Amid ‘turbulent times,’ WB sees better GDP data in PHL
T
THE WORLD » A11
CHINA STRUGGLES TO REVIVE ECONOMY; STIMULUS PLANS DISAPPOINT INVESTORS
HE Philippine economy is now expected to perform better until 2026 amid “turbulent times” faced by the East Asia and the Pacific region, according to the latest reports from the World Bank. In its East Asia Pacific report, the World Bank said the country is expected to post a growth of 6 percent this year and 6.1 percent next year. These are upgrades from the bank’s April forecasts of 5.8 percent in 2024 and 5.9 percent in 2025.
I n t he Wa s h i n g ton - b a s e d lender’s Macro Pover t y Outlook (MPO) for the Philippines released this month, growth is expected to average 6 percent until 2026. “Strong growth will be driven by robust domestic demand, benefitting from more accommodative monetary policy, and sustained public investment. Private consumption will remain as the main growth engine, supported by steady remittance inflows, a healthy labor market, and lower
inflation,” World Bank said. However, in the EAP, the World Bank warned that there are signs that domestic demand has been moderating in emerging economies such as Indonesia, Thailand, and the Philippines. The EAP also noted that private investment growth remains weak and, particularly for the Philippines and Timor-Leste, public investments is the one supporting economic growth. Data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) showed
t h at c o n s t r u c t io n p o s t e d a 16.1-percent growth in the second quarter while Government Final Consumption Expenditure grew 10.7 percent. T he PSA data also showed that public construction, which is also the data for “general government,” grew by 21.8 percent in the second quarter of 2024. “Countries in the East Asia and the Pacific Region continue to be an engine of growth for the See “WB,” A2
A broader look at today’s business www.businessmirror.com.ph
n
Wednesday, October 9, 2024 Vol. 19 No. 358
P25.00 nationwide | 2 sections 24 pages | 7 DAYS A WEEK
WOMEN WITH JOBS HELP CUT AUG UNEMPLOYMENT By Cai U. Ordinario
O
@caiordinario
VER a million women joined the labor force in August but almost the same number worked for more than 40 hours a week, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA). On Tuesday, the PSA disclosed that 49.15 million Filipinos were employed in August, a 1.08-million increase from August 2023 and 1.46 million higher than in July 2024. This led to the reduction in unemployed Filipinos, whose numbers reached 2.07 million in August 2024—a reduction of 149,000 from August 2023, and 305,000 lower than in July 2024. (See: https://businessmirror.com. ph/2024/10/08/unemployment-underemployment-declines-in-august-psa/) “Medyo maganda iyong datos natin sa labor force participation, employment even in unemployment [Our results are quite good for labor force participation, employment even in unemployment],” National Statistician Claire Dennis S. Mapa said in a briefing. “One major factor that we identified in August 2024 is there were a lot of women who participated in the labor force and most of them were absorbed in the labor market,” he added, partly in Filipino. See “Women,” A2
REUNIONS, RETURNS AND DETAINEE TURNS IN 2025 ELECTIONS (Clockwise) Former senator Francis Pangilinan filed his certificate of candidacy (COC) for senator in the 2025 midterm elections, accompanied by his wife, actress Sharon Cuneta. Sagip party-list Rep. Rodante Marcoleta also formalized his Senate bid, running as an independent. Atty. Vic Rodriguez, former executive secretary of the Marcos administration, is also seeking a Senate seat as an independent candidate. Ex-Pangasinan congressman Hernani Braganza is seeking a return to the House of Representatives as the first nominee for Aksyon Dapat, while incumbent Vice Mayor Carmelita Abalos aims to succeed her father-in-law, Benjamin Abalos Sr., as mayor of Mandaluyong City. Additionally, former Commission on Audit Commissioner Heidi Mendoza is also running for the Senate. Former Bohol governor and congressman Arthur Yap is the first nominee of the Murang Kuryente party-list. Detained pastor Apollo Quiboloy, represented by Atty. Mark Tolentino, vies for a Senate seat. San Juan City Mayor Francis Zamora is seeking a possible third term, while CIBAC aims for reelection under incumbent Rep. Brother Eddie Villanueva. NONIE REYES, ROY DOMINGO, NONOY LACZA
10 DEVELOPERS MAKE HUGE HOTEL INVESTMENTS IN PHL By Ma. Stella F. Arnaldo
@akosistellaBM Special to the BusinessMirror
J
UST 10 developers are pouring in the most number of investments in expanding the country’s hospitality industry. In his third quarter report, Leechiu Property Consultants (LPC) Director for Hotels, Tourism, and Leisure Alfred Lay said, of the over 40,000 hotel keys in the pipeline, 54 percent of them are owned and are being constructed by the following developers,
namely: DoubleDragon Corp. with 4,324 keys; Megaworld Hotels and Resorts (3,889); Hann Philippines (2,850); The Henann Group (2,800); Anchor Land Holdings (2,270); SM Hotels and Conventions Corp. (1,723); AppleOne Properties Inc. (1,063); Robinsons Hotels and Resorts (1,016); Cebu Landmasters Inc. (899); and Ayala Land Hotels and Resorts Corp. (889). He cited that 26.3 percent of the hotel rooms in the pipeline are in the upscale category, See “Hotels,” A2
BIR preps mission orders to plug excise tax leakages By Reine Juvierre S. Alberto @reine_alberto
R
EGIONAL Directors of the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) will soon issue a mission order in an attempt to crack down on illicit tobacco trade and help plug excise tax leakages. In a media forum on Tuesday, Revenue Region (RR) South National Capital Region Director Edgar B. Tolentino said all 22 revenue regions will conduct their own covert surveillance operations against illicit tobacco traders this October 2024. “The Operations Group will conduct a nationwide mission or-
der to combat this illicit tobacco trading, which will happen this month, to support the Large Taxpayers Service in collecting excise taxes,” Tolentino said. Through a mission order issued by a BIR Regional Director, revenue officers are authorized to undertake surveillance on identified business establishments. Data from the Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) showed BIR’s excise tax collection amounted to P167.480 billion as of the end of July 2024, P27.359 billion short of the P194.839 billion target for the January to July 2024 period. See “BIR,” A2
PESO EXCHANGE RATES n US 56.7100 n JAPAN 0.3828 n UK 74.2050 n HK 7.3023 n CHINA 8.0886 n SINGAPORE 43.4926 n AUSTRALIA 38.3360 n EU 62.2336 n KOREA 0.0422 n SAUDI ARABIA 15.0985 Source:
BSP (8 October 2024)