BSP 7-month net income soars 414.6% to P95.2B By Cai U. Ordinario @caiordinario
H MORTGAGE LIQUIDITY IN EMERGING MARKETS National Home Mortgage Finance Corporation (NHMFC)
President Renato L. Tobias (third left) speaks at the 40th African Union for Housing Finance and International Secondary Mortgage Market Association (ISMMA) Joint Conference, and at the Central Bankers and Ministerial Roundtable recently held in Zanzibar, Republic of Tanzania. President Tobias shared the corporation’s Housing Loan Receivables Purchase Program (HLRPP) as its core program in increasing liquidity in the housing sector and leverage funds for home development, highlighting its sub-program called BALAI BERDE. This is NHMFC’s green housing program that promotes environmental sustainability standards.
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IGHER revenues and a decline in expenses helped boost the net income of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) in the January to July period, making it the highest figure to date. Based on the data, the BSP posted a net income of P95.2 billion in the January to July 2024 period. This represented a 414.59-percent growth from the P18.5 billion recorded in the
same period last year. Prior to this, the highest income recorded since 2011 was P94.6 billion posted in the January to September period in 2022. Data showed revenues reached P190.6 billion in the January to July period this year, a 57.1-percent growth from the P121.3 billion posted in the same period last year. Expenses, meanwhile, declined to P125.7 billion in the seven-month period of 2024, which was an 8.3-percent
contraction from the P137.1 billion posted in the same period last year. The data also showed the BSP recorded a net income/ (loss) before net gain/(Loss) on FX rates fluctuation, income tax expense/(benefit) and capital reserves of P64.9 billion in January to July 2024, a 510.76-percent growth from the loss of P15.8 billion in the same period last year. The BSP also recorded a net gain on foreign exchange rate fluctuations which amounted to
P30.4 billion in January to July 2024. This was an 11.37-percent contraction from the P34.3 billion posted in the same period last year. The central bank explained that this includes trading gains/losses, fees, penalties and other operating income, among others. However, BSP said starting with the end-December 2022 report, data on net trading losses are excluded and instead recorded as part of “Other Expenses.”
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BIR CLARIFIES POWER FIRMS’ TAXES PER EOPT T By Reine Juvierre S. Alberto
HE Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) clarified certain provisions in Republic Act No. 11976 or the Ease of Paying Taxes Act (EOPT) to ensure tax obligations of the power sectors are aligned with the law. Internal Revenue Commissioner Romeo D. Lumagui Jr. issued Revenue Memorandum Circular No. 116-2024 on October 18, published on the BIR’s website on October 21, affecting generation, transmission and distribution companies, as well
as electric cooperatives and retail electricity suppliers. The BIR said distribution uti l ities (DUs), electr ic coop eratives (ECs) and reta i l electricity suppliers (RES) cannot claim See “BIR,” A2
HOW TO MAKE ‘EM ‘LOVE THE PHL’ SANS FUNDS FOR WOOING?
PUTTING THE BRAKES ON TAX Modern jeepneys are seen at a garage in Pandacan, Manila. The Philippine Chamber of Cooperatives Inc. (Co-op Chamber) is advocating the removal of the 12-percent A COMPARISON of the TPB’s budget under this year’s General Appropriations Act, and the one approved under the National Expenditure Program 2025. TPB INFOGRAPH
Boosting competition in rice trade to uplift 2.9M–study
By Ma. Stella F. Arnaldo @akosistellaBM Special to the BusinessMirror
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REDUCTION in the budget of the country’s premier tourism promotions government agency will result in less visibility of the Philippines’ beaches, dive sites, cuisine, among others, in key overseas markets. Tourism Promotions Board (TPB) Chief Operating Officer Ma. Margarita Montemayor Nograles said in a recent budget presentation at the Senate Finance Committee Subcomittee G, that under the National Expenditure Program (NEP) for 2025, TPB’s budget was decreased to P1.32 billion from this year’s P2.5 billion, or 47-percent less. This basically cut the government-owned and -controlled corporation’s (GOCC) marketing
value-added tax (VAT) on modern vehicles purchased by transportation cooperatives under the Public Utility Vehicle Modernization Program (PUVMP). Executive Director Edwin A. Bustillos said eliminating the VAT would ease the financial burden on jeepney operators and allow cooperatives to retain more funds for purchasing upgraded vehicles. The Co-op Chamber also urged the government to expand the Comprehensive Automotive Resurgence Strategy (CARS) program to include the PUVMP to incentivize local assembly and reduce costs. Despite recent financing suspensions, cooperatives remain committed to the PUVMP, emphasizing its importance for sustainable public transportation. NONIE REYES
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TOURISM Promotions Board COO Maria Margarita M. Nograles underscores the importance of increasing her corporate operating budget for 2025, to encourage more international travelers to visit the Philippines. DOT PHOTO
and promotions fund by 25 percent to P890 million from this year’s P1.19 billion. One of the immediate impacts of this budget reduction, See “Funds,” A2
NCOURAGING greater competition in the rice trade could lift at least 2.9 million Filipinos out of poverty, according to a new study by local economists. In a chapter of the Asian Development Bank Institute (ADBI) book on competition, economists Karl Robert Jandoc, Geoffrey Ducanes, and Irene Jo Arzadon said the Philippine Competition Commission (PCC) raised concerns about rice cartels among mill operators and wholesalers that lead to anticompetitive outcomes. The removal of rice cartels could greatly increase the purchasing power of Filipinos as greater competition leads to cheaper prices. This increase in
purchasing power could lead to lower poverty incidence and a narrower income inequality nationwide. “Halving the market share of the collusive group from 30 percent to 15 percent will result in about a 2.7-percentage point decrease in poverty incidence, or about 2.9 million people lifted out of poverty,” the economists said. “The same drop in market share will also decrease the Gini index by about 1 point which emphasizes that there will also be significant distributional gains of improving efficiency through competition in the short to medium run,” they added. See “Rice,” A2
PESO EXCHANGE RATES n US 57.6510 n JAPAN 0.3856 n UK 75.2346 n HK 7.4195 n CHINA 8.1165 n SINGAPORE 44.0051 n AUSTRALIA 38.6550 n EU 62.6551 n KOREA 0.0421 n SAUDI ARABIA 15.3523 Source: BSP (October 21, 2024)