Trade deficit fell by a third in June as imports shrank 15%

By Julito G. Rada

THE Philippines trade-in-goods deficit declined by 33.3 percent in June to $3.92 billion from $5.87 billion a year ago, as imports shrank 15.2 percent on lower value of petroleum products.

Data from the Philippine Statistics Authority showed that it was the narrowest trade deficit in four months since it amounted to $3.905 billion in

February 2023.

“The narrowest trade deficit in four months and also among the narrowest in more than 1.5 years [was] due to [a] decline in imports to among the lowest in more than a year or since February 2022 and the highest exports in seven months or since November 2022,”

Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. chief economist Michael Ricafort said in a Viber message when sought for comment.

He said a narrower trade deficit would mathematically lead to faster economic growth, with less purchases of goods from abroad.

“This would also somewhat help stabilize the peso exchange rate vs. the US dollar with less requirements to purchase US dollars to finance payments of imports,” he said.

Ricafort said the other factor that caused the decline in trade deficit was the lower prices of global oil and other

Foreign reserves rose to $99.7b as of end-July

THE Philippines’ gross international reserves rose to $99.7 billion as of end-July 2023 from $99.4 billion in June, driven by the higher value of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ gold holdings and net income from investments overseas.

The BSP said in a statement Tuesday the GIR level represented a more than adequate external liquidity buffer equivalent to 7.4 months’ worth of imports of goods and payments of services and primary income.

It was also about 5.9 times the country’s short-term external debt based on original maturity and 4.1 times based on residual maturity.

commodities in June.

Exports in June amounted to $6.70 billion, up 0.8 percent from $6.64 billion a year ago. Total exports in the first half amounted to $34.94 billion, down by 9.3 percent from $38.54 billion in the same period last year.

Imports fell to $10.62 billion in June from $12.52 billion in the same month of 2022. In the first six months, imports also went down by 8.0 percent to $62.90 billion from $68.38 billion.

ACEN signs deal to lease 800 hectares of Laguna Lake for floating solar site

ACEN Corp., through its subsidiaries,

Tuesday signed a renewable energy contract area utilization agreement with the Laguna Lake Development Authority to lease 800 hectares for the development of 1,000 megawatts of floating solar project.

ACEN said the agreement marks a pivotal step toward the development of a groundbreaking large-scale floating solar project. It also forms part of ACEN’s commitment to incorporating emerging technologies into its renewable energy portfolio. where aside from ACEN, SunAsia Energy Inc. and its partner, Macquarie Group’s Blueleaf Energy was able to secure the lease of 1,000 hectares with a capacity of 1,300 MW, while Vena Energy will lease the remaining 200 hectares.

The project will be situated on Laguna Lake, the country’s largest freshwater lake, and could contribute a substantial 1,000 MW to ACEN’s growing renewables capacity.

ACEN president and chief executive Eric Francia said the large-scale floating solar project would be a crucial part of the company’s master plan to achieve its 2030 goal.

“We are committed to expanding our clean energy assets while addressing land scarcity. This initiative is a tangible opportunity for ACEN to adopt new technologies, contribute to the Luzon grid, and bolster the Philippines’ energy self-sufficiency while tackling the critical issue of climate change,” Francia said.

ACEN applied for solar energy operating contracts for eight blocks of 100 hectares each in the southern and eastern sections of the lake with the Department of Energy.

“We’re still in the process of the predevelopment stage so we have to work on the permitting, including the ECC [environmental compliance certificate]. We need to work on the grid connection. Obviously, we need a market for that, I think the Green Energy Auction hopefully will create the right space,” Francia said.

“The month-on-month increase in the GIR level reflected mainly the upward valuation adjustments in the value of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ gold holdings due to the increase in the price of gold in the international market, the BSP’s net foreign exchange operations, net income from the BSP’s investments abroad, and the national government’s net foreign currency deposits with the BSP,” it said. Julito G. Rada

San Miguel’s profit grew 18% to P23.3b in first six months

CONGLOMERATE San Miguel Corp. said Tuesday net income grew 18 percent in the first half of 2023 to P23.3 billion from a year ago, on sustained performance across businesses and contributions from recentlyacquired Eagle Cement.

Consolidated revenues, however, went down by 4 percent to P685.2 billion as fuel subsidiary Petron Corp. continued to be affected by declining crude oil prices and San Miguel Global Power contended with lower volumes. Consolidated operating income was up 5 percent at P69.9 billion, despite rising raw materials costs which continued to affect its other businesses.

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ACEN, through subsidiaries AC Subic Solar, AC Laguna Solar, SolarACE4 Energy, Ingrid Power and GigaWind 1 received notices of award from LLDA in July following an invitation to develop floating solar renewable energy projects on Laguna Lake.

LLDA asked renewable energy developers to lease up to 2,000 hectares

Francia said Laguna Lake addresses the need for large parcels of land needed by solar developers.

“The lake is so large that you don’t compete necessarily. The fishing activities in Laguna Lake do not require too large an area, so that there’s enough space, enough room within that 90,000 hectares for co-use between floating solar, fishing, transportation and so forth,” he said.

Cebu Pacific removes expiry date of travel funds, extends validity of travel vouchers

By Darwin G. Amojelar

CEBU Pacific said Tuesday its travel funds would no longer have an expiration date to provide passengers with better travel experiences.

The airline unit of the Gokongwei Group also extended the validity of travel vouchers to 18 months from six months. This allows passengers more time to use them for booking flights.

Cebu Pacific said the latest initiative highlights its commitment to listening to passengers and adapting its services to meet the evolving travel needs.

By putting customers’ convenience and satisfaction at the forefront, the airline is steadfast in maintaining its position as a customer-centric airline, it said.

“The improvements in our customer care policies, especially the non-expiry of our travel fund, are a testament to our commitment to our passengers and our promise to keep listening and improving,” said Cebu Pacific chief marketing and customer experience officer Candice Iyog.

“With these enhancements, we hope to make air travel even more accessible to every Juan,” she said.

Cebu Pacific flies to 35 domestic and 23 international destinations, spanning across Asia, Australia and the Middle East.

“We’re greatly encouraged by the sustained growth we are seeing across most of our businesses. While there are challenges, we’re confident in the programs we have put in place to address them,” SMC president and chief executive Ramon Ang said in statement.

“We are also keeping our focus on executing on our projects, implementing our growth strategies, and providing our customers the high-quality service they expect from San Miguel,” Ang said.

San Miguel Food and Beverage Inc. booked consolidated revenues of P184.6 billion in the first six months, up 7 percent year-on-year, driven by better selling prices across its beer, spirits and food divisions. Consolidated operating income dropped 13 percent to P23 billion, as the food division continued to face rising raw material costs.

Net income of power generation unit San Miguel Global Power Holdings Corp. reached P5.9 billion, more than four times higher than last year’s due partly to the appreciation of the peso this year. Jenniffer B. Austria

Eggesvik promises to get better, stay hungry

STAY hungry and get better. These are some of the lessons that Filipinas midfielder Sara Eggesvik learned during her time with the Philippine National Women’s Football Team in the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup in New Zealand.

Former coach Alen Stajcic has instilled this attitude into Eggesvik, a Norwegian-Filipina, who had memorable games with the Filipinas.

“We have a lot to learn. Maybe, some things I remember is always be hungry, like always wanting to get better,” said Eggesvik.

The 26-year-old Eggesvik got the admiration of fans in the Philippines’s second Group A match against New Zealand.

Eggesvik made an assist for the Philippines’ first World Cup goal from Sarina Bolden in the 24th minute of the match, after Angela Beard started a big play with a long pass from the right side.

Under Stajcic, the Filipinas have evolved into serious contenders following their team’s qualification to the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023 last January 2022.

The Filipinas went on to get involved in other historic moments when the team clinched the bronze medal in the 31st Southeast Asian Games in Vietnam in May 2022.

After that, the Filipinas won the AFF Women’s Championship in July 2022.

For now, the Filipinas now await their new coach, which will take on the role that Stajcic has left behind.