Category: Business

The Philippines aims to have the second highest foreign direct investments (FDI) in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) by the end of the Marcos administration, Trade and Industry Secretary Alfredo Pascual said. In a television interview Monday, Pascual said the current administration targets to exceed the country’s achievement in attracting foreign investments in the past. ‘We are exerting all efforts to go beyond what we achieved in the past. Our dream target is to be the second highest foreign direct investment destination in ASEAN,’ he said. Based on the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development’s World Investment Report 2023, the country ranked 6th among Southeast Asian countries last year in terms of FDI inflows, with the amount reaching USD9.2 billion. Aside from the highly developed economy of Singapore, which attracted the highest FDI at USD141 billion, top FDI destinations in the region last year were Indonesia, USD21.97 billion; Vietnam, USD17.9 billion; Malaysia, USD17.9 b
illion; and Thailand, USD10 billion. Pascual said the agency currently has 130 investment prospects, 16 of which are ongoing projects amounting to USD1.2 billion. All these projects are registered with the attached investment promotion agencies of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) – – the Board of Investments (BOI) and the Philippines Economic Zone Authority (PEZA). Pascual told reporters at the sidelines of an event in Mandaluyong City Monday that nine of these projects have started the development of their projects in the domestic economy, while seven are already in the One-Stop Action Center for Strategic Investments (OSAC-SI) for their ‘green lane’ certification to fast-track the processing of their permits and licenses. On top of these projects, eight more are also appealing for green lane treatment, Pascual said. The DTI chief admitted that the high cost of power is a major deterrent for foreign investments to enter the Philippines. ‘That is something we are addressing,’ Pascual said, noting th
at the government provides incentives to facilities that produce their own power supply, especially those using clean energy

Source: Philippines News Agency

A small rice retailer in Navotas City on Monday said the government’s PHP15,000 cash assistance would help them cushion the impact of the nationwide rice price ceilings. Evangeline De Roxas, a rice vendor at the Navotas public market, admitted that the price cap imposed by the government to control the surge of rice prices has affected her income. ‘Pero malaking tulong itong ayudang ito ng DSWD. Ilang sakong bigas na rin ang mabibili nito para sa dagdag puhunan (But this cash assistance from the DSWD (Department of Social Welfare and Development) is a big help. I can buy more sacks of rice to increase my capital,’ De Roxas said in a media interview. She said she hopes that the prices of rice will soon return to normal. ‘Sana ibaba na lang presyo ng bigas para lahat makinabang lalo na ang mga maliliit nating kababayan (I hope the rice prices be reduced so that everyone, especially our poor countrymen, will benefit),’ she said. De Roxas is one of the 161 micro retailers from Navotas City who received PHP15,000
cash assistance from the DSWD on the second day of simultaneous payout. DSWD Secretary Rex Gatchalian said 129 small rice retailers in Parañaque City and 32 in Zamboanga del Sur also received cash aid on Monday. ‘The DILG (Department of the Interior and Local Government) helped inform the identified beneficiaries in Pateros, Navotas, and Parañaque about the cash grants ordered by the President,’ Gatchalian said. The simultaneous distribution of cash aid kicked off on Saturday with 48 recipients each from Quezon City and Caloocan City, and 136 from San Juan City receiving PHP15,000 each. Gatchalian said the Department of Agriculture (DA) and the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) identified the beneficiaries. In a media interview at the sidelines of an event in Mandaluyong City Monday, DTI Secretary Alfredo Pascual said the PHP15,000 financial assistance for micro and small retailers aims to cover their sacrifices on profit. ‘Ang sabi nga namin, ‘yong mga retailers, kahit ‘ang mga maliliit na retailers, ku
mita na sila noong speculative yung pricing. Dapat mag-share naman sila ng kaunting sacrifice (As we said, the retailers, even the small retailers, made a profit when the pricing was speculative. They should share a little sacrifice),’ Pascual told reporters. Under Executive Order No. 39 signed by President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. on Sept. 6, a price cap of PHP41 per kilo on regular milled rice while PHP45 per kilo on well-milled rice is imposed. The DSWD and the DTI met on Monday to discuss the list of beneficiaries for the rest of the NCR and those in the provinces. The distribution in Navotas City formally opened by Vice Mayor Tito Sanchez who represented Mayor John Ray Tiangco. Assisting the recipients were DILG Director Jennifer Galafort and Miriam Navarro from DSWD-NCR. Sanchez said the city government fully supports EO 39, saying the move is expected to lessen the impact of rice price surge on their poor and vulnerable constituents

Source: Philippines News Agency

Senators unanimously approved on Monday Senate Bill Nos. (SBN) 2243 or the Philippine Salt Industry Development Act, and 2200 or the Basic Education Mental Health and Well-Being Promotion Act. SBN 2243 seeks to create a Council, with the Secretary of the Department of Health as a member, which will focus on the development of the salt industry. Sponsored by Senator Cynthia Villar, the measure came from findings that the Philippines imports 90 percent of its salt requirements despite being an archipelago with one of the longest coastlines and wide access to saltwater. During the previous deliberations, Villar recalled that in the 1950s, the Philippines’ salt industry boomed as new fishponds and salt farms were built in the provinces of Pangasinan, Bulacan, Occidental Mindoro, Cavite, Parañaque City, Negros, Cebu and other provinces. “Salt producing areas in the Philippines reached an estimated peak of 5,000 hectares nationally, producing an estimated 240,000 metric tons annually. This boom in growth supported
a growing population and the development of the salt industry in the 1960s and 1970s,” she said. The measure is also one of the 20 priority measures of the Legislative-Executive Development Advisory Council to be passed before the year ends. Meanwhile, Senator Win Gatchalian, who authored and sponsored SBN 2200, cited its passage as a significant step forward in addressing what he called a “pandemic of mental health woes.” This came after the significant increase in the number of deaths by suicide among basic education learners in recent years. “Considering a looming mental health pandemic, it is crucial for the government to urgently intervene by improving and investing in mental health services across healthcare, protection, education, and welfare,” Gatchalian said in a previous statement. SBN 2200 seeks to institutionalize the School-Based Mental Health Program to promote and ensure the mental health and well-being of learners in public and private basic education institutions. It also covers out-of-school
children in special cases that include learners with disabilities or conditions, indigenous peoples, children in conflict with the law, learners in emergency situations, and other marginalized sectors. The bill mandates the Department of Education to establish and maintain Care Centers in every public basic education institution and ensure their establishment and maintenance in private basic education institutions. Care Centers will be mandated to equip learners with skills and information for prevention, identification, and proper response and referral for their own and others’ mental health needs

Source: Philippines News Agency

Between September 7-9, Deputy Minister of Information, Culture and Tourism, Mr Ounthuang Khaophanh accompanied a delegation of local travel companies to participate in the 17th International Travel Expo 2023 held under the theme “Connectivity, Growth, Sustainability”, in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. Between September 7-9, Deputy Minister of Information, Culture and Tourism, Mr Ounthuang Khaophanh accompanied a delegation of local travel companies to participate in the 17th International Travel Expo 2023 held under the theme “Connectivity, Growth, Sustainability”, in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.

The event, one of Vietnam’s premier tourism trade promotion activities, aims to pave the way for sustainable development in the country’s burgeoning tourism industry.

The event was attended by more than 3,500 delegates from 45 provinces and cities and representing 42 countries and territories further solidifying ITE HCMC’s position as the largest tourism fair in the Mekong region.

The event addresses pressing issues such as digital transformation, human resource restructuring, destination marketing, communication strategies, improving tourism service competitiveness and quality, green tourism trends, medical tourism, and sports tourism.

Lao travel operators have taken an opportunity to meet international travel operators in order to increase cooperation, exchange tourism information, buy and sell tourist products. This is a way to expand the tourism market of Laos to overseas.

Source: Lao News Agency

The Department of Finance’s (DOF) proposal to reduce the 35-percent rice import tariff rates could bring down the price of imported rice by as much as PHP6 per kilo, a lawmaker said on Monday. Albay 2nd District Rep. Joey Salceda said the temporary reduction of rice import tariffs to 10 percent is a “viable solution” for present rice price issues. Salceda said the decision is “best left to the President” and his power to adjust tariff rates when Congress is not in session, noting that the legislature only has three weeks left before it goes on a month-long break. “In general, I am supportive of ensuring that we have all the options necessary to meet our local demand and reduce the consumer price of rice,” he said. The tariff reduction would also not compromise the implementation of the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Program since the PHP10 billion in tariff revenues required to fund them have already been met by this year’s collections, Salceda noted. Salceda suggested that the rice tariff reduction should
be accompanied by more aggressive palay buying operations by the National Food Authority (NFA) to ensure that the surge in imports does not unduly depress farmgate prices. He, however, reiterated that the long-term and sustainable solution is still to produce more rice domestically in a way that is “resilient” to climate risks. “Actually, the PBBM administration has achieved a 3-percent growth in palay harvest for 2023. We are poised for a bumper crop year this year. We need to reduce our dependency on rice imports to protect us from rice trade volatility. That is the direction of this administration,” he said. In his weekly press chat last Friday, DOF Secretary Benjamin Diokno said while price controls, when carefully calibrated and closely implemented, are effective in the near term, they also have adverse effects if allowed to linger for a longer period. “The President has directed the economic team to implement measures that will mitigate the negative impact of the price controls on rice retailers and far
mers,” Diokno said. “We need to adopt a comprehensive approach to help ensure that rice supply remains sufficient at reduced prices.” The DOF is also encouraging the timely importation of rice by the private sector; full implementation of the Super Green Lane that authorizes the use of Electronic Data Interchange that will allow the advance processing and clearance of the shipments of the country’s topmost qualified importers; and cooperation with tollway concessionaires and operators for the temporary exemption of trucks that cater to agricultural goods from the increase in toll fees

Source: Philippines News Agency

The Laos-Vietnam ties have been expanding across the board and are now at the best time in history, said Minister of Planning and Investment Khamjane Vongphosy. The Laos-Vietnam ties have been expanding across the board and are now at the best time in history, said Lao Minister of Planning and Investment Khamjane Vongphosy.

The minister, who is head of the Lao-Vietnam Cooperation Committee, made the assessment in an interview granted to the Vietnam News Agency on economic cooperation between the two countries in the recent past.

According to him, the two countries have the time-honoured tradition of cooperation and mutual support throughout their respective revolutions to regain independence and national unification as well as the current causes of national defence, construction and development.

Minister Khamjane noted that under the close leadership of the two Parties and States, ministries, agencies and localities of both countries have actively coordinated with each other to effectively implement the agreement on the 10-year cooperation strategy (2021-2030) and the five-year cooperation agreement (2021-2025) as well as cooperation plans for each period. This has contributed greatly to maintaining political stability, ensuring national defence-security and socio-economic development of each country, and further promoting the great friendship, special solidarity and comprehensive cooperation between the two nations, he said.

He underlined that the Vietnamese Government has provided a large volume of aid to Laos, one third of which was used for human resources development, and the remainder was allocated to projects in other fields, including poverty reduction.

The minister highlighted the bilateral economic partnership, with two-way trade value rising throughout the years. Meanwhile, Vietnamese companies are running over 400 investment projects in Laos, which have contributed significantly to local socio-economic development, especially in infrastructure, transports, social welfare, education and culture in remote and hard-to-reach areas, thus helping gradually improve the living conditions of local people, he said.

Khamjane also informed that the two countries have worked to enhance the connectivity between the two economies, particularly in trade, investment, finance, transport infrastructure, energy, telecommunications and tourism, with a view to expanding the scope for cooperation and development not only between them but also with other countries in the region.

The minister said following the direction of their leaders, the two countries have been encouraging Vietnamese firms to invest in Laos, with attention paid to attracting investment of corporations with good financial capacity and expertise to such fields as clean agriculture, processing industry, clean energy, cultural tourism and nature conservation.

He stressed that the Lao Government has attaches importance to improving the investment and business environment through streamlining licensing process, adding that the work is expected to facilitate Vietnamese investors’ investment and expansion of production in Laos.

Source: Lao News Agency