The Philippines’ debt as a share of economic output is expected to remain elevated above 60 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) this year as the government ramps up borrowings to support its response to the national energy emergency amid the prolonged war in the Middle East. Based on the...
The Philippines and Japan are expected to sign a new double taxation convention (DTC) on the sidelines of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.’s ongoing state visit to Tokyo. Manila Bulletin learned on Wednesday, May 27, that the Philippine-Japan DTC will possibly be signed before the end of the...
The United States (US) government’s Millennium Challenge Corp. (MCC) has earmarked a $60-million grant for the Philippines focused on the energy sector. Documents discussed during the US aid agency’s economic advisory council meeting last month, which were made public last week, showed that the...
The interagency Financial Stability Coordination Council (FSCC) has flagged rising risks to the Philippine financial system stemming from the prolonged war in the Middle East, increasing corporate vulnerabilities, and growing household debt, although officials said the country’s banking sector...
Local government units (LGUs) showed a slight uptick in loan requests in April 2026 compared to the same month last year, even as the total financing amount saw a sharp decline to ₱2.7 billion due in part to budget surpluses typical of a non-election period. According to the latest data from the...
Philippine economic growth would continue to underperform this year and next as the country faces not only headwinds from a prolonged war in the Middle East but also domestic challenges related to politics and corruption, according to the Institute of International Finance (IIF). The IIF’s latest...
New York-based global asset management giant BlackRock Financial Management Inc. (BlackRock) is looking to expand investments in Southeast Asia, including the Philippines, through a climate-focused infrastructure debt fund backed by International Finance Corp. (IFC). In a May 20 disclosure, the...
The Philippine government and the Beijing-based Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) are exploring partnerships in digitalization and energy aimed at improving the ease of doing business and accelerating infrastructure development to support economic growth. In a statement on Friday, May 22,...
Quezon City Mayor Joy Belmonte raised concern over the limited direct access of local governments to climate financing, stressing that cities remain underfunded despite being at the frontline of climate change impacts. Speaking at the Philanthropy Asia Summit 2026 in Singapore, h eld from May 18...
The Philippine government has asked the World Bank to restructure and partially cancel over $2.34 million in unused proceeds from a Duterte-era loan supporting the country’s flagship Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps), even as the Washington-based multilateral lender cited the project’s...
The Asialink Group of Companies (Asialink) has reshuffled the leadership of its two flagship financing firms to position itself for faster growth, wider market reach, and stronger operational coordination amid rising competition in the financial services sector. The group stated that the transition...
More than a decade after the World Bank approved financing for the Cebu Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) Project, the flagship urban transport initiative remains far from achieving its original objectives, with only a short section of the corridor substantially completed before the loan expires in...
