Business

By Luis Leoncio The Philippines’ financial sector has a lot of catching up to do to improve its competitiveness and be on a par with the leading members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean), according to state think tank Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS).

The Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) which groups Basilan, Lanao del Sur, Tawi-Tawi, Sulu and Maguindanao, has the smallest bank representation in the country, according to Bankers Association of the Philippines (BAP) President Lorenzo Tan.

State-owned Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) was awarded the prestigious Karlsruhe Sustainable Finance Award for its success in water and forest financing projects at the 2015 Global Sustainable Finance Conference held in Karlsruhe, Germany, on June 11 and 12.

Washington—The United States claimed progress on Wednesday with China on currency issues and toward negotiating a code of conduct for cyberspace after two days of high-level talks that underscored sharp differences, but paved the way for a visit by China’s leader in the fall.

Brussels — Crucial talks between Greece and its international creditors ended without result early Thursday, casting fresh doubt over the country’s future in the euro single currency and piling new pressure on negotiators to reach a deal later in the day.

Canberra, Australia—Australia announced on Wednesday it will become a founding member of a Chinese-led Asian regional bank and its sixth-largest shareholder. Joining the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) presented Australia with great opportunities to work with its neighbors and largest export market, China, to drive economic growth and jobs, Foreign Minister Julie Bishop and Treasurer Joe Hockey said in a …

By Jerry Maglunog Many stock markets in the world are booming. This is a sign that many companies are offering publicly their shares. Wherever you look at Nasdaq, London Stock Exchange and Paris Bourse, the trend is an upswing.

The world’s leading information technology (IT) vendors recently gathered in Manila to present solutions to Philippine companies wanting to adopt the latest trends in big data and analytics.

Vista Land’s subsidiary VLL International Inc. successfully priced last June 11 a $300 million offering of senior unsecured notes due 2022 with a nominal rate of 7.375 percent, the first 7-year tenor Notes issued by the Company under its $1-billion debut medium term note programme.

Property giant Megaworld, the country’s leading developer of integrated urban townships, is optimistic that its rental income will grow to P9 billion this year as it continues to aggressively expand its leasing portfolio driven by office, commercial centers and hotels. Megaworld’s rental income reached P2.7 billion in 2010. In 2011, this soared to P3.8 billion, a remarkable 41-percent year-on-year growth. …