BY the end of the month, President Aquino is expected to come up with an executive order on mining that is hoped to increase revenues for the government as far as mining exports are concerned. One policy thrust is to frown on the export of raw ore, such as nickel.

The buzz in the mining industry is that the government wants the mined ore to be processed in the country to forestall cases of undervaluation of mining exports, which is said to be rampant. In other words, the President and his economic managers want to have a handle on the export values of the ore being shipped out and for good reason. In the case of nickel ore, for instance, initial estimates point to at least $50 million worth of processed nickel-ore exports in the first year of the implementation of the EO, enough to fund two to three private-public partnership projects, the centerpiece of the administration. That should leave enough elbowroom for the Development Bank of the Philippines and the Government Service Insurance System to fund the other big-ticket items under the PPPs.

LTFRB advocacy

LAST week the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) initiated what has been billed as a sure-fire method to ferret out the colorums in the public-utility industry which, if successful, could be replicated by other public-utility vehicles.

A total of 105 presidents of UV Express groups—those ubiquitous SUVs or “metered” mega-taxis that ply passengers to set destinations—attended a meeting called by the new LTFRB boss to thrash out guidelines that would ensure the delivery of quality service to the transport public.

The LTFRB’s goal is to unify the Metro Manila UV Express so that colorum mega taxicabs whose numbers are reportedly astounding if one cares to count, can be immediately identified and isolated. This would mean more government revenues and increased benefits for the drivers/owners of the UV Express that ply set destinations such as Megamall to North Avenue MRT station, Cubao to Montalban, Monumento to Pasay, etc.  A laudable goal, indeed. But, hmmm, considering the local elections—congressional, gubernatorial and mayoral—next year, many wonder if this is the LTFRB’s real goal. Remember the 1-Utak? We heard that the UV Express groups have a total of 28,000 drivers. If each driver has a family with two or three voting members, you can imagine how powerful a voting bloc they would make (do the math). We heard that hundreds more drivers are lining up to serve the UV Express groups (maybe they’ve started smelling what’s cooking). Naturally, if they register themselves as a party-list group and succeed, with no little help from the LTFRB, guess whose candidates they will push? Ayos, di ba?

Euro zone’s problems good for PHL

THE increased inflow of foreign funds to the Philippines equity markets have led to new highs for the Philippine Stock Exchange index with transactions hitting P14 billion in a day and the breaching of the 4,800-point psychological barrier twice.

The resurgence of these foreign funds in the Philippines can be attributed to the problems bedevilling the euro-zone countries, most especially Greece where there is continued to and fro between the Greek leaders and the European Commission on how much the banks should absorb by way of losses on the Greek bonds they have.

Monetary Board Member Peter Favila, a former bank president and investment banker, attributed the increase in foreign investments to the euro zone’s problems. The financial woes visiting the foreign hedge funds have resulted in their newfound appetite for equity investments in emerging markets, most especially in Asia.

Chemphil, LMG meeting

A TUG-OF-WAR is being played out at the Chemical Industries of the Philippines and the LMG Chemicals with the recent special stockholders’ meeting of the two companies last Thursday turning out to be another battle of wills between brothers Ramon and Antonio Garcia.

The meeting discussed the possibility of selling an asset of the two companies to an unnamed nominee-buyer with the group of Ramon voicing opposition to the transaction that is reportedly being steamrolled by the group of Antonio.

The scuttlebutt is that a December transaction involving P65 million LMG shares that were crossed at the stock exchange cannot be fully accounted for, meaning the unnamed buyer was not able to cough up the required cash for the transaction that involved just one broker, Diversified Securities Inc. Cases of improprieties in the transaction are expected to be filed with the Philippine Stock Exchange and the Securities and Exchange Commission. Abangan.