As the country reconsiders nuclear energy, the Department of Energy (DOE) is set to explore financing options in coordination with the Department of Finance (DOF), the Department of Economy, Planning and Development (DepDev), and the Maharlika Investment Corp. (MIC), among other agencies. In a...
A Singapore-headquartered fund manager is seeking a $25-million equity investment from the World Bank Group’s (WBG) International Finance Corp. (IFC) for its new infrastructure fund to be deployed in Southeast Asia, including the Philippines. In an Oct. 2 disclosure, IFC, the WBG’s...
State insurers Social Security System (SSS) and Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) have offered over ₱10 billion in calamity loans to extend financial aid to members in disaster-hit areas. This follows Department of Finance (DOF) Secretary Ralph G. Recto’s order to government financial...
Maynilad Water Services Inc. may have to woo more cornerstone investors for its ₱45.8-billion initial public offering (IPO) as the prospective $245 million from the World Bank Group ’s (WBG) International Finance Corp. (IFC) and the Manila-based Asian Development Bank (ADB) is a strong vote...
Reducing the value-added tax (VAT) to 10 percent from the current 12 percent would erode the government’s fiscal consolidation, with total revenues expected to decline by an average of ₱330 billion annually, or one percent of the country’s economic output. “From our estimates, the reduction...
While government debt continued to pile up, private businesses and individuals in the Philippines held back on borrowings amid conditions not too conducive to debt accumulation. The latest data from the Washington-based Institute of International Finance (IIF), released on Thursday, Sept. 25,...
To boost bilateral trade and align the nearly 50-year-old pact with the current economic landscape, the Philippines has opened talks with Singapore to update its 1977 double taxation agreement (DTA). In a Sept. 25 statement, the Department of Finance (DOF) said its move supports efforts to attract...
Imposing excise tax on single-use plastics (SUPs) could allow the Philippine government to collect ₱58 billion after five years of implementation, according to the Department of Finance (DOF). With this incremental revenue, the DOF’s fiscal policy and monitoring group (FPMG) has forecast that...
The National Home Mortgage Finance Corp. (NHMFC) successfully concluded its 7th securitization offering called NHMFC Bonds 2024 worth ₱1.3 billion, with a very strong credit rating from the Philippine Rating Services Corp. (PhilRatings). PhilRatings has assigned a Final Issue Credit Rating of...
Budget Secretary Amenah F. Pangandaman has approved the release of ₱1.64 billion to cover the fiscal year (FY) 2023 performance-based bonuses (PBB) of over 110,600 personnel of the Armed Forces of the Philippines–Philippine Army (AFP-PA). “This release highlights our commitment to recognize...
The Marcos Jr. administration will borrow $650 million, or over ₱37 billion, from the World Bank next year to sustain the conditional cash transfers for the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) and ensure that its youth beneficiaries land jobs. According to a Sept. 20 project information...
Unutilized Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) funds will now be rechanneled to greater universal healthcare (UHC) access, a move welcomed by the Department of Finance (DOF). In a statement on Saturday, Sept. 20, the DOF commended President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. for ordering the return...
