Business

By DIEGO C. CAGAHASTIAN On its inauguration last July 14, the  MTerra Solar project in Gapan City, Nueva Ecija was praised by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. as “the world’s largest solar project” adding it will greatly boost the energy security of the Philippines. Although the accolade “largest solar project in the world” might be a little stretched, the MTerra is …

An official of the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) on Wednesday said the proposal to extend the no disconnection policy on power bills will take into account not just the consumers but distribution utilities (DUs) as well. ERC imposed the no disconnection policy from May to July this year to aid power consumers from the high power rates partly due to …

The Philippine Nickel Industry Association (PNIA) has cited the need  for continued improvements in permitting efficiency, regulatory predictability, and investment competitiveness, noting the necessity of moving towards downstream processing. This  will require investments to expand the Philippines’ presence in the higher-value segments of the critical minerals supply chain. The group noted that potential Indonesian supply disruptions are reinforcing the need …

Bargain-hunting lifted the Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) on Wednesday as buying interest resumed, which also benefited the Philippine peso. The local bourse’s main index rose 0.74 percent to 6,302.50 points, and the broader All Shares by 0.55 percent to 3,398.45 points. Financials led the sectoral gauges in tracking the main index after it rose 1.13 percent, and was trailed …

Prime Energy has successfully completed a month-long maintenance turnaround of the Malampaya Deep Water Gas-to-Power Project, with gas delivery resuming as planned on July 15. The extensive maintenance project involved complex engineering and inspection activities across offshore facilities, subsea infrastructure, and the onshore gas plant in Batangas to ensure operational reliability. Beyond routine maintenance, this turnaround was crucial for preparing …

The SM Foundation successfully conducted its 50th medical mission of the year in San Pablo City, delivering over 1,500 free healthcare services to residents across 10 barangays. This initiative, which was a collaborative effort involving various organizations such as SM Supermalls, the City Health Office, and the Philippine Red Cross, provided a wide range of services, including medical and optical …

Laguna Water is proactively addressing the potential impacts of El Niño to ensure a reliable water supply for its customers. The company continuously monitors its water sources, optimizes system operations, conducts preventive maintenance, and intensifies initiatives to reduce non-revenue water to improve efficiency. To bolster its water security, the company maintains an approximate 20% water buffer and operates key infrastructure …

San Miguel Corporation (SMC) is nearing the completion of a ten-month maintenance cleanup along the San Juan River, having successfully removed over 116,000 metric tons of waste and silt. This recent initiative, which covers 6.1 kilometers of the waterway from the Pasig River junction to Talayan in Quezon City, serves to preserve the progress made during the company’s extensive 2022–2024 …

The Chamber of Thrift Banks (CTB) expects the thrift banking sector to sustain its growth this year, driven by rising demand for credit and expanding financial inclusion initiatives. Speaking on the sidelines of the CTB 2026 Convention in Makati City last week, CTB Convention Committee Chairman Manuel Santiago Jr. said the sector’s total assets have grown by 25 percent from …

Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) has restored access to all services on its mobile app and online banking platform after a prolonged outage that disrupted transactions Wednesday last week. In a Facebook advisory, BPI said its digital banking services were fully restored as of 9:30 p.m. The disruption occurred for most of the day, which coincided with payday for …