While the Philippines’ graduation to upper-middle-income-country (UMIC) status is a nod to its economic progress, President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.’s chief economic manager said the milestone alone cannot do the heavy lifting needed for the country to achieve an ‘A’-level sovereign credit...
The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) is delaying the selection of four new digital banking players as it seeks to reconcile conflicting regulatory tracks for different types of applicants. While the market anticipated the entry of the new digital lenders as early as the first quarter, BSP Governor...
Climbing to upper-middle-income-country (UMIC) status comes with a trade-off: the Philippines faces a looming decline in access to concessional official development assistance (ODA), or low-interest loans extended by the country’s multilateral and bilateral development partners. However, for...
Department of Finance (DOF) Secretary and Land Bank of the Philippines (Landbank) Chairman Frederick D. Go has praised the move by Ayala-led Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) to waive electronic fund transfer fees across its digital channels, describing it as a step toward eliminating banking...
Investment czar and Department of Finance (DOF) Secretary Frederick D. Go is advancing the development of what is expected to become the Philippines’ and Southeast Asia’s first offshore wind farm, reinforcing the Marcos administration’s push to attract large-scale renewable energy (RE)...
President Marcos’ chief economic manager said the proposed $60-million Millennium Challenge Corp. (MCC) threshold program is expected to secure United States (US) congressional approval by August, with the grant supporting the country’s reform efforts and opening the door to larger funding from...
Apart from Japan, the Philippine government is currently in talks with Singapore and Hong Kong to update existing double taxation agreements (DTAs) in a bid to attract more foreign direct investments (FDIs). During a roundtable discussion on June 16, Department of Finance (DOF) Secretary Frederick...
Driven by robust investor demand, the national government has upsized its latest foreign currency-denominated bond offering from $2 billion to a final $2.5 billion, officially completing the country’s external borrowing program for 2026. The Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) announced on Tuesday, June...
Citing the need to finance the country’s ₱6.793 trillion national budget for fiscal year (FY) 2026, the Philippines has returned to the global debt markets with a triple-tranche offering of United States (US) dollar-denominated global bonds. In a statement issued on Tuesday, June 16, the Bureau...
With the aim of generating quality jobs for Filipinos, the Philippine government is exploring ways to deepen its bilateral cooperation with Sweden in the energy, manufacturing, and digitalization sectors. During a high-level courtesy meeting with a visiting Swedish delegation, Department of Finance...
The Department of Finance (DOF) has begun negotiations with Switzerland-based SICPA SA for a proposed ₱13.44-billion fuel marking program extension beyond the expiration of the current contract in mid-2026, ensuring the continuation of a key anti-smuggling initiative that has been in place since...
The Philippines and the World Bank have signed an $18.85-million grant agreement to strengthen the country’s defenses against future pandemics, while the Washington-based multilateral lender also commended the satisfactory implementation of an ongoing agriculture modernization project. Documents...
