BusinessWeek M I N DA N A O CREDIBLE
Volume XI, No. 24
Market Indicators
AS OF 6:00 PM JULY 30, 2020 (THURSDAY)
FOREX US$1 = P 49.190
PHISIX 5,966.27
X X Briefly
unchanged
39.16 points
Rosy outlook
BUSINESSES in Mindanao and North Luzon are optimistic about recovery due to continued operations in the agriculture, outsourcing, and mining industries in their areas, the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI) said. The Philippines’ largest business organization announced the findings of its meetings with chapter organizations. It also found that half of the member companies are not operating due to the lockdown, while employment among those partially operating is down 25-30%. The chamber has said that extended lockdowns would force many companies to permanently close.
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China, Euro-led steel plants in frenzy start www.businessweekmindanao.com
Friday|July 31, 2020
NEDA 10 director expresses support for steel mill revival
T
Electrification THE National Electrification Administration (NEA) has reduced its target for rural villages it plans to deliver power to this year to 635 sitios after the loss of funding that was diverted to the pandemic containment effort. In a virtual briefing Tuesday, the agency said it had to revise its target for the Sitio Electrification Program from original 964. Apart from lost funding, it also blamed project delays on the quarantine. “(The) implementation of the remaining sitio targets for the year may not be met due to the remittance of P1.26-billion unutilized subsidy funds to the Bureau of Treasury, as requested by the Department of Finance,” NEA Administrator Edgardo R. Masongsong said.
IN-DEPTH
Big Chinese and European conglomerates are racing against each other to start the operation of the two steel mills in Northern Mindanao.
By MARK FRANCISCO, Reporter
HE race of who will hit the ground running first is on. Out from the business limelight for over a decade, Dr. Walter Brown, chair of A Brown Group made a surprise announcement by saying that the partnership deal with China’s Huili Fund to build the country’s first integrated steel mill at Phividec Industrial Estate in Tagoloan, MisOr has been inked amid the threat of coronavirus. On the other side of the fence, a European-led investment conglomerate is now on its final stretch in the preparation of the technical plan to revive the bankrupt National Steel Corporation
in Iligan City. Huili is a private equity fund based in Beijing, China with interests in real estate, finance and industries. In a stock exchange filing, subsidiary Simple Homes Development Inc. (SHDI) headed by Robert Pizarro, FRENZY/PAGE 11
Cariño
LGU requirements factor in slow cell site construction: NTC-10 THE requirements imposed by local governments are one of the factors why telecommunication companies have been slow to put up cellular network towers or cell sites, the chief of the National Telecommunications
Commission in Region 10 (NTC-10) said Wednesday. Engr. Teodoro Buenavista, Jr., NTC-10 director, said that one requirement--the social acceptance FACTOR/PAGE 10
Marawi rehabilitation works go full blast THE Task Force Bangon Marawi (TFBM) on Monday announced that the rehabilitation programs are now on "full blast" for the benefit of displaced families affected by the 2017 terror siege. In a statement, the Task Force
vowed to finish key infrastructure and housing developments that will benefit both the local government and its residents. TFBM said it plans to finish the Marawi Maritime Outpost through MARAWI/PAGE 10
ENTERPRISING BOY. This boy sells vegetables from their farm all day long. He helps his family earn while there's no definite day yet as to when will the school opens. photo by chris panganiban
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