Business NEWS

The peso closed  lower   at P49.75  to the US dollar Wednesday, (August 4) from P49.61 the previous day. The weighted average rate appreciated to P49.717  from P49.845. Total volume amounted to $1.041.45 billion according to the Bankers Association of the Philippines. 

Listed firm Phoenix Petroleum Philippines Inc. is expanding the market reach of its lubricant products into Indonesia, the company has announced.              

LT Group, Inc. (LTG), the flagship of taipan Lucio Tan, is almost doubling its capital expenditures budget in 2021 as it is optimistic that the local economy will improve this year.

The Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPOPHL), the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) and the country’s internet service providers (ISPs) have agreed to join hands to block online piracy sites. 

The central bank’s Friday auction of 28-day securities fetched a lower rate amid demand, it received P109 billion tenders versus offer of P70 billion.

San Miguel Food and Beverage, Inc. reported a 30 percent drop in consolidated profits last year to P22.4 billion from P32.3 billion in 2019 but noted a rebound starting the second half of 2020.

The Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) has granted a P4.17-billion loan to Megaship Builders, Inc. (MBI) to upgrade and expand its shipbuilding and ship repair complex in Albuera, Leyte.

Trade and Industry Secretary Ramon M. Lopez preferred the passage of pending economic bills that will open certain domestic industries to majority foreign ownership rather than tinkering the Constitution or charter change (cha-cha).

Filipino-owned Century Pacific Food Inc., the Philippines largest canned food manufacturer and leading producer in ASEAN, is looking at P50 billion in revenues this year with conservative growth target of 10 percent, lower than the expected phenomenal 20 percent growth in 2020.

Meralco PowerGen Corporation (MGen), the power generation investment arm of Manila Electric Company, has acquired 20-percent of the shareholdings held by its Singaporean firm-partner Sunseap in the 50-megawatt PowerSource First Bulacan Solar Inc. (PFBSI) project.

State-run Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corporation (PSALM) is disposing another real estate asset by March 25 next year – and this time, it is a bigger-scale property in Barangay Lagundi in Mexico, Pampanga spanning 50,447 square meters.

The Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) partnered with the Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice) to boost seed distribution to farmers via digital technology through “Binhi E-Padala”.

Prospects for the electronics sector has brighten up with Semiconductor and Electronics Industries in the Philippines Foundation Inc. (SEIPI) now projecting a 7 percent growth in 2021 and an upgraded growth projection for 2020 from negative 15 percent to only 5 percent contraction.

The Metro Rail Transit (MRT) -3 will boost its maximum passenger capacity from 13 percent (51 pax per train car, 153 passengers per train set,) to 30 percent (124 pax per train car, 372 passengers per train set), starting today, October 19, 2020.