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 Philippines’ balance of payments (BOP) swung to a $1.47-billion deficit in July, reversing the $3.4-billion surplus recorded in June, as the country’s foreign exchange (forex) reserves fell to their lowest level in 18 months. The July deficit brought the cumulative BOP shortfall to $5.35...
For a long time, the prevailing narrative surrounding Islamic banking in the Philippines was trapped in a narrow frame. Most consumers assumed it was a niche service exclusive to Muslim communities or strictly intended for regional development in Mindanao. Amenah “Mina” Pangandaman,...
Foreign direct investment (FDI) net inflows into the Philippines plunged to $210 million in May, the lowest monthly total in more than 11 years as global economic volatility and geopolitical tensions prompted foreign companies to delay capital commitments. According to the latest data from the...
The Philippines is lining up another $3.5 billion in loans from the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), the Asian Development Bank (ADB), and the World Bank, based on preliminary project documents, adding to the previously identified $8.9-billion indicative pipeline of multilateral...
Labor groups, environmentalists, and indigenous communities facing displacement risks are aggressively pushing back against the plan to build the high-value Pax Silica AI industrial hub. Red flags have been raised over the looming strain on New Clark City’s water, land, and power supplies....
The Philippines is taking a direct swing at expanding its agricultural footprint in the Middle East, using a fresh trade deal to put domestic coconut products directly onto supermarket shelves across the Gulf Cooperation Council. The Philippine Trade and Investment Center (PTIC) in Dubai launched...
Three multilateral lenders are expected to greenlight up to $8.9 billion, equivalent to about ₱549 billion, in new loans over the next two years before the Philippines’ upper-middle-income-country (UMIC) status limits the country’s access to concessional financing in the coming years....
The Department of Economy, Planning, and Development (DEPDev) has adopted a color-coded alert mechanism to identify implementation risks in ongoing big-ticket projects approved by the Cabinet-level, interagency Investment Coordination Committee (ICC) as well as the Economy and Development (ED)...
To improve the quality, completeness, and timeliness of national economic data, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), and the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) have entered into a data-sharing agreement. Spearheaded by Finance Secretary Frederick...
Former Budget secretary Amenah Pangandaman was tapped by President Marcos to be the chairperson and chief executive officer (CEO) of the Al-Amanah Islamic Investment Bank of the Philippines (AAIIBP) as he believes that she can perform the job well. This was what Palace Press Officer and...
The country’s investment promotion agencies (IPAs) are aiming to approve at least ₱4.5-trillion worth of investments under the government’s new investment promotion framework, which seeks to incentivize innovation-driven projects. Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Undersecretary and...
