Banking sector improves stability, strength in 2013

The Philippine banking industry, despite global challenges, is now Basel 3-compliant and in the past year, has build up capital buffers and its sights set on expansion both local and for the large financial institutions, exploring a bigger pie of the regional business.

The country’s credit rating upgrade which gave it the much-coveted investment grade status, in part is a nod to the banking sector’s stability and strength.

As stated by Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Governor Amando M. Tetangco Jr., international rating agencies Moody’s, Fitch Ratings and Standard & Poor’s have recognized the banking system for its “well-capitalized, profitable and liquid with deposit-funded balance sheets and sound loss-absorption capacities.”

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7 reasons why PH economic growth is not a bubble in disguise

A Forbes columnist recently wrote an article that stirred a hornets’ nest. The post called out the Philippine economic miracle as a bubble in disguise. While the author has some valid points we should not ignore, many of us do not agree. The Philippine economy is the fastest growing economy in Southeast Asia and one of the fastest in the world.

So, is the Philippine economic growth really a bubble in disguise? Our answer is a flat ‘no’!

I recently had a conversation with my colleague, economist Dr. Alvin P. Ang, who is also the president of the Philippine Economic Society. We both felt that the analysis was rather thin, not very accurate. Truth to be told, his analysis seems delinked from our reality.

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PH only Asian economy in Standard & Poor's 'Rising Stars' list

The Philippines is the only Asian economy to make it in its list of "rising stars" this year, a global debt watcher said.

The Philippines is only one in two countries Standard and Poor's Ratings Services (S&P) added to its list of rising stars in 2013, just when the New York-based financial services company is giving more downgrades than upgrade debt ratings. 

S&P defines "rising stars" as countries whose credit score was upgraded from junk to investment grade. This year's list includes 31 countries, where the Philippines is the lone Asian nation.

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Swiss foundation, Pinoys abroad raise P432-M 'Yolanda' donations

MANILA, Philippines - Filipinos in Switzerland helped a foundation there in raising multi-million peso donations for the victims of Super Typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan).

Swiss Solidarity, a foundation that raises funds for humanitarian relief and rehabilitation projects, gathered pledges of donations worth Swiss Franc 9,025,989 million (P432 million) in a six-hour telethon held on November 18, the Philippine Embassy in Switzerland said.

The Embassy said the event, which was dubbed as the Swiss National Day of Solidarity with the Philippines, was participated by Filipinos who took phone calls or provided food for the volunteers.

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Swiss foundation, Pinoys abroad raise P432-M 'Yolanda' donations

MANILA, Philippines - Filipinos in Switzerland helped a foundation there in raising multi-million peso donations for the victims of Super Typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan).

Swiss Solidarity, a foundation that raises funds for humanitarian relief and rehabilitation projects, gathered pledges of donations worth Swiss Franc 9,025,989 million (P432 million) in a six-hour telethon held on November 18, the Philippine Embassy in Switzerland said.

The Embassy said the event, which was dubbed as the Swiss National Day of Solidarity with the Philippines, was participated by Filipinos who took phone calls or provided food for the volunteers.

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Swiss foundation, Pinoys abroad raise P432-M 'Yolanda' donations

MANILA, Philippines - Filipinos in Switzerland helped a foundation there in raising multi-million peso donations for the victims of Super Typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan).

Swiss Solidarity, a foundation that raises funds for humanitarian relief and rehabilitation projects, gathered pledges of donations worth Swiss Franc 9,025,989 million (P432 million) in a six-hour telethon held on November 18, the Philippine Embassy in Switzerland said.

The Embassy said the event, which was dubbed as the Swiss National Day of Solidarity with the Philippines, was participated by Filipinos who took phone calls or provided food for the volunteers.

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Young Filipino software developers aim to create apps to solve gov’t problems

MANILA, Philippines —Young software developers in the Philippines are coming up with app ideas to solve the problems of government in an international competition sponsored by Microsoft.

“[Microsoft] Imagine Cup, which is currently on its 12th year, is the world’s premier student technology competition,” Karrie Ilagan, Microsoft Philippines General Manager, said Tuesday during the launch of the national leg of the competition.

Microsoft said that 1.65 million students from 190 countries have so far participated from 190 countries. In the Philippines, some 1,000 students have participated already, they said.

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Lonely Planet names Palawan among best value travel destinations

Lonely Planet, the largest travel guide book publisher in the world, has picked Palawan as among the 10 “best value travel destinations” for 2014.

Lonely Planet writer Tom Hall raved about Palawan’s jungle rivers, limestone cliffs and awesome beaches in his review.

“Palawan’s no secret, but it certainly rewards those who visit,” wrote Hall. “This mix, combined with stand-out attractions such as Puerto Princesa Subterranean River National Park and the Bacuit Archipelago (all available at a competitive price), makes it a great-value pick for old Asia hands and novices alike.” A journey on from Palawan, Hall said, leads to the Calamian Islands “where apparently Alex Garland saw the strip of sand that inspired The Beach.”He warns potential Palawan tourists though to “watch out for the May to October monsoon: it brings heavy rain, usually in the afternoon.”

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UK sees PH as ‘emerging power’

MANILA, Philippines – The Philippines is among several countries that the United Kingdom (UK) considers as “emerging powers,” newly appointed British Ambassador to the Philippines Asif Ahmad said Wednesday.

“We have identified a number of countries and we have a special name for them: “emerging powers,” Ahmad told reporters in a round table discussion Wednesday after he has formally presented his credentials to President Benigno Aquino III Tuesday.

“[It] shows that you’re not just emerging as an economy but you can become powerful on a global stage,” he said.

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Philippines ‘a rising star’

INVESTMENT in the Philippines is expected to grow over the medium term, with more opportunities opening for the private sector as the economy continues to expand.

“The Philippines is a rising star in the investment universe,” Deputy Treasurer Sharon P. Almanza said in a keynote speech at an investment forum yesterday.

“The pressure is upon us to deliver... but we need the investor community to continue to fuel our rising star,” added Ms. Almanza, who delivered the speech in behalf of National Treasurer Rosalia V. de Leon.

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Spain exploring ways to help PH rebuild Spanish-era churches

MANILA, Philippines—The Spanish Embassy in Manila is exploring ways to help the Philippines reconstruct Spanish-era churches that have been destroyed or damaged in a 7.2-magnitude earthquake that struck Central Visayas on Tuesday.

The embassy announced the effort as it extended its “most sincere condolences and its sympathy” to the Philippine government and victims of the earthquake that also shook parts of southern Luzon and Northern Mindanao.

“We are currently studying different options to assist the Philippine authorities in the reconstruction of the historical churches of the Spanish period,” the embassy said in a statement.

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Despite growth, Phl needs to do more – ADB

MANILA, Philippines - Despite the four straight quarters of at least seven percent growth, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) said the Philippines should not rest on its laurels as more tasks need to be accomplished.

The country’s robust economic growth path was stamped by an investment upgrade by international credit rating agency Moody’s. Earlier, various domestic and international financial institutions upgraded their economic forecasts for the country’s gross domestic product (GDP).

But ADB vice president Stephen P. Groff pointed out that not everything has changed for the better

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Philippines gets 3rd investment grade

Manila, Philippines – The Philippines, once tagged the “sick man of Asia,” yesterday received from Moody’s Investors Service an investment-grade Baa3, from Ba1, underscoring its rapid economic growth, political stability, improved governance, and fiscal and debt consolidation in the past few years.

Moody’s upgrade, seen to give another boost to investors’ confidence in the country, was anchored on the debt watcher’s assessment that the Philippines’ robust growth will be sustained.

Moody’s, considered as the most conservative among the three rating agencies, also assigned a positive outlook to the rating.

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PH economy shines as region falters

The Philippines stands out in the region as the only country still expected to grow at a healthy pace this year and the next despite weak global economic conditions.

Local policymakers, however, still need to solve the puzzle of how to translate this economic growth into more jobs for Filipinos to reduce poverty across the country, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) said.

“The challenge is how to establish the link between strong economic growth and poverty reduction,” ADB senior economist for the Philippines Norio Usui said at a press conference Wednesday.

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ADB says consumption, investment, remittances support 2013 PHL growth outlook of 7%

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) on Wednesday raised its forecast on Philippine economic growth to 7 percent this year, citing a boom in investment, consumption and remittances as main drivers on the back of healthy macroeconomic fundamentals.

 

In a briefing, ADB Philippines country director Neeraj Jain said the latest outlook comes from a 6 percent projection in April. He was talking to reporters at the bank’s headquarters in Mandaluyong City.

 

The multilateral lender also raised its 2014 growth forecast to 6.1 percent from 5.9 percent, with robust public and private spending fueling the expansion beyond 2013.

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PHL 2013 growth could exceed 7% – Singapore's DBS

The recent rebound in Philippine imports suggests higher exports that could bolster Manila's economy to grow by over 7 percent this year, Singapore-based DBS Bank Ltd. said Friday.

In its latest Daily Breakfast Spread, DBS Bank — Southeast Asia's largest lender — sees the improving Philippine imports feeding domestic demand and resulting in a recovery in exports receipts.

“Not only does this point to continued strength in domestic demand remains but could be signaling further preparations by export manufacturers,” the report read, referring to the 8.7 percent annual growth in imports in July.

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Nationalist entrepreneurs needed to move PHL economy forward

Nationalist entrepreneurs are needed to move the Philippine economy forward, former Finance Secretary Salvador Enriquez said in an interview with GMA News Online over the weekend.

"The economic success of any given society depends on the development of entrepreneurs," he said, adding that entrepreneurial skills have much to do with the "creation of things of value [goods or services] that people need... which makes these [things] essentially good."

The absence of [good value] in entrepreneurship would bring about "lokohan, dengoyan, and why we have  situations involving loss of billions of pesos, now being  associated to a case like  that of Janet Lim-Napoles."

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Award-winning Filipino hackers bid for US and global business

SAN FRANCISCO—Time was when a hacker was regarded as a menace.

Many still remember 2000’s disastrous I Love You computer worm, allegedly unleashed unintentionally by a Filipino computer science student and which cost about $5 billion in damages worldwide and forced large corporations, the British parliament, the CIA and the Pentagon to shut down their mail systems.

But there has been a paradigm shift. Much like De La Salle and Ateneo now produce engineers and Mapua, nurses.

Hackers are no longer phreaks or society’s fringe dwellers. In fact, some of them engage in friendly competition and get into business for themselves.

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Two Pinoys join race to space

Two Filipinos have been chosen to go to space camp in a bid to become the country's first astronaut.

Evan Rey Datun, a 24-year-old former hotelier, and Mario Mendoza Jr., a 31-year-old Air Force pilot from the military, have been named the winners in the recently concluded AXE Apollo National Challenge held in Bonifacio Global City last August 31.

AXE initially received over 28,000 applicants from the Philippines, a list trimmed down to 400 of the best contestants who faced physical challenges. At the event, participants went through an obstacle course to test their fitness and the hundreds were narrowed down to 52.

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Aldrich Talonding and James Bucong guest on Ellen DeGeneres show

Remember Aldrich Lloyd Talonding, the YouTube sensation from General Santos City who caught Ellen Degeneres' attention? Well, the talented boy has finally graced Ellen's top rating show!

Along with his cousin, James Walter Bucong, Aldrich talked about how his life changed after their YouTube video became viral.

"People started recognizing us along the streets on in the malls. They even recognize us in the restrooms. That's weird," Aldrich said.

The short interview was followed by a heartfelt performance which rightfully deserved a standing ovation from the crowd. Luther Vandross' song "Dance with My Father" is more meaningful for the fourteen year-old after his father died in June due to non-hodgkin's lymphoma.

Ellen gave Aldrich a set of music goodies - a guitar, an amplifier, keyboard and more, not to mention a check worth $10,000!

According to a report from Associated Press, Aldrich is a son of Christian ministers and members of the B'laan indigenous group.

Other Pinoy artists who have graced the Ellen are Charice, Rhap Salazar and Zendee Rose Tenerefe.

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