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A broader look at today’s business Saturday, August 3, 2024 Vol. 19 No. 291
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RE, AGRIBIZ TOP BOI’S 7-MO ₱1.15T APPROVALS ALEXEY NOVIKOV VIA DREAMSTIME.COM
BIR PINS HOPES ON E-COMMERCE TO MEET P3.2-T ’25 COLLECTION GOAL
By Reine Juvierre S. Alberto
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ITH an already challenging P3.05-trillion revenue target for 2024, the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) remains optimistic about reaching the P3.232-trillion collection goal next year. Based on the 2025 Budget of Expenditures and Sources of Financing, the BIR is expected to collect P3.232 trillion in 2025, higher by 5.63 percent than this year’s goal. Internal Revenue Commissioner Romeo D. Lumagui Jr. expressed confidence the BIR will hit the 2025 goal as it has put in place various measures, such as finally taxing online sellers. Lumagui bets the e-commerce industry will generate billions of revenues in the coming years.
THE Mindanao Geothermal Production Field in the area of Kidapawan City in North Cotabato, Mindanao. ALEXEY KORNYLYEV VIA DREAMSTIME.COM
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By Andrea E. San Juan
HE Board of Investments (BOI) said it is confident it will surpass the ₧1.6-trillion target in investment approvals this year after it just approved ₧1.15 trillion in investments as of the end of July 2024, with projects in renewable energy, agribusiness, among others, propelling the growth in the investment pledges.
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In a statement Friday by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), the parent agency of BOI, the investment promotion agency (IPA) noted this figure represents a 65-percent increase from the P699 billion recorded in the same period last year. “Our target is clear: to hit and even surpass P1.6 trillion in approved investments this year. With the momentum we have built, we are confident in achieving and exceeding this goal, driving economic development,” Ceferino S. Rodolfo, BOI Managing Head and DTI Undersecretary for Industry Development and Trade Promotion Group, said.
In July 2024 alone, the BOI said it approved 30 projects worth P202.97 billion in investments, which are expected to generate 8,921 jobs. The investment promotion agency reported that some of the major projects it approved in July 2024 include a P185-billion solar project with battery energy storage, a P1.2-billion manufacturing and processing facility for biscuits, P263-million worth of solar rooftop projects, and a P245-million activated carbon and charcoal production facility. Continued on A2
BSP rate-cut option hangs on delayed impact of lower food tariffs on prices
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HE option of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) to cut interest rates this August 15 may be put under a lid, according to ING Bank Manila. ING said the lowered rice tariff seems to have had no “discernible” effect on the local retail rice prices yet in early July but in the meantime, higher seasonal food prices may be expected due to the recent damage caused by Typhoon Carina. It is a waiting game for now as to how the impact of lower tariffs on food prices and inflation may affect the decision of the BSP to cut rates. “We think that probably puts a lid on Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ ambitions to front-run the US Federal Reserve with rate cuts as soon as this month, though conditions are becoming more favorable,” ING said. However, the Central Bank could still proceed to reduce interest rates in the fourth quarter of 2024, ING added. BSP Governor Eli M. Remolona Jr. had said a rate cut in the next Monetary Board policy meeting on August 15 is “still a possibility,” but it will depend on the numbers. The Monetary Board is looking to reduce interest rates by 50-basis points (bps) for the whole year, with a 25-bps cut on August 15 and the remainder for
the rest of the year. The BSP’s latest month-ahead inflation forecast said inflation may breach the government’s target and settle from a low of 4 percent to as high as 4.8 percent in July due to higher electricity and food prices. “It’s still hawkish, which means we will still remain tight, but maybe less tight than before,” Remolona said. Meanwhile, ING said the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) for the second quarter of 2024 will likely post a nearly 7 percent year-on-year growth. “[This] will be mainly a base-effect driven result,” ING said. Quarter-on-quarter growth will likely settle to a little below 1 percent, lower than the 1.3-percent growth recorded in the first quarter of the year. Philippine economic growth settled at 5.7 percent in the first quarter of 2024, higher than the 5.5 percent recorded in the last quarter of 2023, but slower than the 6.4 percent posted in the first quarter last year. Furthermore, trade data for July is projected for a “slightly smaller” deficit from June, which may provide a little support to the Philippine peso in what is currently a “fairly supportive environment.” The GDP data for the second quarter of the year will be released next week, August 8, 2024. Reine Juvierre S. Alberto
RINGING THE ALARM The Royal Canadian Navy frigate HMCS Montréal, pictured with its ship’s crest and bell, docked in Manila on Friday for a port visit, sparking controversy after its transit through the Taiwan Strait. China’s People’s Liberation Army criticized the transit as “provocative.” Story in News A4. MALOU TALOSIG-BARTOLOME
PESO EXCHANGE RATES Q US 58.3150 Q JAPAN 0.3905 Q UK 74.2933 Q HK 7.4625 Q CHINA 8.0479 Q SINGAPORE 43.6490 Q AUSTRALIA 37.8989 Q EU 62.9452 Q KOREA 0.0426 Q SAUDI ARABIA 15.5411 Source: BSP (August 2, 2024)