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Early this month, almost unnoticed by the media, the Senate ratified the membership of the Philippines in the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), which is seen as a potential instrument to enable the country to catch up with the infrastructure advances of its neighbors but which then-President Benigno S. Aquino III did not pursue vig­orously in the final months of …

The Philippines has main­tained its status as a global proponent of financial in­clusion, as a worldwide sur­vey of microfinance by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) consistently ranked the Philippines as No.1 in the world in terms of regula­tory framework for microfi­nance until this year, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Gov. Amando M. Tetangco Jr. said.

By Riza Lozada Consumer confidence surged in the fourth quarter due to “improved peace and order,” “effective government poli­cies” and the “availability of more jobs,” according to a survey conducted by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP).

by The Market Monitor Editorial Team The Market Monitor set out two years ago in a small office on T.M. Kalaw Street in Ermita, Manila, its small but dedicated staff fired with the goal of providing relevant and well-written business reports to its readers without the sometimes incomprehensible jargon that other papers usually write theirs. 

By Luis Leoncio As 2016 closes, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Gov. Amando M. Tetangco Jr. has listed the three “tail risks” to the economy, none of which involves concerns over President Duterte’s statements that his critics said were to blame for the recent weakening of the peso and the local bourse.

It worked.

Local firms are asking the government to simplify the method for tax refunds and to revoke a circular issued by former Internal Revenue Commissioner Kim Henares that made it cumbersome to appeal a denial by the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) of an application for refunds.

The failure of government agencies to recover bulk of the $81 million stolen from Bangladesh Bank (BB) in an online heist that was laundered in the country has resulted in a legal tangle between the Bangladesh government and the Yuchengco group’s Rizal Commercial Banking Corp (RCBC).

By Luis Leoncio The mall culture among Filipinos continues to thrive, as listed property giant SM Prime Holdings Inc. (SM Prime) opened last Friday its 60th mall in the country called SM City East Ortigas.

State-owned lottery firm Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) will introduce a new and improved small town lottery (STL) scheme as part of the government’s campaign against illegal gambling.