The Market Monitor Minding the Nation's Business

Chevron Philippines Inc. (CPI) has expanded its presence in the high-growth Calabarzon area with the opening of its newest Caltex service station in Silang, Cavite.

Central bank retrieved $15.25 million (P732 million at P48/$1) of the $81 million (P3.89 billion) stolen in a cyber attack in the United States last February.

By Riza Lozada The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has approved bourse trading in US dollars or the so-called US-Dollar Denominated Securities (DDS) at the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) to provide issuers an opportunity to raise capital without incurring foreign exchange risks.

By Riza Lozada Listed PAL Holdings Inc. reported a nine-month profit of P2.96 billion, lower by 54.8 percent from a year ago.

Basra Gateway Terminal (BGT), International Container Terminal Services Inc.’s (ICTSI) Iraqi unit operating at the Port of Umm Qasr, was recently conferred the “Contribution to the Development of the Regional Maritime Cluster Award” at the 2016 Seatrade Maritime Awards for the Middle East, Indian Subcontinent, and Africa.

By Riza Lozada Remittances from overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) grew 4.7 percent in the first nine months to $20 billion after $2.6 billion in money transfers were recorded in September.

Three new directors were named to the board of the state-owned Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP). They are Luis Bonguyan, Emmanuel Galicia Jr., and Rolando Metin vice Daniel Laogan, Reynaldo Geronimo, and Cecilio Lorenzo.

Financing firm First Circle is targeting to more than double its small and medium enterprises (SME) client portfolio by 2017 through the use of technology that provides easy access to collateral-free loans.

East West Banking Corp. (EastWest) reported a net profit of P2.33 billion for the first nine months which was 78 percent higher from a year ago with net interest income delivering a 24 percent growth in the period to P11.21 billion.

The Philippines is poised to become a major global player in engineering expertise and services as industry leaders position Filipino engineers as a “global brand” in the fast-growing, highly competitive and technology-driven construction industry.