The Market Monitor Minding the Nation's Business

By Luis Leoncio  Had the Aquino administration not scrimped and spent the annual budgets as stipulated in the General Appropriations Act, the economy could have grown from 8 percent to 10 percent, which was what was required to eliminate poverty in the country, according to noted economist Dr. Bernardo M. Villegas. 

By Jerry Maglunog  Asian conglomerate San Miguel Corp. (SMC) has identified power and cement as its major growth drivers in the growing Philippine economy. SMC President Ramon S. Ang said SMC is spending $800 million to build two new cement plants in Pangasinan and Quezon.

By Riza Lozada  Big foreign investors continue to bypass the country, despite government claims of improved business perception, as shown by the country’s measly 4.6-percent share in the total foreign direct investments (FDI) that flowed into the economies of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) in the first half of 2015. 

By Lito U. Gagni  Local market players, as well as employees of top snack producer Liwayway Marketing Corp., are opening bank accounts in Hong Kong, preparatory to the projected listing of the company’s shares in the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. 

By Luis Leoncio The Lee family of South Korea that controls the Samsung Group, tops the list of Asia’s richest, with a combined wealth of $26.6 billion, Forbes Asia said during the launch of its inaugural ranking of the top 50 Asian business dynasties. 

Pension fund Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) sees huge opportunities from record foreign outflows. 

Filipinos lose track of almost half of their average weekly expenses due to what is termed as mystery spending, according to a recent online survey from Visa.

By Riza Lozada The Philippine Business Bank (PBB) is targeting to increase its reach in the country through a merger with Insular Savers Bank Inc. (Isbi) and the acquisition of Bataan Savings and Loan Inc. PBB informed the Philippine Stock Exchange that it will hold a special stockholders meeting on December 18 to seek approval for the planned acquisition and …

Malayan Insurance, the country’s No. 1 non-life insurance company, together with Willis Limited, an insurance broking and risk consultancy firm, recently conducted a forum on the fundamentals of art insurance. 

Looking behind the surveys on what the public seeks, faced with the possibility of changes as 2016 comes around, the top concerns serve as desperate pleas, not only those the government must address, but more important, as cries for critical areas left neglected.