Business

By DIEGO C. CAGAHASTIAN When President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. met with Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Governor Eli Remolona Jr. in Malacañang on Tuesday, the Palace spokeswoman tried to scrape the bottom of the economic cauldron to come up with something worth reporting to the press. Undersecretary Claire Castro of the Presidential Communication Office  had to make do with …

The construction industry and its sibling businesses such as suppliers of construction materials were unfortunately hit by the flood of corruption which their leaders and corrupt government officials brought on the nation. This was during the last two quarters of 2025, during the height of the multi-billion peso flood control scandal in the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) …

UNLEASH Philippines, a local innovation program of UNLEASH initiative which aims to empower young changemakers and early-stage innovators using collaborative, user-centered design and prototyping methods.  With the closing of 2025 and the start of 2026, UNLEASH Philippines helped shine a light to pressing issues in the country and equip individuals striving to enact change and strengthen solution efforts during a …

The Philippine stock market has room to move higher in 2026 as easing interest rates, improving capital market regulations, and a more stable macroeconomic environment support a gradual recovery, according to the Investment & Capital Corporation of the Philippines (ICCP). ICCP President and COO Manny Ocampo said the recent rise in the Philippine Stock Exchange index reflects a “catch-up” phase …

First and largest Filipino life insurer InLife completed the sale of its shareholdings in iCare HMO to Value-Based Health Care PF PTE. LTD. (VBHC) of Singapore, subject to regulatory approval. This is part of InLife’s strategic move to streamline its portfolio and concentrate on life insurance and corporate solutions enabling more comprehensive solutions for clients nationwide. “This realignment allows us to …

Highly diversified  Ayala Corp. said Thursday that its board had approved the filing of a five-year shelf registration of up to P30 billion with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Ayala said in a disclosure that the move would provide the group “with the ability to undertake future issuances of Philippine peso-denominated bonds on an efficient and timely basis.” The …

BDO UNIBANK, Inc. is selling its majority stake in its investment holding company Dominion Holdings, Inc. (DHI). The bank signed last Monday a share purchase agreement with Monte Sur Equity Holdings, Inc. to sell 1,513,732,718 or 70% of its shares in the investment holding company at P1.68 per share or about P2.54 billion, it said in a disclosure to the …

A product from Epson, called EcoTank M2170, is touted to change the game in commercial banking. For more than five decades, Epson Philippines Corporation has quietly powered behind-the-scenes work flow in banks, delivering printing solutions built for environments where errors are costly and downtime is not an option. 
 This 2026 will be different. This is the year when Epson’s …

LAND BANK of the Philippines (LANDBANK) is planning to open 15 branches and branch-lite units nationwide this year as it looks to make financial services available to more Filipinos. “By expanding our touchpoints, LANDBANK continues to ensure that financial services remain accessible, inclusive, and responsive to the evolving needs of our clients — especially in the countryside. These new facilities …

Prospects for the Philippine economy continue to be on the bleak side. This is according to economists from Maybank, who see that the country’s economic growth will continue its trajectory of undershooting the government’s targets until next year, 2027. They said the nation’s gross domestic product (GDP) may have grown by 4.8% in 2025, before picking up slightly to 4.9% …