FRIDAY: JUNE 17, 2016
B4
BUSINESS business@thestandard.com.ph extrastory2000@gmail.com
Steady Fed rates good for PH IN BRIEF
By Julito G. Rada
BANGKO Sentral ng Pilipi-
PH gets $73-m foreign inflows nas Governor Amando TetFOREIGN portfolio investments or hot money posted net inflows of $73 million in May, a reversal of the $569-million net outflows registered a year ago, on renewed investors’ interest in the domestic market and peaceful conduct of national elections. Data from Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas showed the May net inflows marked a turnaround from the $354-million net outflows in April. Total inflows in May reached $1.78 billion, while outflows amounted to $1.71 billion. Net inflows in the first five months amounted to $129 million, lower than the $1.2-billion net inflows last year, which included large inflows for stock rights offerings by two holding firms, two universal banks and a property company. About 83.8 percent of investments in May were in Philippine Stock Exchange-listed securities mainly involving holding firms, property companies, banks, food, beverage and tobacco firms and telecommunication firms. The 16.2-percent balance went to peso-denominated government securities. Julito G. Rada
angco Jr. said Thursday the latest move by the US Federal Reserve to keep interest rates steady will benefit emerging markets, including the Philippines.
“The Fed standing pat on rates was expected by the market. But that the policy path chart reflected a more dovish stance was new. The FOMC also continued to be mindful of external developments [e.g. Brexit],” Tetangco said in a text message to reporters. “These may give some more room for EME markets, including the Philippines, to remain supported. There are also domestic factors that market participants will be looking at in the different markets,” Tetangco said. He said the policy-setting Monetary
Wells Fargo expands in PH WELLS Fargo Enterprise Global Services LlcPhilippines broke ground on a new 50,000-squaremeter facility in Taguig City. The center is Wells Fargo’s second building in the McKinley Hill area and is targeted to begin occupancy in the second quarter of 2018. The new 12-story building will seat 5,000 team members. Wells Fargo EGS provides end-to-end analysis of business operations and delivers services that currently support more than 60 percent of Wells Fargo’s business lines and staff functions. Ongoing service delivery includes support for technology, operations, customer support and knowledge functions. “Wells Fargo started in the Philippines in 2011, and we continue to believe strongly in the capability of this market,” said Charlie Roberson, head of Wells Fargo EGS.
ERC bucks Meralco petition
THE Energy Regulatory Commission asked the Pasig City regional trial court to dismiss the petition filed by power retailer Manila Electric Co. to declare void its issuances on retail competition and open access. Meralco asked the court on May 27 to issue a temporary restraining order and subsequently a writ of preliminary injunction, enjoining the Energy Department from enforcing Department of Energy Circular 2015-06-0010 and implementing Article I, Sections 2 and 3 of ERC Resolution No. 05, Resolution No. 10 and Resolution No. 11, all Series 2016. ERC said in its 30-page filing with RTC Pasig Branch 157 that Meralco “had all the chance and opportunity to mitigate probable losses by virtue of the implementation of the RCOA.” The regulator said Meralco had known since 2006 of the imminent transition from the captive market to the contestable market where customers could choose their own suppliers as these underwent public consultations. Alena Mae S. Flores
CSR expo. League of Corporate Foundations chairperson and Bato Balani Foundation Inc. executive director Natalie Christine Jorge (left) talks to LCF advisory council member and LCF trustee Lydia Sarmiento-Enrile during the media forum and launching of the LCF 20th Anniversary and Corporate Social Responsibility Expo Conference 2016 at Discovery Primea Hotel in Makati City. LINO SANTOS
Car firms to start production
TOYOTA Motor Philippines Corp. and Mitsubishi Motors Philippines Corp. on Thursday welcomed the Board of Investments’ approval of their application for the Comprehensive Automotive Resurgence Strategy program. Both companies received Wednesday their certificate of registration as participants to the Cars program. “Toyota is truly grateful to DTI for approving our application in the Cars program. We are optimistic that Cars will improve the cost-competitiveness of the Vios and, likewise, open a lot of opportunities for the growth and development of both the vehicle and parts manufacturing industries in the country,” said TMP president Satoru Suzuki. Mitsubishi vowed to bring in a fleet of automotive parts makers to support the local production of Mirage, its entry model to the program. Mirage is currently being imported and produced from Thailand. “This signifies MMPC’s more than half a century commitment to developing the automotive manufacturing industry in the Philippines. Under the Cars program, our projected production volume is 200,000 units within a period of six years. In order to meet this target volume, MMPC plans to increase its plant’s capacity by adding another work shift. Along with this, more jobs are likely to be generated nationwide,” said MMPC president and chief executive Yoshiaki Kato. Othel V. Campos
PLDT to hike stake in iFlix PLDT Inc. said Thursday it is open to raise its investment
in iFlix to support the expansion of Southeast Asia’s leading Internet TV service, its top executive said. “We are happy with our investment. Well, we’re always open to it. They did their second round of funding and most of the $45 million were picked up by Sky Plc and Emtek Group, which is a media group in Indonesia, “ PLDT chairman and president Manuel Pangilinan told reporters, when asked if the company was willing to increase its investment in iFlix. PLDT’s $15-million investment in iflix was converted into a 7.5-percent equity in Southeast Asia’s leading Internet TV service after the $45-million investment by Sky Plc and the additional investment by Emtek. The fresh funds raised by iflix will be used to accelerate its growth in Malaysia, Thailand and the Philippines and for expansion into new markets. Darwin G. Amojelar
Still no LTO stickers ONLY 13 more days to go before this selfpraising administration finally bows out, but each day that BS Aquino and his minions spend in the Palace feels like a lifetime for people who can no longer endure the blindness, hypocrisy, incompetence and self-righteousness that has spread like a virus all around Malacañang. The first thing incoming President Rodrigo Duterte should do is to have someone spray the whole area with some kind of “anti-yellow fever” disinfectant so that the next occupant and his official family will not be afflicted. Hopefully, the new administration will be more responsive to the concerns of the people and the new Cabinet officials will really do something to look for solutions (we’re not deluded into thinking everything will be fixed overnight) knowing they cannot BS their way around Mayor Duterte, whose impatience is also well-known but only when it comes to taking action over reported problems, even something as simple as a lamppost that fell down and is obstructing traffic. One source of extreme irritation is the LTO which keeps promising that stickers and car plates will soon be available at a certain date, even claiming recently that 93 percent of the license plates turned over by the Bureau of Customs has been delivered to its regional offices, following the issuance of a temporary restraining order by the Supreme Court. Funnily though, LTO chief Roberto
Cabrera says he does not know exactly how many license plates have been distributed. (And did we mention that the agency also promised last April that 2016 plates and stickers are going to be available by May?) In many places though, the number is a big fat zero—with car owners told that 2016 stickers and car plates are still unavailable, and for people to just drop by the LTO branch or keep calling to follow up. Thick faced, definitely, because these officials just shrug when asked about the 2015 stickers that motorists paid for but did not receive. Until now, nobody can (or wants to) answer where all that money from these non-existent stickers went. Simply out, people paid for a product that was not delivered so in all probability there was no product at all in the first place, meaning money was not spent for production. Motorists renewing their registration are also angry because they have to pay a penalty of P200 even if they were only a day late in registering their vehicles. So what about this government, they ask us—shouldn’t they also be penalized for the delay in issuing the stickers and car plates? And that’s more than one year, mind you. So again, what happened to the money people paid for undelivered stickers? One of our buddies made an “educated guess,” reminding us about the recent May elections and the quandary faced by the Liberal Party because it was unable to file the statement of contributions and expenses on time. Why these LP guys were unable to comply with the deadline is now the source of numerous speculations. After all, aren’t there a lot of yellow minions who could have filed and monitored the expenses if the LP machinery was really so organized and well oiled as they claim? How come ailing (yet still colorfully feisty) Senator Miriam Santiago was able to comply with the Comelec’s deadline?
Board would consider this development during its meeting Thursday next week. “We will consider these in our next policy meeting to see if there is need to adjust policy settings, including the amount of liquidity to be siphoned off in the succeeding TDF [term deposit facility] auctions,” he said. The US Fed kept interest rates unchanged Wednesday, but hinted it could still raise rates for the remainder of 2016. Reports said six of the Fed’s 17 policymakers projected just one increase this year. Fed Chair Janet Yellen said there was a need to see clear signs of economic strength before lifting rates. A sharp slowdown in US hiring in May cast doubts about the strength of the labor market. The Fed also said the economy would grow only 2 percent in 2016 and 2017, or 0.1 percentage point lower than previously forecast for each year. Yellen was uncertain on the timing of the rate increase. ING Bank Manila senior economist Joey Cuyegkeng said earlier the Monetary Board would likely maintain the current policy rates steady in its next meeting amid low inflation and robust economic growth. Cuyegkeng said while inflation accelerated to 1.6 percent in May from 1.1 percent in April, it remained within Bangko Sentral’s forecast for the month of 1.1 to 1.9 percent. “[The] BSP-MB is likely to keep policy rates steady at next Thursday’s meeting… May inflation of 1.6 percent is in line with BSP’s 1.1 percent to 1.9-percent inflation forecast,” Cuyegkeng said. “The higher May inflation is still in line with our 2016 average inflation forecast of 1.7 percent which implies steadily higher inflation to end of this year. Inflation expectation remains steady at 3 percent for 2017 while inflation for the rest of the year is expected to trend higher to end the year above 2 percent,” Cuyegkeng said. Good thing Comelec commissioner Christian Robert Lim—who heads the Campaign Finance Office—has made the recommendation to grant the request of the LP for an extension. What—are they special people that they need special treatment? Let’s see though if the rest of the Comelec officials including chairman Andy Bautista will not waffle and make some excuse again to grant LP’s request. Lim said the SOCE should be filed within 30 days after the elections per Republic Act 7166, which means June 8 was the deadline. The LP was only able to file its SOCE on June 14. “To grant the request for extension would not only be unfair to other candidates and parties who complied within the prescribed period but also would be a reversal of the commission’s own resolution on the matter,” Lim rightfully pointed out in his memo. A consequence of the failure to file the SOCE on time would be the inability of winning candidates under the LP to occupy their respective positions. As expected, the LP mouthpiece has slammed Lim’s memo, calling it “absurd” and that the filing is just “ministerial” (implying that it is unimportant?). He has the nerve to say that preventing Leni Robredo from occupying the position of VP would be a dismissal of the will of the people— hello? Doesn’t he know that majority of voters continue to doubt Robredo’s win since there have been a lot of allegations— with corresponding proof—of cheating and manipulation to shave votes from Senator Bongbong Marcos? ••• For comments, reactions, photos, stories and related concerns, readers may email to happyhourtoday2012@yahoo. com. You may also visit and like our Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/ happyhourmanilastandard. We’d be very happy to hear from you. Cheers!