BAIPHIL Market Watch – 06 March 2017 Page 1 of 9 BAIPHIL MARKET WATCH 06 Mar 2017 Improvement / Up Deterioration / Down No Movement FINANCIAL MARKETS AT A GLANCE PHILIPPINES Financial Rates Current Previous USD/PHP 50.4000 50.3100 30-D PDST-R1 2.4196% 1.9802% 91-D PDST-R1 2.3082% 2.2813% 180-D PDST-R1 2.8214% 2.8679% 1-Y PDST-R1 2.6297% 2.6303% 10-Y PDST-R1 4.9786% 5.0125% 30-D PDST-R2 2.4196% 2.0026% 91-D PDST-R2 2.3198% 2.2889% 180-D PDST-R2 2.8214% 2.3823% 1-Y PDST-R2 2.6287% 2.6008% 10-Y PDST-R2 4.9786% 4.4521% Stock Index Current Previous PSEi 7,247.12 7,234.94 Market Cap (Php Trillion) 12.358 12.338 Total Value (Php Billion) 5.647 5.645 PSEi Performers Closing % Change Top Gainers Seafront Resources Corp 3.30 25.00% Imperial Resources Inc 4.14 10.40% Macro Asia Corp 3.32 7.10% Top Losers Bogo-Medellin Milling 98.15 -9.95% Apollo Global Capital 0.06 -8.70% The Philodrill Corp 0.01 6.67% ASIA-PACIFIC Stock Index Current Previous NIKKEI 19,469.17 19,564.80 HANG SENG 23,581.09 23,728.07 SHANGHAI 3,217.98 3,230.57 STRAITS 3,122.34 3,136.48 SET 1,566.50 1,571.86 JAKARTA 5,393.43 5,419.41 Currency Exchange Current Previous USD/JPY 114.1200 114.2200 USD/HKD 7.7625 7.7623 USD/CNY 6.8987 6.8815 USD/SGD 1.4140 1.4108 USD/THB 35.0400 34.9800 USD/IDR 13,373.00 13.353.00 REST OF THE WORLD Stock Index Current Previous FTSEuro First 300 1,495.71 1,471.65 FTSE 100 7,355.91 7,378.74 DAX 12,007.74 12,073.34 CAC 40 4,955.78 4,972.68 DOW JONES 21,005.71 21,002.97 S&P 500 2,383.12 2,381.92 NASDAQ 5,870.75 5,861.22 Various Current Previous EUR/USD 1.0619 1.0502 GBP/USD 1.2299 1.2268 Gold Spot (USD/oz) 1,225.50 1,231.90 Brent Crude(USD/bbl) 55.87 56.15 3-M US Treasury Yield 0.68% 0.64% 10-Y US Treasury Yield 2.49% 2.49% 30-Y US Treasury Yield 3.08% 3.08% PHILIPPINES The main-share Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) added 12.18 points or 0.17 percent to close at 7,247.12.Elsewhere in the region, trading was sluggish as investors awaited cues on the next US interest rate hike, which some expect to happen as early as this month. US Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellen is set to deliver an economic outlook address in Chicago while her deputy Stanley Fischer will speak in New York. For the week, the PSEi slipped by 11.87 points or 0.16 percent from Friday’s finish of 7,258.99. On Friday, the PSEi was led higher by the financial, holding firm, services and property counters. On the other hand, the industrial and mining/oil counters remained sluggish. Value turnover for the day amounted to P5.47 billion. Foreign investors were net sellers to the tune of P340 million, but upbeat domestic investors helped shore up the main index. Despite the PSEi’s slight gain, market breadth was negative. There were 92 decliners that edged out 81 advancers; while 61 stocks were unchanged. The PSEi was led higher by conglomerates Ayala Corp. and LTG, which both gained over 2 percent. LTG has been benefiting from the government’s crackdown on the all eged fraudulent activities of a rival cigarette manufacturer. Investors also picked up shares of SM Prime and PLDT, which both gained over 1 percent. BDO, Metrobank and BPI also helped prop up the index. Meanwhile, ICTSI, SMIC, MPI, AGI, Jollibee and Security Bank all slipped by over 1 percent. Ayala Land and GT Capital also declined. Outside the PSEi, investors continued to dump shares of cement maker Cemex, which tumbled by 3.94 percent.
Transcript
BAIPHIL Market Watch – 06 March 2017
Page 1 of 9
BAIPHIL MARKET WATCH
06 Mar
2017
Legend Improvement / Up Deterioration / Down No Movement
FINANCIAL MARKETS AT A GLANCE
PHILIPPINES
Financial Rates Current Previous
USD/PHP 50.4000 50.3100
30-D PDST-R1 2.4196% 1.9802%
91-D PDST-R1 2.3082% 2.2813%
180-D PDST-R1 2.8214% 2.8679%
1-Y PDST-R1 2.6297% 2.6303%
10-Y PDST-R1 4.9786% 5.0125%
30-D PDST-R2 2.4196% 2.0026%
91-D PDST-R2 2.3198% 2.2889%
180-D PDST-R2 2.8214% 2.3823%
1-Y PDST-R2 2.6287% 2.6008%
10-Y PDST-R2 4.9786% 4.4521%
Stock Index Current Previous
PSEi 7,247.12 7,234.94
Market Cap (Php Trillion) 12.358 12.338
Total Value (Php Billion) 5.647 5.645
PSEi Performers Closing % Change
Top Gainers
Seafront Resources Corp 3.30 25.00%
Imperial Resources Inc 4.14 10.40%
Macro Asia Corp 3.32 7.10%
Top Losers
Bogo-Medellin Milling 98.15 -9.95%
Apollo Global Capital 0.06 -8.70%
The Philodrill Corp 0.01 6.67%
ASIA-PACIFIC
Stock Index Current Previous
NIKKEI 19,469.17 19,564.80
HANG SENG 23,581.09 23,728.07
SHANGHAI 3,217.98 3,230.57
STRAITS 3,122.34 3,136.48
SET 1,566.50 1,571.86
JAKARTA 5,393.43 5,419.41
Currency Exchange Current Previous
USD/JPY 114.1200 114.2200
USD/HKD 7.7625 7.7623
USD/CNY 6.8987 6.8815
USD/SGD 1.4140 1.4108
USD/THB 35.0400 34.9800
USD/IDR 13,373.00 13.353.00
REST OF THE WORLD
Stock Index Current Previous
FTSEuro First 300 1,495.71 1,471.65
FTSE 100 7,355.91 7,378.74
DAX 12,007.74 12,073.34
CAC 40 4,955.78 4,972.68
DOW JONES 21,005.71 21,002.97
S&P 500 2,383.12 2,381.92
NASDAQ 5,870.75 5,861.22
Various Current Previous
EUR/USD 1.0619 1.0502
GBP/USD 1.2299 1.2268
Gold Spot (USD/oz) 1,225.50 1,231.90
Brent Crude(USD/bbl) 55.87 56.15
3-M US Treasury Yield 0.68% 0.64%
10-Y US Treasury Yield 2.49% 2.49%
30-Y US Treasury Yield 3.08% 3.08%
PHILIPPINES
The main-share Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) added 12.18 points or 0.17 percent to close at 7,247.12.Elsewhere in the
region, trading was sluggish as investors awaited cues on the next US interest rate hike, which some expect to happen as early as this month. US Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellen is set to deliver an economic outlook address in Chicago while her deputy Stanley Fischer will speak in New York. For the week, the PSEi slipped by 11.87 points or 0.16 percent from Friday’s finish of 7,258.99. On Friday, the PSEi was led higher by the financial, holding firm, services and property counters. On the other hand, the industrial and mining/oil counters remained sluggish. Value turnover for the day amounted to P5.47 billion. Foreign investors were net sellers to the tune of P340 million, but upbeat domestic investors helped shore up the main index. Despite the PSEi’s slight gain, market breadth was negative. There were 92 decliners that edged out 81 advancers; while 61 stocks were unchanged. The PSEi was led higher by conglomerates Ayala Corp. and LTG, which both gained over 2 percent. LTG has been benefiting from the government’s crackdown on the alleged fraudulent activities of a rival cigarette manufacturer. Investors also picked up shares of SM Prime and PLDT, which both gained over 1 percent. BDO, Metrobank and BPI also helped prop up the index. Meanwhile, ICTSI, SMIC, MPI, AGI, Jollibee and Security Bank all slipped by over 1 percent. Ayala Land and GT Capital also declined. Outside the PSEi, investors continued to dump shares of cement maker Cemex, which tumbled by 3.94 percent.
The peso on Friday shed nine centavos to close the week at a fresh over 10-year low of 50.4:$1, the weakest since Sept. 12, 2006’s 50.43:$1. At the Philippine Dealing System, the peso reached an intraday low of 50.4:$1 and a high of 50.315:$1. It opened at 50.34:$1, weaker than Thursday’s close of 50.31:$1.
The government incurred a budget deficit of P353.4 billion in 2016, widening by almost three-fold, or 190 percent, from the P121.7
billion shortfall recorded in 2015 amid the Duterte administrations efforts to ramp up public spending on infrastructure, the Bureau of the Treasury reported yesterday. “The outturns reflect strong expenditure growth of 14 percent resulting from the initiatives of the new administration to ramp up public spending for the second semester, outpacing the four percent increase in revenue collections,” the BTr said. Despite the sharp increase, the latest figure was nine percent lower than the revised budget deficit target of P388.9 billion. In proportion to the economy, the BTr said the deficit was at 2.4 percent of the country’s GDP, the highest level posted in five years. This is below the 2.7 percent cap set by the government, but higher than the 0.9 deficit to GDP ratio posted in the previous year. Alvin Ang, economist at Ateneo de Manila University, told The STAR the increase was mainly driven by infrastructure and election spending. BTr data showed the national government collected more revenue in 2016, rising four percent to P2.195 trillion from P2.109 trillion in 2015. In relation to the economy, total revenue collections reached 15.2 percent of GDP, just 0.3 percent short of the 15.5 percent revised target and 0.5 percent below the 15.8 percent ratio in 2015. The bulk of the collections came from tax sources, which rose 9.1 percent in 2016, outpacing the growth of the economy. The BTr said this reflected the improved efficiency of the country’s tax collecting agencies, with tax effort improving to 13.7 percent from 13.6 percent in 2015. On the other hand, the government’s non-tax collections slumped 27 percent to P215.5 billion during the period. Disbursements, for its part, increased 14 percent to P2.549 trillion in 2016 from P2.23 trillion in 2015. But it was below revised target of P2.645 trillion set for 2016.
Japanese firms are on an expansion binge in the Philippines, with investments worth P25 billion being lined up. Trade Secretary
Ramon Lopez, who was recently in Japan for an investment forum, reported yesterday positive prospects from Japanese firms to the Philippines, reflected by their bullishness to pour in additional capital in the country. Tsuneishi Shipbuilding Co. Ltd., for one, is preparing to invest P15.2 billion for three projects planned in the country. “We met Tsuneishi president Kenji Kawano to discuss the expansion plans of Tsuneishi Shipbuilding in the Philippines,” Lopez said. On top of the two projects signed and witnessed by President Duterte during his official visit to Japan last October, Lopez said Tsuneishi expressed plans for a prospective third project on ship recycling using the latest internationally accredited green technologies. The P5-billion project will have an expected total job generation of 6,000. “Due to the very high quality of steel components of oceangoing vessels, the steel-recycling project will not only meet the country’s requirements for inter-island vessels for transport and logistics but also cover the steel requirements of major infrastructure work,” Lopez said. The two other projects of Tsuneishi include the 120-hectare ship reuse center in Negros Occidental, which will cost P5.2 billion, and a P5-billion biomass fuel project in Mindanao. The first project, expected to generate 6,000 direct and indirect workers, includes the purchase and setting up of a skid barge and ship reuse center. The second project, meanwhile, will include a biomass plantation and a new pelletizing factory which will be used for export to Japan and for use in local renewable energy projects. It is expected to generate 20,000 direct and indirect jobs.
The Philippines remained a “major” site for money laundering in 2016, the US State Department said in a report, citing last year’s
$81-million cyber heist, an ongoing drug problem and a number of businesses that have been kept out of regulatory scrutiny. Joining the Philippines are 87 other economies considered major money laundering hubs under the International Narcotics Control Strategy Report, Money Laundering and Financial Crimes 2017 published by the US State Department this month. “Money laundering is a serious concern due to the Philippines’ international narcotics trade, high degree of corruption among government officials, trafficking in persons and the high volume of remittances from Filipinos living abroad,” the report read. Sophisticated transnational organized crime and drug trafficking organizations use the Philippines as a drug transit country,” it noted. “Criminal groups use the Philippine banking system, commercial enterprises, and particularly casinos, to transfer drug and other illicit proceeds from the Philippines to offshore accounts.”The US classifies money laundering as a “serious global threat” as it allows criminals get hold of funds across borders.In particular, the $81-million Bangladesh Bank heist -- which saw hackers channel funds stolen from Dhaka’s accounts with the Federal Reserve Bank of New York to a Philippine bank in February 2015 -- exposed gaping holes in local laws against dirty money, particularly the exclusion of casinos and unclear supervision over money service businesses by the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC).The loot was deposited in four bogus accounts under a Makati City branch of Rizal Commercial Banking Corp., withdrawn, converted into pesos, and used to buy chips for casino players, with whom the money trail eventually vanished.Some $15 million has been returned to Bangladesh in over a year since the cross-border crime occurred.Weak implementation of the law and the lack of clear legal provisions prevent the AMLC, the country’s financial intelligence unit, from going after illicit funds effectively, the US State Department said.“The Philippines’ bank secrecy provisions are among the world’s strictest, requiring investigators to obtain a court order to access bank records in most cases,” the report noted.“The most pressing AMLC deficiency is the continuing non-inclusion of casino operators and other DNFBPs (designated non-financial business professions) as covered entities. Legislation to correct this deficiency has been languishing for many years,” it added, citing the need to cover real estate brokers, car and art dealers, while placing remittance agents and money changers under the central bank’s watch.Republic Act No. 9160, or the Anti-Money Laundering Act of 2001, has been revised four times since its enactment, although proposals to include casino transactions were left out. Officials have revived these measures under the 17th Congress, but these have not been approved so far.Other economies on the State Department’s list are China, Cambodia, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Malaysia, North Korea, Thailand, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, and Vietnam, to name a few.The Philippines has been identified as a “major crime enabler” under the AMLC’s National Risk Assessment covering the years 2011 to 2014, with “high” risk of money laundering given a huge informal sector.Drug trafficking was the biggest source of illicit funds amounting to about P6.18 billion in 2014, followed by proceeds from plunder and corruption, according to the report. The Philippines has been on the so-called “gray list” of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) since 2012 after making a “high-level political commitment” to address deficiencies in local laws, particularly to include casinos and the real property sellers as covered institutions to better keep track of dirty money deals.A return to the FATF’s watch list could mean higher borrowing costs for Filipinos, alongside heightened “de-risking” among offshore firms in dealing with Philippine counterparts.
The Department of Agriculture (DA) is seeking a P400-billion budget in the next two years. Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel Piñol
said he would ask for a P200-billion budget next year or more than four times its current allocation, and another P200 billion for 2019. “You cannot feed a horse with straws of hays and expect him to carry a heavy burden or run a fast race. Same with us, you cannot expect the DA to produce enough food for the country if we don’t have the budget to work on it,” Piñol said. “What we are asking is just about one-third of the budget of DepEd (Department of Education) and less than half of the budget of the DPWH (Department of Public Works and Highways). Our current budget now is even smaller than the budget given to 4Ps,” he added. The Agri chief, nevertheless, said the agency was on track to achieve rice self-sufficiency by 2019. “Just give me money and a lot of things will happen. You want DA to produce food,
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give us the budget,” he said. By 2019, palay (unhusked rice) production is targeted to reach 21.6 million metric tons (MT), making the country rice self-sufficient. Bulk of the proposed budget will be allocated for rice production and loans while the remainder will be for post-harvest facilities and irrigation, among others. Piñol said the government would have to improve rice productivity through the expansion of rice farmlands by at least one million hectares this year. The DA has already targeted to expand hybrid rice area to 600,000 to 700,000 hectares next year and as much as one million by 2020 from the current 400,000 hectares. With hybrid rice, farmers can harvest higher yield of nine to 10 metric tons per hectare from the current four MT per hectare. Aside from rice production, the DA will also focus on lending to farmers through the establishment of the Farmers and Fisherfolks Credit Union, which will consolidate the other loan programs under the Agricultural Credit Policy Council. The DA will focus on credit facilitation, collection, financial management, as well as consolidate loan programs and funds to provide better service to the farmers. Piñol said rice could be a potential export commodity of the Philippines in the future that would allow the country to compete in the global market.
Metro Pacific Investments Corp. (MPIC) is looking for a new foreign partner for the regional airports public-private partnership
(PPP) deal as its French partner pulled out of the consortium after the government decided to unbundle the project. “Our foreign partner has notified us that they’re pulling out of the airports because the unbundling resulted in the individual airport being too small. If they win just one of the smaller airports, it would place them in a difficult situation because they would not be able to get the returns they need and at the same time (it would be) difficult to operate. Rather than take that risk, they decided to withdraw,” MPIC president and CEO Jose Ma. Lim said in a briefing. The regional airports project covers the financing, design, construction, operation and maintenance of the Bacolod-Silay, Davao, Iloilo, Laguindingan and the New Bohol (Panglao) airports. When it was rolled out under the Aquino administration, it was offered in two bundles, with Bundle 1 composed of the Iloilo Airport and Bacolod-Silay Airport, and Bundle 2 covering the Davao Airport, New Bohol (Panglao) Airport and the Laguindingan Airport. The current administration has decided to unbundle the five airports to expedite completion of PPP selection and award. The Philippine Airports Consortium composed of MPIC and foreign partner Aeroports de Paris, is among the groups pre-qualified by the previous administration to bid for the regional airports project. Other pre-qualified groups to bid for the project are Maya Consortium, GMR-Megawide Consortium, San Miguel Holdings Corp.-Incheon International Airport Corp. Consortium, and Filinvest-JATCO-Sojitz Consortium. With Aeroports de Paris out of the consortium, Lim said MPIC has started to approach other foreign firms. While MPIC is looking at all the five regional airports, he said the infrastructure conglomerate may not bid for all five. “We would look at all of them. But of course, some are larger than others. Davao being by far the most attractive. Then, next would be Iloilo,” he said. He also said MPIC intends to have a single partner for the airports it would bid for, should it decide to pursue participation in the bidding process.
Eagle Cement Corp. has positioned its initial public offering (IPO) for a maximum of P9.20 billion, registering 575 million common
shares with the country’s corporate regulator for its planned market debut. The cement manufacturer has sought the approval of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to issue 500 million common shares from its authorized capital stock and offer the 75 mill ion shares of Far East Cement Corp. in case of oversubscription. Eagle Cement intends to sell the securities to the investing public for a maximum of P16 per share, according to a preliminary prospectus released by the SEC on Thursday. The company controlled by businessman Ramon S. Ang scheduled the offer period for May 2-9 in time for its target listing on the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) on May 16. The timetable may change depending on the application’s progress and market conditions.China Bank Capital Corp., PNB Capital and Investment Corp. and SB Capital Investment Corp. will manage and underwrite the proposed IPO. The offer will allow public investors to own 11.5% of the 5,000,000,005 common shares Eagle Cement will have upon listing. At present, Mr. Ang owns 29.33% or 1,317,857,139 of the company’s 4,500,000,005 outstanding shares.Eagle Cement will have a capital market capitalization of P80 billion when it debuts on the equities market, assuming investors will accept the maximum price. The company looks to net P7.39 billion from the primary offer to finance the construction of a cement plant and the associated facilities in Cebu along with marine terminals in Southern Luzon, the Visayas and Mindanao.In Cebu, Eagle Cement will construct a cement plant with a production capacity of 2 million metric tons (MT) and a distribution center. The project that includes the marine terminals in Southern Luzon, the Visayas and Mindanao costs around P12.5 billion.Eagle Cement targets to commence the construction of the Cebu cement plant in the fourth quarter and complete it within the first quarter of 2020.“Pending the above use of proceeds, the company shall invest the net proceeds from the offer in short-term liquid investments including but not limited to short-term government securities, bank deposits and money market placements which are expected to earn at prevailing market rates,” the prospectus read.Last year, Eagle Cement also announced the construction of a $300-million manufacturing plant in Davao City. It broke ground for the facility capable of producing 2 million MT or 50 million bags of cement on Oct. 20. The company opened its first production plant in San Ildefonso, Bulacan in 2008 and started commercial operations two years later. Today, the facility can produce about 5.1 million MT or 130 million bags annually. Eagle Cement will bring its total production capacity to about 7.1 million MT or 180 million bags with the completion of a third production line in Bulacan in 2018, while maintaining a grinding and packaging facility that can process 12 million bags in Limay, Bataan.Eagle Cement is the fourth largest player in the Philippines’ cement industry in terms of sales volume. It currently produces and distributes the construction material under the brands Eagle Cement Advance and Eagle Cement Strongcem across Luzon.The cement manufacturer adds to the growing list of companies seeking approval from the SEC to go public. It follows the application of homegrown property developer Cebu Landmasters, Inc., which looks to raise P3.8 billion in May.Also pending before the SEC are applications from Bermaz Auto Bhd, Pure Energy Holdings Corp., Xeleb Technologies, Inc. and Audiowav Media, Inc., which proposed to raise P1.24 billion, P1.58 billion, P751.8 million and P2.66 billion, respectively. Beverage maker The Big Chill, Inc., meanwhile, announced a plan to debut on the PSE with a P600-million maiden share sale. Another IPO hopeful -- Wilcon Depot, Inc. -- has already secured regulatory approval to debut on the equities market within the month.
Gotianun-led East West Bank grew net profit last year by 70 percent to P3.4 billion on higher recurring income. The bank grew its
loan book by 29 percent to P202 billion, while total deposits went up by 30 percent to P240 billion, underpinned by a 38-percent increase in low-cost deposits. Core recurring income went up by 25 percent. The bank sustained its industry-leading net interest margin of 7.7 percent. Net interest margin, net of provisions for loan losses, was recorded at 4.9 percent, still the highest among universal and commercial banks. EastWest pitches itself as the most consumer-focused universal bank in the country with more than half its loan portfolio lent to consumers. “As previously mentioned, 2016 will show the early results of our expansion program that started in 2012. This puts behind us the worst of the initial pain of the program that brought us to have the seventh largest store network but kept our income flat at P2 billion in the previous three years,” said EastWest president and chief operating officer Antonio Moncupa Jr. The bank had targeted to grow earnings by 50 percent last year as it expected to reap the fruits of an aggressive expansion program that saw its nationwide branch network almost triple in five years to 445, including the distribution channel of its rural bank subsidiary. East West Bank’s net revenues rose by 34 percent to P22 billion, while operating expenses rose 21 percent to P12 billion. “Our productivity is improving as the overhead cost related to the expansion of the last three years gain traction. And that is just the start. We expect further improvement in operating leverage and subsequently, better returns to our investors in the coming years,” Moncupa added. Total assets increased by 25 percent to P292 billion, led by the 51 percent increase in its consumer loan portfolio.
Philippine Airlines (PAL) is set to start non-stop service between Manila and seven destinations in the Middle East later this
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month. “The non-stop service will give us a better product to offer our kababayans, our overseas Filipino workers. Aside from the convenience of such flights, passengers will get to experience in-flight service with the heart of the Filipino, marked by warmth, care and hospitality,” PAL president and COO Jaime J. Bautista said. The non-stop service will be available for the following routes: Manila to Dubai (available seven times per week); Manila-Doha and Manila-Kuwait (four times weekly each); Manila-Jeddah and Manila-Abu Dhabi (thrice weekly each); Manila-Dammam (five times weekly); and Manila-Riyadh (seven times per week). Following the start of non-stop service for the seven routes, PAL is also set to shift to the bi-class Airbus A330 from the all-economy 414-seater Airbus A330 currently being used for the seven routes. The bi-class A330 has full flat beds on business class. The shift to the bi-class A330 will happen on June 15, for the service to Dubai, while the change will take place on July 15, for the flights to Abu Dhabi and Doha. PAL’s service to Riyadh will make the shift on Aug. 15, while Kuwait and Jeddah will move to the bi-class A330 on Sept. 15. “The shift to bi-class service across all Mid-East routes gives our passengers the flexibility to choose between regular economy, premium economy and business class service. Regardless of which class of service you choose, PAL will deliver its distinct brand of Filipino service,” Bautista said. Through the non-stop operations, passengers from the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia could avail of direct flights to the country, as well as connections to other international destinations being served by PAL.
The Court of Tax Appeals (CTA) has whittled down the P89.82-million tax bill of a Lucio Tan tobacco company to just P199,415.80
plus interest. In a 36-page decision, the tax court’s Third Division partially granted the petition of Northern Tobacco Redrying Co. Inc. (NTRCI) questioning the Bureau of Internal Revenue’s assessment made through a Dec. 16, 2013 formal letter of demand. Bulk of the disallowed tax arose from NTRCI’s Feb. 25, 2010 deed of transfer, in which it swapped some of its land in Ilocos Norte in exchange for 5,722 common shares (a 0.6-percent stake) in Fortune Landequities and Resources Inc., another Tan company. The court agreed with NTRCI that the property-share swap was a tax-free transaction. It rejected the government’s claim that the firm should have secured first a BIR ruling certifying that it could enjoy the benefit of nonrecognition of gain under or loss under Section 40(c)(2) of the National Internal Revenue Code. “There is nothing explicitly requiring a party, in exchanging property for shares of stocks, to first secure a BIR confirmatory certification or tax ruling before it can avail itself of tax exemption,” the decision read. Since the swap was declared tax-free, this meant the cancellation of P10.55-million value-added tax and P61.6-million improperly accumulated earnings tax. The decision also greatly reduced the assessments of P14.91-million income tax to only P157,663.18 due on miscellaneous expenses and disallowed untaxed salaries. The withholding tax on compensation and expanded withholding tax on various employee benefits amounting to P368,726.10 was reduced to P1,869.46, because the assessment of most of the tax was not made within the required three-year period. All in all, this meant NTRCI only has to pay a liability of P199,415.80 inclusive of a 25-percent surcharge. The firm is also liable for 20-percent deficiency interest on the basic tax excluding the surcharge and 20-percent delinquency interest on the total imposition.
The Gokongwei and Gotianun families are teaming up to modernize and operate Clark International Airport, a Pampanga province
gateway that has struggled to lure passenger traffic despite being an alternative to Manila’s Ninoy Aquino International Airport (Naia). Roberto Lim, undersecretary for aviation at the Department of Transportation (DOTr), told reporters on Thursday that Gokongwei-led JG Summit Holdings Inc. and the Gotianun family’s Filinvest Group made an almost P187-billion unsolicited proposal to the government early this year. Lim said the proposal called for a 50-year concession period and mainly involved increasing capacity at Clark Airport from about 4 million passengers annually to 36 million passengers via several phases. Megawide Construction Corp. and partner GMR Infrastructure of India, which jointly operate the Mactan Cebu International Airport, said they had also submitted an unsolicited proposal to the Duterte administration in July last year. A Megawide spokesperson said Thursday they would clarify the status of their proposal with the DOTr. Lim spoke to reporters on the sidelines of an event led by the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry. The forum was to collect private sector feedback on the possible location for a new international airport serving the greater capital region. The forum was held in response to worries that limitations at Naia, operating well beyond its designed capacity, was crimping the country’s growth potential in the areas of tourism and trade. Clark is currently underutitlized. Its difficulty in drawing airline operators and passengers stemmed from the fact that it lacked a mass transit link to Metro Manila. The Duterte administration promised to build a new railway connection, but this would take years to implement and complete.
Holcim Philippines reported a lower net income of P6.8 billion last year, compared to the P8.1 billion recorded in 2015. The 2015
profit included a one-time gain of P2.6 billion from the revaluation of Holcim’s investment in an affiliate. “Without the one-off item in 2015, profits were higher by 24 percent in 2016 on effective management of manufacturing costs even as the company raised its cement production capacity,” Holcim said. Revenues rose 7.5 percent to P40.3 billion on higher volumes and prices. Holcim posted higher sales last year despite increased competition, its chief operating officer Sapna Sood. “Ensuring stable supply is critical in these times of high building activity. Last year, we demonstrated our commitment to keep the market supplied by raising our production capacity and leaning on our strong regional network. As a result, we showed our customers we are a reliable partner which helped us compete even with the entry of new players,” Sood added. Strong revenues and effective cost management efforts lifted the company’s earnings. With higher revenues and manufacturing and enhanced distribution network, the company’s EBITDA increased by 14 percent to P10.8 billion. “Aside from raising our production capacity, we are well positioned to introduce more value-adding construction solutions from the LafargeHolcim Group to help the country build better as it embarks on more sophisticated construction projects,” Sood added. Holcim Philippines increased cement production capacity and is introducing more construction solutions from the LafargeHolcim Group to help the country build better. At present, the company has cement manufacturing facilities in La Union, Bulacan, Misamis Oriental and Davao, mobile concrete ready-mix facilities and an aggregates business backed by a strong nationwide network of dealers, Holcim Philippines is a reliable partner of builders in the country. Holcim Philippines is also committed to the highest standards of sustainable operations and manufacturing excellence with its plants certified under ISO 14001:2004 (Environmental Management System), ISO 9001:2008 (Quality Management System) and OHSAS 18001:2007 (Occupational Health and Safety Management System). Holcim Philippines is a member of the LafargeHolcim Group, the world leader in the building materials industry present in 90 countries with over 100,000 employees.
For allegedly failing to pay more than P1 billion in excise taxes, revenue authorities are considering slapping a tax evasion case
against homegrown cigarette maker Mighty Corp. In a press conference Thursday, Bureau of Customs officials confirmed that all of the Mighty cigarette packs confiscated in General Santos City and Pampanga on Wednesday bore fake tax stamps as verified by the Bureau of Internal Revenue. The agency is also looking into the possibility that the products may have been manufactured by Mighty using smuggled raw materials. Based on reports, the joint BOC and BIR teams seized 11,000 master cases of Mighty cigarettes valued at P215 million in General Santos City, on top of the 62,000 master cases worth P1.957 billion seized in San Simon, Pampanga. In all, the 73,244 master cases contained 36.622 million packs which, at an excise tax of P30 a pack, will translate to P1.098 billion in foregone revenue for the government. James Layug, head of the BOC’s special studies and project development committee, said the agency conducted the raids following the issuance of mission orders and letters of authority by Customs Commissioner Nicanor E. Faeldon. “The raids were based on intelligence reports. This is part of the BOC’s efforts in line President Duterte’s directive to track and trace illicit trade,” Layug said. BOC lawyer Mandy Anderson said the five 3,000-square-meter warehouses inside San Simon Industrial Park, which contained Mighty products, were found to be sub-leased to the cigarette manufacturer, hence “we can presume they [Mighty] have knowledge of this.”
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“We have no proof that the owner of the warehouses had knowledge” that these contained cigarettes bearing fake tax stamps, she said. As such, Anderson said, Mighty might be liable for tax evasion which could be filed by the BIR, which has the authority to file such a criminal case. If found guilty, people involved may be imprisoned for a minimum of six years, she said. Neil Estrella, customs intelligence and investigation service director, said the confiscated items would still be subject to further investigation and the BOC would also verify if the raw materials were smuggled. The BOC will also validate the names and personalities involved in the warehouses where the products had been stored, he said. “We will provide due process to the other party while doing further investigation,” Estrella said, referring to Mighty. He said the BOC was not singling out any company in its investigation on the proliferation of fake tax stamps. In a statement, Mighty said it was willing to cooperate with the BOC in its investigation. It alleged, however, that such was a “demolition job” being undertaken by its competitors. “Mighty is willing to open all its warehouses to cooperate with the BOC for seizure of fake cigarettes should any be found within its premises. It reiterates its long-standing position that it is not in the business of producing fake cigarette products as its own local brands are well-accepted by its customers,” Mighty executive vice president and spokesperson Oscar Barrientos said. “The company, however, bewails the use by other government agencies of mission orders of the BOC to pursue schemes of its competitors to seize its products using a false pretext that fake cigarettes are stored in its warehouses because of its being in the forefront of efforts to alleviate the plight of local tobacco farmers through amendatory legislation,” Barrientos said. “It was plainly from the result of raids conducted [last Wednesday] by the BOC in warehouses of Mighty in Pampanga and General Santos that no fake products of its competitors were found. That should have aborted the activity. But other government regulators without appropriate mission orders or directives from its head offices had used the raid to assert offenses by Mighty not covered by the BOC orders,” Barrientos claimed. As such, Barrientos called on the BOC to be “vigilant at its function to avert smuggling and ensure collection of duties and taxes as [Mighty] does not produce fake products and had done nothing to violate any of its regulations or of the Tariff and Customs Code.”
ASIA-PACIFIC
Japanese stocks fell on Friday as investors took profits before the weekend, after hitting a 14-month high the previous day on rising
expectations for a U.S. interest rate hike this month. Bucking the weakness, index-heavyweight Fast Retailing Co Ltd rose 2.1 percent on strong monthly sales, adding a hefty 29 positive points to the index. The Nikkei dropped 0.5 percent to 19,469.17 points, after climbing to as high as 19,668.01 on Thursday, the highest intraday level since December 2015. The Nikkei rose 1.0 percent this week. Analysts said that many investors were on the sidelines awaiting a speech by Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen later in the day, which could provide the strongest indication yet about an interest rate move in coming weeks. The Fed's next policy-setting meeting was set for March 14-15. The broader Topix dropped 0.4 percent to 1,558.05 and the JPX-Nikkei Index 400 fell 0.5 percent to 13,955.44.
China stocks fell on Friday morning, and were on track to break a three-week rising streak, as investors awaited an annual parliament
meeting that is likely to send more signals of painful reform than market-friendly stimulus. Hong Kong shares were also weak, touching three-week intraday lows, as a U.S. rate hike looms, and the reality of rising borrowing costs starts to sink in. The blue-chip CSI300 index fell 0.3 percent, to 3,425.52 points at the end of the morning session, while the Shanghai Composite Index lost 0.4 percent, to 3,217.98 points. CSI300 is on track to register its first weekly decline in a month, showing the market's blue chip-led rally is losing steam. Blue-chips have outperformed small-caps on the back of signs of economic recovery, as well as hopes more fiscal stimulus will be unveiled at the meeting of China's National People's Congress (NPC) that starts on Sunday. However, evidence is building that China's leaders are expected to telegraph their willingness at NPC to let reforms overtake policy stimulus as their priority , due to concerns about financial instability. China's top planning agency said earlier this week that the government will not use "strong stimulus" to galvanize the economy, and the banking regulator said the priority this year would be to ward off financial risks. On Friday, the stock market was not helped by a private survey showing activity in China's services sector expanded at the slowest pace in four months in February. "Investor worries are fermenting, and at this juncture, signs of weakness in one sector would immediately worsen sentiment of the whole market," Hothot-based Hengtai Securities said in a strategy report. Most sectors fell on Friday, with the real estate sector dropping on news that the city of Hangzhou is slapping more curbs on property purchases. Shenzhen's start-up board ChiNext bucked the trend, up 0.2 percent at midday, despite a nearly 5 percent slump in bellwether stock Leshi Internet Information . In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index dropped 0.6 percent, to 23,581.09 points, while the Hong Kong China Enterprises Index lost 0.8 percent, to 10,161.38. All main sectors fell, with rate-sensitive property stocks among the biggest decliners.
Japanese Finance Minister Taro Aso said on Friday he wants to use the U.S.-Japan economic dialogue as a platform to discuss
rules for free trade and investment. Aso said the dialogue would discuss economic policy, infrastructure and energy, but it is difficult to offer more details because U.S. President Donald Trump's administration is yet to fill some vacant positions. "I want to discuss rules for free and fair trade and investment and hope that these rules can be spread throughout the world," Aso said. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Trump agreed last month to establish a new framework for economic dialogue to discuss trade and infrastructure investment to be chaired by Aso and U.S. Vice President Mike Pence. Japanese media have reported that Pence will visit Tokyo next month, but the White House has yet to make an official announcement. Shortly after taking office in January, Trump shocked Japanese policymakers by saying the Bank of Japan's monetary easing amounts to currency manipulation and complaining about the low number of U.S. auto exports to Japan. Trump has since softened his tone on Japan, but there are concerns that the United States could adopt protectionist policies in the future to fulfill his pledge to make U.S. companies more competitive. The economic dialogue between the two countries is seen as a test of whether the United States and Japan can maintain good economic ties under the new U.S. administration.
Japan's core consumer prices rose for the first time in over a year in January thanks to a pickup in energy costs, but a slump in
household spending showed why economic growth and inflation have lagged the more ambitious goals set out by policymakers. As rising protectionism in the United States poses risks for the world's third-largest economy, as well as the rest of export-reliant Asia, there is a danger companies will shy away from boosting wages seen as crucial for durable growth. That will also undermine the Bank of Japan's
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efforts to accelerate inflation to its still-distant 2 percent target, analysts say. Government data showed on Friday the core consumer price index (CPI), which includes oil products but excludes volatile fresh food prices, rose 0.1 percent in January from a year ago, posting the first increase since December 2015. It compared with a median market forecast for a flat growth and followed a 0.2 percent drop in December. Many analysts expect core consumer prices to head toward 1 percent later this year. But that would still be half-way to the BOJ's goal, which was put into perspective by separate data showing household spending slipped in January even as the job market tightened further. "Inflation will accelerate this year due to a rebound in energy costs and the weak-yen effect. But it won't heighten much next year unless wages spike and boost spending," said Yoshiki Shinke, chief economist at Dai-ichi Life Research Institute. "The hurdle for hitting 2 percent inflation remains very high, which means the BOJ will maintain its ultra-loose monetary policy for the time being," he said.
Activity in China's services sector expanded at the slowest pace in four months in February, with new business still growing at a
solid rate but increasing competition making it harder for companies to raise prices, a private survey showed. The findings echoed a similar softening in growth in China's official services activity survey released and contrasted with an unexpected pick-up in growth in its manufacturing sector as export orders rebounded. The February services PMI dipped to 52.6 in February on a seasonally adjusted basis, from 53.1 in January, the Markit/Caixin services purchasing managers' index (PMI) showed. While it remained well above the 50-mark that separates expansion in activity from contraction on a monthly basis, it was the slowest rate of expansion since October. Any signs of flat-lining in services sector growth, which is more dependent on domestic demand, could indicate a slowdown in momentum for the economy overall. Some analysts say domestic demand growth already may have plateaued. That could put policymakers in a dilemma on how to meet ambitious growth targets while also containing financial risks created by years of debt-fueled stimulus. The central bank has gradually moved to a tightening bias in recent months, as a string of data showed the world's second-largest economy was on steadier footing. The Chinese government will hold annual parliamentary meetings starting this weekend, where leaders will announce an economic growth target and other policy priorities, including potentially a slightly lower target for economic and money supply growth and an emphasis on managing debt risks. Though inflation in January rose to multi-year highs, the Caixin survey found that prices Chinese firms were able to charge their customers were little changed. Survey respondents said increased competition had restricted their pricing power, even as their input prices continued to rise, albeit at a slower pace. "Inflationary pressures seemed to have started to ease as price increases in both manufacturing and services continued to weaken," said Zhengsheng Zhong, Director of Macroeconomic Analysis at CEBM Group, in a note with the data. Service companies continued to add job at a solid pace, and remained optimistic about growth in the next 12 months. Caixin's composite PMI covering both the manufacturing and services sectors rose to 52.6 in February from the previous month's 52.2 as growth in the manufacturing sector accelerated. "The Chinese economy is expected to maintain the growth momentum in the first quarter of this year. But signs of weakening may emerge from the second quarter," said Zhong.
Activity in China's services sector expanded at the slowest pace in four months in February, with new business still growing at a
solid rate but increasing competition making it harder for companies to raise prices, a private survey showed. The findings echoed a similar softening in growth in China's official services activity survey released on Wednesday, and contrasted with an unexpected pick-up in growth in its manufacturing sector as export orders rebounded. The February services PMI dipped to 52.6 in February on a seasonally adjusted basis, from 53.1 in January, the Markit/Caixin services purchasing managers' index (PMI) showed. While it remained well above the 50-mark that separates expansion in activity from contraction on a monthly basis, it was the slowest rate of expansion since October. Any signs of flat-lining in services sector growth, which is more dependent on domestic demand, could indicate a slowdown in momentum for the economy overall. Some analysts say domestic demand growth already may have plateaued. That could put policymakers in a dilemma on how to meet ambitious growth targets while also containing financial risks created by years of debt-fueled stimulus. The central bank has gradually moved to a tightening bias in recent months, as a string of data showed the world's second-largest economy was on steadier footing. The Chinese government will hold annual parliamentary meetings starting this weekend, where leaders will announce an economic growth target and other policy priorities, including potentially a slightly lower target for economic and money supply growth and an emphasis on managing debt risks. Though inflation in January rose to multi-year highs, the Caixin survey found that prices Chinese firms were able to charge their customers were little changed. Survey respondents said increased competition had restricted their pricing power, even as their input prices continued to rise, albeit at a slower pace. "Inflationary pressures seemed to have started to ease as price increases in both manufacturing and services continued to weaken," said Zhengsheng Zhong, Director of Macroeconomic Analysis at CEBM Group, in a note with the data. Service companies continued to add job at a solid pace, and remained optimistic about growth in the next 12 months. Caixin's composite PMI covering both the manufacturing and services sectors rose to 52.6 in February from the previous month's 52.2 as growth in the manufacturing sector accelerated. "The Chinese economy is expected to maintain the growth momentum in the first quarter of this year. But signs of weakening may emerge from the second quarter," said Zhong.
China will create an open, competitive domestic currency market and should let a flexible exchange rate mechanism regulate the
impact of capital flows and balance international payments, a deputy head of its foreign exchange regulator has said. Writing in a State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE) publication on Thursday, Fang Shangpu said a so-called "negative list" would be established, based on prudential assessment. Analysts believe such a list would specify sectors of the foreign exchange market that would remain subject to controls. According to Fang, foreign exchange conversion limits would be gradually phased out for "microscopic areas", a term interpreted by analysts as meaning transactions by individuals and companies. China's foreign exchange reserves unexpectedly fell below the closely watched $3 trillion level in January for the first time in nearly six years, though tighter regulatory controls appeared to making some progress in slowing capital outflows. China has long committed that it would push forward with market-oriented exchange rate reform that allows for two-way flexibility in the Chinese currency, though the yuan remains tightly controlled. And some analysts fear a heavy and sustained drain on reserves could prompt Beijing to devalue the yuan as it did in 2015. Fang said SAFE will "strengthen checks on authenticity and compliance of banks' foreign exchange businesses". He reiterated SAFE's call for tighter controls of capital outflows, which have contributed to a weakening yuan and the drawdown of forex reserves. The authority will also continue to "combat illegal activities and wrongdoings in order to keep order in the forex market", and it will "strictly deter arbitrage that circumvents policies," Fang said. SAFE said this week that it would let foreign investors trade forex derivatives in its interbank bond market for the first time. "(China should) increase the depth of the foreign exchange market, increase the number of trading tools and market participants, and establish a multi-tiered and inclusive trading platform," Fang said. He also said China would work on including cross-border capital flow management in its macro prudential risk assessment framework for banks and would improve policy tools for counter-cyclical management of cross-border flows. Analysts and market participants said they did not expect any relaxation of the domestic foreign exchange market soon, and were unclear over the extent of the plans for liberalization.
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REST OF THE WORLD
European shares slipped in early trading on Friday following some poor company updates, with WPP falling after painting a cautious
picture about its outlook and Berendsen plunging following disappointing results. The pan-European STOXX 600 was down 0.4 percent by 0822 GMT. However, the benchmark index is up more than 1 percent so far this week and headed for a positive weekly close. Germany's DAX was down 0.5 percent, also pressured by data showing retail sales fell unexpectedly in January. WPP shares were down 5.8 percent after the world's largest advertising group said it had seen a relatively slow start to 2017 and would plan conservatively for the year ahead after hitting its 2016 target for net sales growth. Workwear and hygiene company Berendsen slumped 16 percent, the biggest decliner in the STOXX 600 index, after its financial results and outlook statement. The company said the first half will continue to be impacted by legacy operations in the United Kingdom. On the positive side, Gemalto shares rose 6.8 percent, top gainers in the STOXX 600 index, after the digital security company said its profits from operations rose 7 percent in 2016.
U.S. stock index futures were down for the second straight day since January on Friday, ahead of Federal Reserve Chair Janet
Yellen's speech, which is expected to give further clarity on the possibility of an interest rate hike later this month. Banks across the world have paid about $321 billion in fines since the 2007-2008 financial crisis as regulators stepped up
scrutiny, according to a note by the Boston Consulting Group. Almost ten years since the financial crisis, the banking industry has not completely recovered, BCG said in an industry report. North American banks accounted for nearly 63 percent of the total fines, or about $204 billion, during 2009-2016, the consultancy firm said. While U.S. regulators have been more effective in imposing penalties and recovering fines from the banks, their counterparts in Europe and Asia are likely to step up pace, according to the BCG report. The number of individual regulatory changes that banks must track on a global scale has more than tripled since 2011, to an average of 200 revisions per day, the report said. Even though U.S. President Donald Trump has ordered reviews for possible regulatory changes and legislations modifying the Dodd-Frank Act, the consulting group said regulatory impacts would continue to cost banks a lot going forward. Trump and other critics of the Dodd-Frank law say its regulations have hindered lending. In February, Trump ordered reviews of major banking rules that were put in place after the 2008 financial crisis, in favor of looser banking regulation.
The Financial Stability Oversight Council, made up of all major U.S. financial regulators, met late on Thursday afternoon and
reviewed its designation of a nonbank firm as "too big to fail," according to a statement from the Treasury Department. While the statement did not name the firm, only three nonbank companies have been labeled "systemically important financial institutions," (SIFIs) a designation that triggers tougher oversight and requires firms to hold more capital. According to a source familiar with the meeting, the council discussed rescinding the firm's designation, but no decision has been made. The council analyzes its designations each year to see if they are still relevant, but the Thursday discussion stood out because it was the first meeting chaired by newly confirmed Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin. During his confirmation hearing, Mnuchin said he would like to review the council's work. President Donald Trump has said he wants to cut a lot out of the 2010 Dodd-Frank Wall Street reform law that created the council and the designations. "The council discussed the ongoing annual reevaluation of its designation of a nonbank financial company, including the review of materials submitted by the company and engagement with the company," according to the statement. One of the three, insurer American International Group, received a $182 billion government bailout during the 2007-09 financial crisis, which led lawmakers to include the "too big to fail" label for nonbanks in Dodd-Frank. The others are Prudential Financial and MetLife Inc.. A judge last year struck down the designation of MetLife, and the government is appealing the ruling. Until the appeal is decided MetLife is not considered systemically important. Of late, AIG has been selling assets and reducing its size, raising the possibility it will follow in the footsteps of General Electric Co, which last year persuaded the council to remove its systemically important label by shedding its capital unit and many of its ties to the financial system. Billionaire activist investor Carl Icahn, currently advising Trump on federal regulation, had pressed AIG to become a leaner company in order to lose the SIFI designation. After Trump's surprise election win in November, Icahn said AIG was still undervalued, but doing better after the asset sales. He also said some Dodd-Frank measures went too far. AIG last week said in an annual filing that the label creates "considerable uncertainty" for insurers.
Demand for travel to the United States over the coming months has flattened out following a positive start to the year, with
uncertainty over a possible new travel order likely deterring visitors, travel analysis company ForwardKeys said on Monday. ForwardKeys, which analyses 16 million flight reservations a day from major global reservation systems, also said that travel from the United States to and from the Middle East has been especially hard hit after President Donald Trump's move to ban people from seven Muslim-majority countries. "Uncertainty reigns and the presidential rhetoric appears to be deterring visitors to the U.S.," ForwardKeys founder Olivier Jager said in a statement. U.S. travel demand is set to be a topic at the world's largest travel fair, the ITB, in Berlin this week. After the travel ban was imposed in January, international travel to the U.S. dropped by 6.5 percent in the following eight days, ForwardKeys data showed last month. In its latest update on Monday, ForwardKeys said that bookings to the United States recovered after the courts halted the ban, but dropped again in the nine days after plans for a new ban were announced on Feb. 17. Overall, bookings for arrivals to the United States over the next three months are 0.4 percent down on last year, whereas they had been 3.4 percent ahead the day before the travel restrictions were imposed. The study also showed that accumulated U.S. bookings to the Middle East were up by 12 percent on last year in the three weeks before the ban. However, in the four weeks following the ban they were down 27 percent. According to travel search site Kayak (PCLN.O), searches from Europe for flights to the U.S. are down by 12 percent since the elections. However, Germans, some of the world's biggest spenders on travel, have not been deterred, with searches up 10 percent in that period, Kayak said in data provided to Reuters.
22316: Organizational Resilience - Moving from Continuity to Resiliency – 8 March 2017 EQ and Leadership for Bankers – 17 March 2017 Compliance with Operational Risk Management Guidelines – 17 March 2017 Related Party Transactions – 17 March 2017 Signature Verification & Forgery Detection – 18 March 2017 Personal Equity and Retirement Account (PERA) – 24 March 2017 Basic Course on Corporate Governance for Board of Directors (Commercial & UniBanks) – 24 & 25 March 2017 Fraud Risk Management – 25 March 2017 Establishing Internal Controls per BSP Cir. No. 871 – SEMINAR TWO – 25 March 2017 BSP Supervisory Process and CAMELS Rating – 7 April 2017 IT Security and Auditing – 8 April 2017 A Regulatory Perspective on Trust Activities and Administration – 20 & 21 April 2017 Training the Bank Trainers – 21 & 22 April 2017 Process Mapping as an Operational Risk Management Tools – 22 April 2017 How to Spot Fake IDs and Money Mules – 29 April 2017 RA 10173: Data Privacy Act – Aligning Information Security Compliance to ISO 27001:2013 – 6 May 2017 Understanding Bank Regulations for Bank Products – 6 & 13 May 2017 Bank’s Taxation – Advanced – 20 May 2017 Counterfeit Detection – 29 May 2017
Director: Maria Teresita R Dean (ChinaBank Savings) Chair: Sheryll K. San Jose (Equicom Savings Bank) Member: Rachelle A Fajatin (Equicom Savings Bank)
DISCLOSURE: The BAIPHIL Market Watch (BMW) is for informational purposes only. The content of the BMW is sourced from third party websites and may be subject to change without notice. Although the information was compiled from sources believed to be reliable, no liability for any error or omission is accepted by BAIPHIL or any of its directors, officers or employees, and BAIPHIL is not under any obligation to update or keep current this information
