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By Luis Leoncio  The P3.002-trillion national appropriations for 2016, the last of the Aquino administration, which Budget Secretary Florencio Abad has described as a “legacy” budget, is nothing but an election budget loaded with lump-sum appropriations and pork, according to Social Watch Philippines (SWP). 

The economy will sustain its robust growth next year, despite forecasts of continued headwinds in global trade, and will remain a “bright spot” in Asia, Sergio R. Ortiz Luis Jr., president of the Philippine Exporters Confederation Inc. (Philexport), said. 

By Riza Lozada  The Philippine Stock Exchange Inc. (PSE) is confident of hurdling the regulatory barriers on its planned merger with fixed-income market operator Philippine Dealing System Corp. (PDS), which is crucial to the country’s goal of meeting the requirements of a cross-border trading platform linking Southeast Asian stock markets under the Associated of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) economic bloc. 

By Luis Leoncio The Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT) will petition the courts to compel regulator National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) to reassign part of the right of conglomerate San Miguel Corp. (SMC) to the prized 700-megahertz (MHz) frequency allocation that telecommunication companies need to upgrade data services. 

By Luis Leoncio  Some P279.3 billion that the national government (NG) advanced to the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) after it was created in 1993 to pay off debts of the old Central Bank (CB) was disbursed against the law, tantamount to “unauthorized use of funds,” according to a 2014 Commission on Audit (CoA) report on the Bureau of Treasury …

The Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) is venturing into hydroelectric power through a partnership with Repower Energy Development Corp. (REDC), starting with projects worth P18.8 billion. 

The rivalry in the already tight telecommunications market is expected to become fierce, as a third player—after giants Philippine Long Distance Co. and Globe Telecom—is expected to join the fray soon. 

Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. said the country’s macroeconomic environment, one of the 12 major pillars of the competitiveness report, has improved by 44 ranks from 68th to 24th. He also reported that Congress enacted “game-changing” laws to bolster competitiveness of the economy and sustain economic growth that made the nation one of the best performers among the emerging economies. The …

London-based Barclays does not see the need for the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) to raise rates until the second quarter of 2017 because of the stable economy and low inflation rate. 

By Luis Leoncio  The Philippines has the potential of becoming a $1-trillion economy, from the current $200 billion, to rank among the world’s 20 biggest economies in 2030, if it can maintain its economic momentum, the Washington-based think tank and credit watchdog IHS Global Insight said.