The Market Monitor Minding the Nation's Business

Flash, a mobile-phone brand under China-based TCL Communication, last week struck another partnership with online-shopping company Lazada Philippines to launch its new flagship phone, Flash Plus 2, on May 31. 

Chinese multinational technology firm Vivo unveiled in the Philippines on May 16 its Vivo V3 Max smartphone, which boasts of “faster than faster” performance and premium features that include faster fingerprint-unlocking, faster battery-charging, a quick-launch camera, and a smart split function. 

A week after Jaclyn Jose made history as the first Filipino to win the best actress award at the prestigious Cannes Film Festival, many Filipinos are still gushing over her triumph and how much it means to the Philippines. She certainly deserves the adulation. 

In what’s considered a first in the history of Philippine dance, the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) and Ballet Philippines (BP), in cooperation with the Philippine Ballet Theatre (PBT) and Ballet Manila (BM), will jointly hold the inaugural Dance.MNL: The Philippine Dance Festival in June. 

By Filane Mikee Cervantes / Philippines News Agency In an effort to promote products made in Taiwan and give Southeast Asians, and Filipinos in particular, a fresh impression of the island-nation, the “Wow! Taiwan Selects Pop-up Store” exhibition began its tour of the region by opening at the Glorietta mall in Makati City last week. 

After showing his latest works at the Love the Earth, Heal the Spirit exhibit at the Hiraya Gallery in Manila in February, respected artist Fernando C. Modesto returns with the second part of that show at the new Hiraya Gallery at the Lobby Lounge Luxe on the mezzanine of the Makati Shangri-La Manila on June 1. 

To celebrate Filipino culture and heritage in June, top luxury hotel Makati Shangri-La, Manila is inviting guests to experience the exquisite pampering offered by “The Grand Getaway: La Filipiniana” vacation package. 

By Riza Lozada  The continuing neglect of the agriculture sector and the erratic performance of the manufacturing sector are causing concern that the Philippines’s strong economic growth that hit 6.9 percent in the first quarter of 2016 would not be sustained. Prof. Benjamin Diokno of the University of the Philippines School of Economics, said the growth “spurt” during the first …

By Luis Leoncio  Get more professionals and fewer politicians. 

By Jerry Maglunog  A top official of one of the country’s biggest banks has urged the incoming Duterte administration to scrap its predecessor’s failed public-private partnership (PPP) program and start building much-needed infrastructure on its own, using its own funds.