s estimated rice imports this year is 24 percent higher than the 2.5 MMT recorded last year, following the opening up of the domestic rice market in March. This is the first time that the country’s rice imports breached the 3-MMT level. “While China rice imports continue to shrink, Philippine purchases provide muchappreciated reprieve from nearby exporters in Southeast Asia,” the USDA said. “Vietnam is its primary supplier with a market share of about 70 percent, followed by Thailand, Pakistan, and Burma,” it added. The country’s rice imports next year is forecast to decline by 12.9 percent to 2.7 MMT due to higher ending stocks this year, USDA said. See “Rice importer,” A2
US 51.6890 n japan 0.4788 n UK 64.3270 n HK 6.5916 n CHINA 7.2648 n singapore 37.6029 n australia 34.9469 n EU 56.8993 n SAUDI arabia 13.7815 Source: BSP (11 October 2019 )