Business

By Jerry Maglunog When the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) raised the minimum paid-up capital for rural banks (RB), it sent an underlying message for small struggling banks to merge for survival. Under the new memorandum, anyone who wants to put up an RB needs at least P10 million, if it is located in a fifth-class municipality.

More Americans bought new homes in April—evidence that the stronger job market is powering the housing sector. The United States Commerce Department said last Tuesday new-home sales climbed 6.8 percent last month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 517,000. Sales recovered from a 10 percent dip in March to an annual pace of 484,000.

Greece is proposing to legalize tax-dodgers’ undeclared money for a fee, a way to raise money as the country tries to reach a deal with creditors to get more bailout money and avoid default.

By Riza Lozada The government has agreed in principle to back the relaxation of the negative list for contractors to allow foreign-controlled firms to enter the booming construction activities in the country.

By Jerry Maglunog “The world is coming to Asia.” These were the words of London City lord mayor Alderman Alan Yarrow when he visited the Philippines in February this year.

The International Trademark Association and the Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPOPHL) recently signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) during the 2015 INTA Annual Meeting in San Diego, California.

By Riza Lozada The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) had started full implementation of its “Online Registration, Appointment and E-payment System” that significantly reduced the processing time of securing official documents, mainly NBI clearance.

By the end of next year, the local stock market will have one trading floor as it moves its headquarters from Makati City to Fort Bonifacio, Taguig City, after bourse operator, Philippine Stock Exchange Inc. (PSE) signed a deal with Fort Bonifacio Development Corp. for the PSE headquarters and its unified trading floor worth P805.37 million.

Listed mass-housing developer 8990 Holdings Inc. is set to launch nine projects mostly in the Visayas and Mindanao to beef up its inventory of housing units. In addition to the new projects, the 10 ongoing projects will provide a total of 19 projects equivalent to 11,083 housing units for a total gross value of P10 billion this year.

By Riza Lozada All banknotes issued in 1985 or earlier ceases to become a legal tender starting 2017, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said last week as it launched an information campaign on the demonetization.