Don’t tie BSP hands for Maharlika–Neda chief
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PARTNERS APPRECIATION From left, Director Edel Carag of the Department of Education’s External Relations Service, DepEd Undersecretary for Legislative Affairs and Partnerships Atty. Gerald Chan, and Dennis Mancilla, Head-APDS Loans of Citystate Savings Bank are seen at the 2022 DepEd Partners Appreciation Program held at Mandaluyong City on Tuesday, December 13, 2022. Story on page A2. NONOY LACZA
HE use of the Gross International Reserves (GIR) and lowering the reserve requirement of banks to finance the Maharlika Investment Fund (MIF) may limit the tools at the disposal of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) during times when inflation is high. In his Commission on Appointments hearing on Tuesday, Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Arsenio M. Balisacan said the GIR and the adjustments in the reserve requirements of banks are important instruments of the BSP to
implement monetary policy. Senator Chiz Escudero asked if Balisacan would back proposals to use the GIR and adjust the reserve requirement to allow banks to invest in the MWF in lieu of the removal of pension funds from financing the sovereign wealth funds. On the latter, Escudero said, the country had the highest reserve requirement among its peers and some highincome countries, at 12.2 percent. “If you believe there is high inflation and part of that is because of high liquidity, that’s [reserve
requirement] one instrument [BSP can use to cool inflation]. I wouldn’t want the Bangko Sentral to lose these instruments,” Balisacan said. Balisacan also said banks’ investments in general must be diversified in order to minimize risk. This was his response when Escudero asked if he was in favor of allowing banks, including government financial institutions, to invest all their funds in the MIF. “I don’t think that’s a good idea, your honor. The portfolio of the bank has to be diversified enough,
to allow it to absorb [shocks],” Balisacan said. “But I think what the fund could do is to diversify its possible sources of [financing].” Balisacan also said the impact of drawing the financing for the MIF through the National Budget would largely depend on which part of the budget will be drawn from. If the funds are sourced from infrastructure projects, as used in the example of Escudero during the hearing, Balisacan said it may be See “Maharlika,” A2
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Wednesday, December 14, 2022 Vol. 18 No. 63
OCT EXPORT EARNINGS UP, BUT $100-B GOAL DIMS n
P25.00 nationwide | 2 sections 22 pages | 7 DAYS A WEEK
By Cai U. Ordinario
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@caiordinario
HE country’s prospects of seeing export earnings rise to $100 billion are dim, with local economists highlighting the global economic slowdown and issues surrounding the local manufacturing industry among the biggest challenges for attaining this. On Tuesday, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported that the country’s exports grew 20 percent in October 2022, the highest since May 2021 when exports rose 30.8 percent. The country’s export earnings reached $7.695 billion in October 2022, higher than the $6.41 billion posted in October 2021. (Full story: https://businessmirror.com.ph /2022/12/13/
electronics-helps-phl-exportearningspost-highest-growthsince-may-2021/) However, merchandise export earnings between January and October this year have only reached $66.01 billion, representing a slim 6.3 percent growth compared to the $62.1 billion posted in the same period last year. See “Export,” A2
Digital trade integration, key driver in pandemic recovery
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IGITAL trade integration will positively impact its emerging digital services trade and become a key driver in the post-pandemic economic recovery, according to researchers from the Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS). In a study published by the government’s think tank, the authors—Senior Research Fellow Francis Mark A. Quimba and Supervising Research Specialist Neil Irwin S. Moreno—said the country’s “relatively open digital environment” facilitated the growth of digital trade. The study said the country’s
digital economy significantly grew in the past two decades with digital services exports rising to $23 billion in 2020 from $5.3 billion in 2005. But, the authors said, more needs to be done to accelerate the growth of the digital economy. “Capita l i zing on t he ‘ lowhanging fruits’ to accelerate regional digital integration. This inc ludes acced ing to t he revised World Trade Organization’s [WTO] Agreement on Government Procurement [GPA]; revisiting the policies on data retention
CONNECTIVITY BOOST Vice President and Education Secretary Sara Duterte and San Juan City Mayor Francis Zamora visit Pinaglabanan Elementary School to inspect the facilities, especially the free fiber optic internet connection and smart TVs in the classrooms provided by the local government. The launch is part of the local government’s efforts to provide quality education to students and give all 13 public schools in the city fiber optic internet connection and WiFi in all classrooms and in common areas of the school, as well as 55-inch smart TVs. NONOY LACZA
216 HOUSE MEMBERS COAUTHOR MAHARLIKA By Jovee Marie N. Dela Cruz @joveemarie
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HE supermajority or 216 members of the House of Representatives have coauthored the proposed Maharlika Investment Fund (MIF) Act which, they said, would help fast-track economic development and provide better public services for Filipino people. Quezon Rep. Mark Enverga, one of the leaders in the House of the Nationalist People’s Coalition (NPC), said, “this proposal has become contentious, but it is important to recognize that the country needs the MIF to fund its needs.”
“So we see the importance of this measure, and we support it, particularly for the reason that it will increase national revenues,” Enverga said. House Bill 6608 or the bill creating the MIF is currently undergoing plenary debates in the lower chamber. The Office of the Speaker said the authors of the bill are now around 216 lawmakers. Deputy Speaker Aurelio Gonzales Jr. said he supports the planned creation of the sovereign wealth fund initiated by Speaker Martin G. Romualdez that would tap investible government resources to maximize their profitability for the See “MIF,” A2
See “Digital Trade,” A2
PESO EXCHANGE RATES n US 55.5500 n JAPAN 0.4035 n UK 68.1821 n HK 7.1435 n CHINA 7.9609 n SINGAPORE 41.0084 n AUSTRALIA 37.4685 n EU 58.5386 n KOREA 0.0426 n SAUDI ARABIA 14.7720 Source:
BSP (13 December 2022)