The Market Monitor Minding the Nation's Business

HOOQ, the largest video-on-demand service in Southeast Asia, announced that it has added director Erik Matti to the judging panel of its recently formed HOOQ Filmmakers Guild competition in an event held at the B Hotel in Quezon City on July 3, 2017. 

The Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP), with the support of the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) and the Tourism Promotions Board (TPB) of the Department of Tourism (DOT), will present the 3rd Andrea O. Veneracion International Choral Festival (AOVICF) at the Tanghalang Nicanor Abelardo (CCP Main Theater) from July 20 to 23, 2017. 

The Philippine Ballet Theatre (PBT) will mount La Bayadère (The Temple Dancer) at the Cultural Center of the Philippines’ Tanghalang Nicanor Abelardo (CCP Main Theater) on July 15 at 3 and 8 p.m. and July 16 at 3 p.m. 

World Barista Champion 2014 Hidenori Izaki recently visited the Philippines to serve as judge on the Latte Art Throwdown, held at the Coffee Project on Macapagal Blvd., Pasay City, where baristas from all over the country showed their creativity and passion for coffee. 

By Luis Leoncio  The government is considering a reduction in the value added tax (VAT) currently pegged at 12 percent contrary to the government earlier proposal to raise the sales tax to 15 percent as part of revenue enhancement. 

Middle-class Filipino households are not bound to lose the opportunity to have a family car as a result of higher excise taxes proposed under the government’s comprehensive tax reform program. 

Prior to the terrorist siege of Marawi City last May, the Philippines was ranked the fifth most optimistic among nationalities in the world, a survey of global consumer sentiment showed. 

By Riza Lozada  Local telecommunications giants Philippine Long Distance Tele (PLDT) and Globe Telecom can still “cure” the defects of the P70 billion mega deal with San Miguel Corp. (SMC) on the acquisition of radio frequency assets without a long-drawn legal battle with the government, government think tank Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS) said in a study. 

Cause-oriented and environmental groups expressed disappointment over the the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank’s (AIIB) energy strategy that indicated that the Chinese-backed multilateral lender will continue to fund coal projects “subject to conditionalities.”