Two titans of the banking industry are locked in a fierce battle, each vying to provide Victory Liner Inc. the ₱5 billion capital expenditures needed to construct the bus company’s intermodal terminal. Word on the street, or rather, along the banking corridors, is that the Ty family-owned...
The World Bank Group’s (WBG) International Finance Corp. (IFC) is considering another round of investment financing support for Ayala Land Inc. (ALI), including for the property giant’s ongoing renovation and expansion of its flagship malls to make them “greener.” A World Bank document seen...
With President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. only managing to secure a one-percentage-point (ppt) reduction in tariffs on Philippine exports to the United States (US), the country is seen to lose its “minimal” competitive edge over its regional peers—an advantage it enjoyed due to a strong peso and...
The Ayala Group reported that the parent company and four of its main subsidiaries have once again made it to the prestigious FTSE4Good Index Series due to their sound environmental, social and governance (ESG) practices. In a statement, the conglomerate said inclusion in the index strengthens the...
The World Bank considers liberalized rice trade as a boost to the Philippine agriculture sector, even as the Marcos Jr. administration is moving to reinstate the National Food Authority’s (NFA) old regulatory powers. “Strategic shifts are underway to reinvigorate transformation of the...
Senator Jinggoy Ejercito Estrada is now pushing for two measures aimed at providing a broader, disaster-ready blueprint for the country: the creation of the Department of Disaster Resilience (DDR) and the establishment of a Food Bank and Stockpile Act. Estrada filed both measures ahead of the...
The Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) has named Tokyo-based Mizuho Bank as the country’s latest investment promotion partner, a move to seen to boost Japanese investments into the country. PEZA Director General Tereso Panga said he has formalized this partnership through the signing of a...
The Tokyo-based think tank Asian Development Bank Institute (ADBI) has flagged rising post-pandemic debt repayments in developing economies across the region, including the Philippines, which are depriving governments of more funding for public goods and services. “Between 2008 and 2019, annual...
State-owned Development Bank of the Philippines has successfully raised ₱8.25 billion in fresh funds from its latest dual local bond offering as it continues to diversify its funding sources to support more projects aligned with the national government’s economic development agenda, a top...
Zobel-led Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) posted a 7.8 percent improvement in net income to ₱33 billion for the first half of 2025 from the ₱30.6 billion earned in the same period last year on strong growth in net interest income. In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange, the bank...
Despite the vulnerability of Filipino households to socioeconomic shocks and natural disasters, their access to financial services remains a laggard compared to the Philippines’ regional and income-level peers, the 2025 Global Findex Database of the World Bank showed. According to the World...
Fifteen years from now, the Philippine economy could accelerate by 6.8 percent yearly if the country continues to improve regional connectivity, productivity, and resource allocation, the Washington-based World Bank stated. According to the multilateral lender’s latest report on Philippine growth...
