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WORKERS at a
gas station on T.M. Kalaw Street in Manila strain to reach
the nozzles in order to serve customers, as prices of oil
and basic staples keep rising. The Bangko Sentral ng
Pilipinas sees such spikes pushing up inflation up to 5.9
percent in March. In its latest report, the World Bank
said inflation is a bigger threat to developing countries
like the Philippines more than the impact of the credit
crisis that started in the US.
--NONIE REYES |
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WB:
Subsidies to poor an option |
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IN light of
the projected increases in commodity prices this year, the
World Bank is urging the government to implement policies
that will help liberalize the agriculture sector and
consider giving subsidies to the poor.
World
Bank-Philippines lead economist Vera Songwe said
liberalizing the agriculture sector would help farmers
increase their production and ensure sustainable
livelihoods. |
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RP’s
GDP growth to slow to 5.9% |
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DESPITE the
fact that the
Philippines,
like the East Asia and Pacific region, will be resilient to
global economic shocks, economic growth will be slower this
year and in 2009, according to the World Bank (WB).
In the
latest East Asia and Pacific Update, the bank projected the
country’s gross domestic product (GDP) to slow down to 5.9
percent in 2008 and 6.1 percent in 2009. |
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Inflation, not credit crisis, to hit Asia harder |
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SINGAPORE—East
Asian nations must act promptly to ease the burden of
mounting food and fuel prices on the region’s poor, the
World Bank said Tuesday.
Inflation
poses a greater challenge to the region’s economies than the
current financial turmoil, the bank said in its half-yearly
update on the region’s outlook. |
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GMA’s bacon, $2-B Shimao proposal, puts BCDA on spot |
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HONG
KONG—President Arroyo returned to
Manila Tuesday
night with news of another soon-to-be member of the
country’s billion-dollar investment club: Chinese
real-estate giant Shimao Group, which has formally submitted
its proposal to develop at least $2 billion worth of
high-end property projects in the Philippines. |
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"Small" budget deficit in 2008, if necessary |
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HONG KONG
(via PLDT)–President Arroyo said on Tuesday that the
government may incur a "small" budget deficit this year if
the US slowdown becomes "more prolonged" but maintained that
"as of now," it continues to aim for a balanced budget in
2008. |
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Banks still struggle with automation |
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AUTOMATING
the systems of banks leads to more efficiency and cost
savings, and banks in the region are undertaking this
transfer from manual-based operations. Still, it’s a tall
order, according to a pioneer in financial-systems
automation.
“Core
banking systems are very, very difficult projects, and banks
are struggling with its implementation around the region,”
said managing director John Haley of Fidelity National
Information Services Inc. Asia, one of the providers of such
automated systems. |
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Read
their lips: Predictability |
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MORE than
the tax breaks, market leader Toyota Motor Philippines (TMP)
reminded the government that it is the predictability and
consistency in the policy environment that will make
investments flow into the country.
“That
[consistency] is every businessman’s dream. That is why
others are going to countries such as
Thailand
and Vietnam,” Dr. David Go, TMP senior executive vice
president, told the BusinessMirror. |
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MORE STORIES ... |
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JOHN HALEY,
managing director of Fidelity National Information Services
in Asia-Pacific, explains the firm’s direction at a briefing
at the PhilAm Life Building in Makati City. The leading
provider of technology and services to the
financial-services industry has relaunched its brand,
targeting credit-card and automated teller machine
transactions. -- NONIE
REYES |
