The Philippine housing industry remains under pressure as millions of families struggle to find decent and affordable homes. With the housing backlog still stuck at 6.5 million units based on United Nations estimates, government and private developers are increasing home production as demand...
International Finance Corp. (IFC), the World Bank Group’s (WBG) private-sector lending arm, has approved up to $170 million in financing for YCO Global Cloud Centers Holdings Inc. (YCO Cloud), confirming a major investment in the Philippine data center developer first reported by Manila Bulletin...
The Philippine Chamber of Cooperatives, Inc. (Coop Chamber) is asking Congress to raise the reserve fund tax-exemption ceiling for cooperatives to ₱100 million from the current ₱10 million. Coop Chamber Secretary General Edwin A. Bustillos told reporters that the proposal is a long-overdue...
Silence has been creeping into the farmlands of Pangasinan. It may be a long while before farmers hear Ilocano radio dramas blasting from their stereos at sunrise, playing until the mid-morning heat turns oppressive. It has been nearly a month since the southwest monsoon began dumping rain across...
Tokyo-based Japan Credit Rating Agency Ltd. (JCR) maintained the Philippines’ credit rating at “A-” with a stable outlook as the debt watcher projects that the domestic economy will return to “high growth” rates, with initial signs of recovery surfacing in the second half of 2026. Despite...
Yuchengco-led Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. (RCBC) said Japan’s Sumitomo Mitsui Finance and Leasing Co. Ltd. (SMFL) has completed its acquisition of a 30-percent stake in RCBC Leasing and Finance Corp. (RLFC), providing fresh capital to support the financing firm’s nationwide expansion. In a...
Local government units (LGUs) have the discretion to adopt or not adopt the registered business enterprise local tax (RBELT), even as the interagency Fiscal Incentives Review Board (FIRB) has required them to review and align local rules with national policies. In FIRB’s latest advisory dated...
Japanese credit rating agency Rating and Investment Information, Inc. (R&I) expects Philippine economic growth to lag behind its 2025 pace as the country continues to bear the brunt of corruption-led infrastructure spending delays in 2026. This projection comes even as R&I affirmed the...
The Marcos administration has shifted the bulk of its government asset sales to the fourth quarter of the year, leaning on last-minute property deals to hit its revised ₱38.1 billion revenue goal, according to the Department of Finance (DOF). Finance Undersecretary Michael Peter A. Alejandro, who...
The Philippines remains far from stagflation despite high inflation and sluggish economic growth, members of the Marcos Jr. administration’s economic team said, pushing back against Monetary Board Member (MBM) Benjamin E. Diokno’s characterization of the current situation as “stagflation...
The Philippines is set to strengthen marine ecosystem protection and expand sustainable livelihood opportunities through €200 million (approximately ₱14 billion) in financing from French development bank Agence Française de Développement (AFD). Secured by the Department of Finance (DOF), the...
President Marcos’ economic managers will outline their roadmap for navigating global market volatility and domestic pressure at the annual Economic Journalists Association of the Philippines (EJAP) forum on Friday, Aug. 14. Finance Secretary Frederick Go, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP)...
