Economy

The North-South Commuter Railway (NSCR) is now targeted to be fully operational by 2033 after the Economy and Development Council approved amendments to the project, with partial operations expected to start in December 2027. The full operations of the NSCR are now targeted to start by the third quarter of 2033, later than the previous January 2032 target, after procurement …

Money from Filipino workers (OFWs) are likely to remain flat until yearend as overseas deployment slows and renewed hostilities in West Asia create more volatility and disturbances in the labor sector. The Union Bank of the Philippines (UnionBank) expects full-year remittance growth to ease to 2% as it sees weak OFW deployment and global geopolitical woes dampening inflows. “UnionBank maintains …

Last Thursday, local  equities also posted gains, as the Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) grew by 41.70 points or 0.70% to 5,958.64 while the broader All Shares index climbed 17.85 points or 0.54% to 3,318.11. A local economist said the index  closed higher as bargain hunting prevailed following the steep sell-down in the previous session. Investors took advantage of lower …

Net foreign direct investments (FDI) markedly dropped in the first six months of the year due to global uncertainties, data from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) showed on Thursday. Inflows in the January to June period totaled $3.38 billion, down 17.8 percent from the year-earlier $4.12 billion. In June alone, net FDI inflows dropped to $447 million from the …

The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) is cooperating with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to establish a modern and data-driven tax compliance system in the Philippines. The BIR on Friday said it met with IMF experts last Sept. 4 to discuss the operational implementation of compliance risk management (CRM) and regional engagements on CRM activities across selected BIR field offices. …

The government does not impose a higher tax burden to luxury items and other nonessential goods, so says Finance Secretary Frederick Go; ergo, those consuming these commodities should pay up. With this explanation came the announcement that the  Department of Finance (DOF) is seeking to collect more from wealthy consumers through higher taxes on luxury and nonessential goods. The trouble …

Converge ICT Solutions Inc.’s modern data center in Angeles City, which started operations last March, has been recognized as a ‘’strategic investment’’ by the Board of Investments (BOI) and thus was granted the “green lane” status from the government. Henceforth, the facility would be eligible for expedited processing of permits and other regulatory requirements. Converge CEO Dennis Uy said he …

Various economic forecasters have been issuing lower growth numbers of the Philippine economy.  The latest downgrade came from the  Asean+3 Macroeconomic Research Office (Amro) which cut its outlook for the country for 2026 and 2027. Amro on Thursday lowered its growth forecast for the Philippines to 3.4 percent in 2026 from 4.1 percent previously, and to 4.8 percent in 2027 …

Travelers have been warned by the Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB( that they should expect an increase in airfares by next month. The board is increasing the fuel surcharge by a notch, resulting in slightly higher airfares. In an advisory, the CAB said it is increasing the applicable surcharge rate to Level 13 for the period of Sept. 1 to 15 …

For the first time in three months, the  Philippines’ balance of payments (BoP) position dived to a new low last July,  the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) has confirmed. According to the data released last Wednesday by the BSP, the  country’s BoP position stood at a $1.47-billion deficit in July, a reversal from the $3.403-billion surplus in June. Year on …