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☆ Philippines Q4 GDP grows 7.2%, faster than forecast
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

Economists in a Reuters poll had expected gross domestic product (GDP) to rise 6.5% in the last three months of 2022 from a year earlier. Third quarter growth was 7.6%. On a quarter-on-quarter basis, GDP came in at 2.4% in October-December, compared with expectations for a 1.5% rise and the previous quarter's 2.9% growth. For the full-year of 2022, growth was 7.6%, above the government's target of 6.5 to 7.5%, and stronger than the previous year's 5.7% expansion. Reporting by Neil Jerome Morales and Enrico dela Cruz; Writing by Karen Lema; Editing by Martin PettyOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Trainer plane crashes in Philippines, killing 2 air force pilots
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-25 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/3] Rescuers retrieve the bodies of two Philippine military pilots killed in a plane crash during a training flight, in Pilar town, Bataan province, Philippines, January 25, 2023. Bureau of Fire Protection Region III Pilar Bataan/Handout via REUTERSMANILA, Jan 25 (Reuters) - Two Philippine military pilots were killed when their plane crashed during a training flight on Wednesday, the air force said. It said it has temporality grounded its fleet of SF-260 TP trainer planes. The Philippines' U.S.-allied military has suffered previous accidents involving its aircraft, much of which are old and date back to the Vietnam War era. In 2021, a military aircraft carrying troops bound for counter-insurgency operations crashed with 96 onboard, killing 53 people, in its worst military air accident in nearly three decades.

Bangladesh Bank has accused RCBC and several others, including top executives, of conspiring to steal its money. The New York Supreme Court ruled on Jan. 13 that, contrary to Rizal bank's argument, it does have jurisdiction over the case, and dismissed Rizal bank's motion against Bangladesh Bank. In the same ruling, the court ordered the Bangladesh central bank and RCRC to initiate mediation. In response to the ruling, Rizal bank said it would continue to fight the case. Bangladesh Bank has welcomed the court ruling, saying in a statement this week that it clears the way for the matter to progress in court in New York as needed.

☆ Philippines c.bank hopes to cut rates in 2024, flags RRR reduction
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-12 | by ( Neil Jerome Morales | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

"By 2024, when pent-up demand is gone, then monetary policy hopefully at that time will be much looser than what we have now," he said. Another easing measure could involve banks' reserve requirement ratio, with a high probability of it being cut in the first half, Medalla told reporters. The BSP stands ready to take further monetary policy actions to bring inflation back to within a target-consistent path, Medalla said. The figure brought the average full-year inflation rate to 5.8%, also a 14-year high and above the official 2%-4% target band. "If the U.S. is increasing policy rates, we need not match it but if it's 50 (basis points), it's hard not to respond, at least partially," Medalla said.

☆ Philippines c.bank flags 25 or 50 bps rate hike next month
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-10 | by ( Neil Jerome Morales | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

"The pressure on us to match U.S. increases will be much lower," Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Governor Felipe Medalla told reporters. Inflation will likely fall below the midpoint of the target range by end-2023 or early 2024, he said. The central bank's main concerns, for now, are inflation and, to some extent, a strong dollar and Medalla said he could not rule out further rate hikes until inflation pressures ease. What I am worried about is we are late and there will be a greater sacrifice of output later on," he said. Reporting by Neil Jerome Morales Editing by Ed DaviesOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ With few entry tests, Southeast Asia may gain most from China's travel revival
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-06 | by ( Xinghui Kok | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Except for airplane wastewater testing by Malaysia and Thailand for the virus, the region's 11 nations will treat Chinese travellers like any others. As many as 76% of Chinese travel agencies ranked Southeast Asia as the top destination when outbound travel resumed, according to a survey released in December by trade show ITB China. Thailand already expects to welcome 5 million Chinese travellers this year, or about half of the 10.99 million of 2019. Neighbouring Malaysia projects 1.5 million to 2 million Chinese tourists this year versus 3 million before the pandemic. "But for Cambodia, it’s an invitation to Chinese people: Chinese tourists, come to Cambodia."

☆ Philippines' Marcos says tells Xi intends to pursue independent foreign policy
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

MANILA, Jan 5 (Reuters) - Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr said on Thursday he had told his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping that his administration intends to pursue an independent foreign policy. "I emphasised to President Xi how my administration intends to pursue an independent foreign policy, that we are more than willing to cooperate whenever possible in the pursuit of regional peace and our two countries' national interest," he said in an arrival speech in Manila following a trip to Beijing. Reporting by Neil Jerome Morales Editing by Ed DaviesOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

[1/3] Philippines' President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. and First Lady Liza Araneta Marcos are photographed with China President Xi Jinping and his wife Peng Li Yuan during a welcoming ceremony at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China, January 4, 2023. Office of the Press Secretary/Handout via REUTERSSummary Philippines, China sign 14 bilateral dealsXi pledged solution on plight of Filipino fishers -MarcosChina promised cooperation, investmentBEIJING/MANILA Jan 4 (Reuters) - China is ready to resume oil and gas talks and manage maritime issues "cordially" with the Philippines, China President Xi Jinping said on Wednesday, according to Chinese state television. Xi was speaking to his Philippines counterpart Ferdinand Marcos Jr, who was on a three-day visit to Beijing. The Philippines had previously raised concerns over reported Chinese construction activities and the "swarming" of Beijing's vessels in disputed waters of the South China Sea. While the Philippines is a defence ally of the United States, under previous leader Rodrigo Duterte it set aside a territorial spat over the South China Sea in exchange for Chinese investment.

☆ Philippine minister accuses senior police of involvement in drugs trade
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

MANILA, Jan 4 (Reuters) - Efforts by Philippine authorities to crack down on drugs under President Ferdinand Marcos Jr are being hampered by the involvement of a few high-ranking police officials in the narcotics trade, the interior minister said on Wednesday. Let us start afresh," Abalos told a news conference. While only a few senior police officers were believed to have a role in the drugs trade, they held critical positions, Abalos said, without elaborating. Police have rejected allegations the killings were executions, saying the drug suspects violently resisted arrest and that authorities acted in self-defence. Since Marcos took office in June, authorities have conducted more than 24,000 sting operations, arrested around 30,000 people and killed around a dozen drug suspects, according to police data.

Speaking ahead of his flight, Marcos said he looked forward to meeting President Xi Jinping and that "the issues between our two countries are problems that do not belong between two friends such as the Philippines and China". Last week, a Philippine foreign ministry official said talks with Xi would include China's actions in the South China Sea. While the Philippines is a defence ally of the United States, under Duterte it set aside a territorial spat over the South China Sea in exchange for Chinese investment. Beijing claims much of the South China Sea, where about $3 trillion in ship-borne trade passes annually, with the area becoming a flashpoint for Chinese and U.S. tensions around naval operations. But while De Castro expects the South China Sea issue to be brought up, he does not expect Beijing to alter its position.

☆ Philippines main airport scrambles to restore normalcy after power cut
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-02 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] A passenger wearing a face mask and face shield for protection against the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) walks towards a counter in the Ninoy Aquino International Airport in Paranaque, Metro Manila, Philippines, January 14, 2021. The ageing Ninoy Aquino international airport was early on Monday handling a maximum 15 arrivals per hour compared to 20 during normal operations, said Cesar Chiong, general manager of the Manila International Airport Authority. The outage was the result of the unprecedented failure of both primary and secondary power supplies, he said. Chiong said the airport had introduced its own power system in 2018 but on Sunday, both the main and backup systems failed. The Ninoy Aquino International Airport has previously been ranked among the world's worst international gateways, with flight delays a regular occurrence, and a history of upgrades being delayed or abandoned due to disputes between the airport and contractors.

"It's not a question of if it will happen, it's now just a matter of how many and how fast." As the Lunar New Year holiday - typically a peak travel period for Chinese tourists - starts on Jan. 21, some businesses are already gearing up. Japan, however, is being cautious about Chinese tourism due to the rapid spread of the virus in China. Australia, Germany, Thailand and others, however, said they would not impose additional rules on Chinese travel for now, with France taking to social media platform Sina Weibo to emphasise it welcomed Chinese friends "with open arms". "I suspect any meaningful rebound will have to wait until the travel boom in June or July next year."

☆ Philippines hunts for 26 still missing after weekend weather disaster
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

MANILA, Dec 28 (Reuters) - Rescue teams across nine provinces in the Philippines raced on Wednesday to try to locate 26 people missing after weekend rains, floods and landslides that have killed at least 25 people, in one of its deadliest weather events this year. "Search and rescue operations continue, led by the coast guard as most of them were missing fishermen," the disaster agency's Diego Agustin Mariano told DZMM radio. The rain-induced floods and landslides are unlike previous disasters in the Philippines, which are typically triggered by more severe typhoons and tropical storms, of which the archipelago nation usually sees about 20 each year. The agency also recorded more than 300 flooded areas and 20 rain-induced landslides, which collectively have forced more than 80,000 people to take shelter in evacuation centres. The state weather agency said occasional light to moderate rains will continue in central and southern areas until Thursday.

☆ Philippine death toll from Christmas rains and floods rises to 13
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

MANILA, Dec 27 (Reuters) - The death toll from Christmas day rains in southern Philippines has risen to 13, authorities said on Tuesday, with the search still on for 23 people as floods started to recede. Most of the deaths were caused by drowning from flash floods after two days of heavy rains disrupted Christmas celebrations and forced more than 45,000 people to take shelter in evacuation centres, the disaster agency said. Images on social media show coast guard, police and fire personnel wading through waist-deep floods and carrying residents along landslide-hit areas. Rescue operations continued and damage to agriculture was being assessed, Carmelito Heray, head of the disaster agency in Clarin town in Misamis Occidental province, told DZBB radio station. "The big damage here is livestock because their adult pigs, chickens, goats and cows are now gone," Clarin town mayor Emeterio Roa said on radio.

☆ Philippine economic managers back bill creating sovereign fund
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

MANILA, Dec 9 (Reuters) - Philippine economic officials have thrown their support behind the creation of a sovereign wealth fund backed by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr amid opposition from some groups due to concerns over the risk of corruption and transparency. The economic managers "strongly support" the proposed sovereign wealth fund to generate additional income for the government, Finance Secretary Benjamin Diokno told a media briefing, as he called for the speedy passage of the bill creating the fund. "Direct benefits of the (fund) include increased investments in and funding of big ticket infrastructure projects, high return on green and blue projects, and countryside development including agriculture," Diokno said, reading a joint statement. Authors of the bill have agreed to remove that contentious provision, and instead proposed utilising the profits of the Philippine central bank to bankroll the fund. The plans come as neighbours like Malaysia and Singapore and more recently Indonesia have established sovereign wealth funds, with mixed results.

Costlier vegetables drove food inflation up to 10.0% in November from a year earlier, the fastest pace since September 2018, due to supply constraints caused by a typhoon. Excluding the volatile food and energy components, the core CPI rose 6.5%, faster than October's 5.9%. Year-to-date inflation stood at 5.6%, well outside the central bank's 2%-4% target for the year. ING economist Nicholas Mapa said the central bank would likely opt for a 50-basis point rate hike this month, which would take the policy rate (PHCBIR=ECI) to 5.50%. "Demand side pressures persist with revenge spending related items like restaurant and personal services seeing higher inflation," Mapa said in a message on Twitter.

SHANGHAI, Dec 5 (Reuters) - China's yuan , firmed past the closely watched 7-per-dollar level on Monday, hitting its strongest since mid-September, as Beijing eased some of its strict COVID-19 curbs, potentially attracting fresh foreign inflows. The Chinese currency was also bolstered by expectations of slower U.S. interest rate hikes, which knocked the dollar index to near five-month lows. But some warn that China's road for economic recovery could be bumpy and that the yuan will remain volatile. The onshore yuan jumped roughly 1.4% to as high as 6.9507 on Monday morning, its strongest since Sept. 13, tracking the central bank's firmer midpoint guidance . Last week, the yuan jumped about 1.6%, its biggest weekly gain since 2005 amid expectations authorities will continue to loosen strict COVID curbs.

☆ Philippines needs to find ways to exploit South China Sea resources, says Marcos
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

MANILA, Dec 1 (Reuters) - The Philippines must find a way to explore for oil and gas in the South China Sea even without a deal with China, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr said on Thursday, emphasising his country's right to exploit energy reserves in the contested waterway. Talks over joint energy exploration between Manila and Beijing in the South China Sea had been terminated, the previous government said in June, citing constitutional constraints and issues of sovereignty. I think there might be other ways so it does not have to be G-to-G (government-to-government)," Marcos said. During a three-day visit last week, U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris affirmed American defence commitments to the Philippines and reiterated support for a 2016 arbitration ruling that invalidated Beijing's expansive South China Sea claims. The ruling, which China refused to recognise, states that the Philippines has sovereign rights to exploit energy reserves inside its 200-mile Exclusive Economic Zone.

☆ Philippines to cut tariffs on electric vehicles, parts
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

MANILA, Nov 24 (Reuters) - A Philippine inter-agency panel chaired by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr on Thursday approved removing tariffs on electric vehicles (EVs) to spur demand amid high fuel costs. Marcos will issue an executive order cutting to 0% the most favoured nation tariff on EVs like passengers cars, buses, vans, trucks, motorcycles, and bicycles, and their parts for five years. Consumers in the Philippines currently need to shell out $21,000 to $49,000 for an EV, versus the $19,000 to $26,000 price for conventional vehicles. Of the country's more than five million registered automotives, only 9,000 are electric, mostly passenger vehicles, government data show. The Southeast Asian nation's automotive sector relies mostly on imported fuel.

REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/IllustrationSINGAPORE, Nov 17 (Reuters) - The dollar was little changed on Thursday as investors digested mixed U.S. economic data, while the British pound rose ahead of the government's budget update. Yet the dollar paused on Thursday after U.S. retail sales data for October, released on Wednesday, came in stronger than expected. "Markets have positioned for the Fed to pivot (but) the U.S. retail sales data very much challenges that narrative," said Commonwealth Bank of Australia currency strategist Kim Mundy. Traders will also scrutinise speeches from numerous Fed officials on Thursday for hints about rate hikes. China's yuan weakened 0.36% to 7.126 per dollar as new COVID cases caused concerns that officials could order more lockdowns.

LONDON, Nov 17 (Reuters) - The pound rose for a third day against the dollar on Thursday ahead of finance minister Jeremy Hunt's new budget full of "tough but necessary" measures to control inflation. Against the euro , sterling has only risen by around 6% since late September and by 9% against the yen. Benchmark 10-year gilts are around 3.3%, their lowest since mid-September, just before Truss and Kwarteng released their budget. Typically, this would have dragged on the pound, given the lower yield advantage it affords investments in sterling. Adding an extra element of risk on Thursday, are the economic forecasts of the independent Office for Budget Responsibility, which did not release any kind of breakdown of the impact of Truss' budget in September.

The economy would likely grow above the government's 6.5%-7.5% growth target for 2022, Economic Planning Secretary Arsenio Balisacan told a media briefing. On a quarterly basis, gross domestic product (GDP) rose 2.9% versus a 0.1% contraction in April-June and an expected 1% rise, the data showed. "While these developments are remarkable, I want to underscore that our nation still faces a considerable burden in the form of high inflation," Balisacan said. Balisacan said the government remained committed to fighting inflation to protect people's purchasing power, including by tightening monetary policy. "In the face of surging prices, that's a big upside surprise," said ING economist Nicholas Mapa.

☆ King dollar commands surge in remittances
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-10 | by ( Harish Sridharan | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The U.S. dollar index , which measures its performance against a basket of major currencies, is up 14.5% this year. The dollar's long rallyTransfer volumes at Remitly (RELY.O) leapt 44% to $7.5 billion in the September quarter. Larger rival Wise (WISEa.L) said volumes were up 49% to 24.4 billion pounds ($28.2 billion) in the July quarter. MoneyGram International (MGI.O) and PayPal Holdings (PYPL.O) have also posted an uptick in turnover and transactions in their third quarter. "Some of us get to match or not get too affected by inflation because we earn in U.S.

☆ Philippines' Marcos to address Myanmar situation at ASEAN summit
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

MANILA, Nov 9 (Reuters) - Philippines' President Ferdinand Marcos Jr said on Wednesday the situation in Myanmar will be among several issues that will be addressed at the ASEAN summit. "We will also address regional issues such as the pandemic and the situation in Myanmar, developments in the South China Sea and the ongoing conflict between Russia and the Ukraine among other important matters," Marcos said in a speech ahead of his departure for Cambodia where the summit is being hosted. Reporting by Karen Lema and Neil Jerome Morales; Editing by Kanupriya KapoorOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Philippines October inflation at highest since December 2008
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

MANILA, Nov 4 (Reuters) - Philippine annual inflation accelerated to 7.7% in October (PHCPI=ECI), the highest since December 2008 and up from the previous month's 6.9%, the statistics agency said on Friday. Last month's inflation rate was above the 7.1% median forecast in a Reuters poll, and near the top end of the central bank's 7.1% to 7.9% forecast for the month. Inflation in January-October averaged 5.4%, well outside the official full-year target range of 2% to 4%. Core inflation, which strips out volatile food and fuel items, increased to 5.9% in October from an upwardly revised 5.0% in September, the Philippine Statistics Authority said. Reporting by Neil Jerome Morales; Writing by Enrico Dela Cruz Editing by Ed DaviesOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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