Diokno pitches $ bonds, sovereign wealth fund B C U. O @caiordinario
O MISS EARTH South Korea’s Mina Sue Choi (second from left) was named Miss Earth 2022 after
beating 85 other candidates during the pageant’s grand finals on Tuesday night at the Cove Manila in Okada Manila, Parañaque City. Joining her are Miss Air Sheridan Mortlock from Australia, Miss Water Nadeen Ayoub from Palestine, and Miss Fire Andrea Aguilera from Colombia. NONIE REYES
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VERSEAS Filipino Workers (OFWs) who can spare an investment of around $200 could do so through the government’s dollar denominated bonds set to be launched next year, according to the Department of Finance (DOF). In the Kapihan sa Manila Bay, Finance Secretary Benjamin E. Diokno said the government is eyeing to float around $1 billion to $3 billion worth of these bonds in the
first quarter of 2023. While the terms for the float are still being determined, it is possible that these bonds would have a tenor of a minimum of 5 years which makes investments in these bonds tax-free. “If you have a young kid whom you must send to school in five years, you can invest your money there. [This is a better investment than] using their earnings for tricycles or something similar,” Diokno said in the forum. The amount of the investment, Diokno said, represents around 10
percent of the $30 billion worth of dollar inflows that the country receives from abroad. In terms of whether the tenor will be a single one or several, Diokno said the Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) will determine that. Meanwhile, Diokno said he is confident that the government will be able to exceed its revenue targets. He noted that the Bureau of Customs (BOC) has already met its annual target for the year by collecting P745.5 billion as of November 11.
The BOC said its target for the year is P721.52 billion. Its revenue collection as of November 11 was up by P23.98 billion or 3.27 percent. The DOF attached agency said all 17 collection districts of the Bureau also reached their respective collection targets, garnering a surplus of 16.8 percent or P103.29 billion as of October 31. Diokno, however, said the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) remained 3 percent behind its colS “D,” A
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BSP: NOV INFLATION MAY HAVE INCREASED TO 8.2% www.businessmirror.com.ph
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Thursday, December 1, 2022 Vol. 18 No. 50
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Stocks in Asia beating global peers the most since 1993
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@caiordinario
IGHER power rates and liquefied petroleum gas prices as well as the impact of Typhoon Paeng on various commodities may have increased inflation to 8.2 percent in November, according to the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP). In its month-ahead inflation forecast for November, BSP said inflation could settle within the range of 7.4 percent to 8.2 percent. Inflation data for November will be released by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) on Tuesday, December 6. “Upward price pressures for the month are expected to emanate from higher electricity rates, uptick in the prices of agricultural commodities due to severe tropical storm Paeng, and higher LPG prices,” BSP said. “The reduction in petroleum and pork prices as well as the peso appreciation could contribute to easing price pressures for the month,” it added. However, BSP said, inflation is projected to gradually decelerate in the succeeding months as the impact of the typhoon and recent transport fare hikes dissipate. Nonetheless, BSP said it will closely monitor price developments to ensure that the government can implement timely interventions to ease price pressures. “The timely implementation of non-monetary measures will S “BSP,” A
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HEROES PARK
Visitors walk past the monument to Filipino revolutionary Andrés Bonifacio and the Philippine Revolution in Ermita, Manila. Also known as the Kartilya ng Katipunan or Heroes Park, the monument was designed by sculptor Eduardo Castrillo and unveiled in 1998. In 2019 the plaza was rehabilitated upon orders of then Manila Mayor Isko Moreno. November 30 marks the 159th birth anniversary of “The Father of the Philippine Revolution.” ROY DOMINGO
STUDY FLAGS RISK OF WORKER DEVICES IN HYBRID WORK B L S. M @lorenzmarasigan
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ILIPINO security leaders believe that the use of unregistered devices for hybrid work has the tendency to cause cybersecurity incidents— including malware, phishing, and data leaks—and has in fact cost some organizations as much as $500,000, a recent study conducted by Cisco revealed. According to Cisco’s latest report titled, “My Location, My De-
vice: Hybrid Work’s New Cybersecurity Challenge,” more than 8 in 10 security professionals in the Philippines believe their employees are using unregistered devices to log into work platforms. About 75 percent say their employees spend more than 10 percent of the day working from these unregistered devices. The study further found that 89 percent of respondents in the Philippines believe that logging in remotely via unregistered devices has increased the likelihood of
occurrence of cybersecurity incidents. But it’s not just the device that they believe could cause breaches. Using public Internet may also cause cybersecurity incidents, according to Cisco. About 91 percent of respondents in the Philippines say their employees use at least two networks for logging into work, and 47 percent said their employees use more than five networks. “As hybrid work becomes the norm, companies are empowering their employees to work from
anywhere. While this has brought many benefits, it is also opening new challenges, especially on the cybersecurity front, as hackers can now target employees beyond traditional corporate network perimeters. To make hybrid work truly successful in the long run, organizations need to protect their business with security resilience. This includes establishing visibility on their networks, users, endpoints, and applications to acquire S “S,” A
OVEMBER is turning out to be the best month for Asia stocks since early 1990s relative to their global peers. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index jumped 14 percent this month, set for its biggest jump since 1998, as benchmarks in markets from Hong Kong to the Philippines saw strong gains that cracked records held for at least a decade. The MSCI All Country World Index is up less than 6 percent. Asia’s surge has been driven by growing signs that China is easing its Covid-Zero policy, and expectations that the Federal Reserve will move toward a slower pace of rate hikes. Asset managers are arguing this is only the start, making the case for the outperformance to continue into 2023 after the region lagged global peers for months. “Relative to other EMs, we have much stronger balance sheets at sovereign and corporate levels, more prudent policy making, and positive structural reforms in a few key countries,” Peter Monson, portfolio manager at Nikko Asset Management, said in an interview. Foreign funds bought $12.6 billion worth of shares on a net basis in emerging Asia excluding China this month, the biggest inflows in two years, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Taiwan accounted for nearly half of the flows, as foreign investors including Warren Buffett bet on chipmakers amid easing tensions between China and the US. Traders also piled back into Chinese assets, spurred first by rumors spread early this month over a Covid-Zero exit plan, and then as the authorities introduced measures underlining an intent to relax restrictions. A slew of policy aid for the troubled property sector also helped. There was a “dramatic change S “S,” A
PESO EXCHANGE RATES US 56.7960 ■ JAPAN 0.4088 ■ UK 67.9337 ■ HK 7.2687 ■ SINGAPORE 41.1834 ■ AUSTRALIA 37.7580 ■ SAUDI ARABIA 15.1174 ■ EU 58.7327 ■ KOREA 0.0424 ■ CHINA 7.8811
Source: BSP (November 29, 2022)