BOP deficit in Nov widest in 26 months–BSP By Cai U. Ordinario
W THE WORLD | A15
ISRAELI AIRSTRIKES ROCK YEMEN’S REBEL CAPITAL AFTER HOUTHI MISSILE ATTACK ON CENTRAL ISRAEL
ITHDR AWALS made by the national government from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) caused the country’s Balance of Payments (BOP) to register its widest deficit in 26 months. The data showed the country’s BOP deficit ballooned to $2.276 billion in November 2024, the largest since the $2.339 billion recorded in September 2022. The BOP position was also in deficit in November 2023 and October 2024, when it reached
$216 million and $724 million, respectively. “The BOP deficit in November 2024 reflected the national government’s [NG] net foreign currency withdrawals from its deposits with the BSP to settle its foreign currency debt obligations and pay for its various expenditures, and the BSP’s net foreign exchange operations,” BSP said in a statement on Thursday. The BOP position, however, remained in surplus in the 11-month period. The data showed the BOP posted a surplus of $2.1 billion in January to November 2024.
Nonetheless, the BSP said this was lower than the $3-billion surplus recorded in January to November 2023. The data showed this was lower than the $3 billion surplus recorded in January to November 2023. “Based on preliminary data, the decline in the cumulative BOP surplus was due to lower net receipts from trade in services and net foreign borrowings by the NG,” BSP said. “However, this decline was partly muted by the continued net inflows from personal remittances as well as net foreign portfolio and
direct investments,” it added. Meanwhile, the BOP position reflected a decrease in the final gross international reserves (GIR) level to $108.5 billion as of endNovember 2024 from $111.1 billion as of end-October 2024. The latest GIR level represents a more than adequate external liquidity buffer equivalent to 7.7 months’ worth of imports of goods and payments of services and primary income. T he BSP sa id t he l atest GIR le ve l ensu res ava i l abi l it y of See “BOP,” A2
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Friday, December 20, 2024 Vol. 20 No. 72
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‘BSP UNLIKELY TO CUT KEY RATES BY 100 BPS’ T By Cai U. Ordinario @caiordinario
HE Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) will maintain an easing posture next year, but it considers a 100-basis-point (bps) reduction in key policy rates as “excessive” as inflation could rear its ugly head again in 2025. On Thursday, the Monetary Board decided to reduce policy rates by 25 basis points (bps), its third rate cut this year. The Thursday meeting of the sevenman Monetary Board is the last for 2024. The latest reduction brought down the prevailing interest rates to 5.75 percent. The interest rates on the overnight deposit and lending facilities were accordingly adjusted to 5.25 percent and 6.25 percent, respectively. “At this stage, given our forecast and given the data, [cutting] 100 basis points [next year] may be a bit much. I think we will maintain an easing posture, but not to the extent of cutting by 100 bps. We will have to see what the data said,” BSP Governor Eli M. Remolona Jr. told reporters during a press briefing.
Remolona, who sits as the chairman of the Monetary Board, said the central bank is also not keen on making aggressive policy rate reductions next year. Remolona also said reducing rates by as much as 75 bps this year kept the rates “somewhat on the tight side.” Finance Secretary Ralph G. Recto had said he expects another 75-bps cut to be implemented next year. Recto, who represents the Marcos administration on the Monetary Board, said this will bring down the benchmark rate to 5 percent. His initial position was a 100-bps cut. (See: https://businessmirror.com. ph/2024/12/19/recto-additional-25-bps-cut-to-encourage-investments/) See “BSP,” A2
PBBM: WE’LL ‘REGAIN CONTROL’ OF 2025 BUDGET WITH REVIEW By Samuel P. Medenilla @sam_medenilla
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RESIDENT Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said he wants to “regain control” of the proposed P6.35-trillion 2025 General Appropriations Act (GAA), which contained Congressional insertions that lack appropriate documentation, through line veto. In an interview with Palace reporters in Pasay City on Thursday, the chief executive said he wants to purge the said insertions from the proposed
2025 national budget due to scarce government resources. He noted that the insertions were not part of the 2025 National Expenditure Plan, which they submitted to Congress for consideration. “We are starting to see some project proposals that do not have the appropriate program of work and appropriate documentation. It is not clear where the funds [for such projects] will go. So we have to clarify those,” Marcos See “PBBM,” A2
MORE PLASTIC MONEY Assisted by Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Governor Eli Remolona, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. unveils the new BSP polymer banknote series to help reduce the country's cost in maintaining its bills, at special rites at Malacanang Palace on Thursday (December 19, 2024). Story in A3 Banking. PHOTO COURTESY OF OP-PCO
PHL banana boost seen in S. Korea with tariff cuts By Ada Pelonia @adapelonia
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HE Department of Trade and Industr y (DTI) expressed confidence that the Philippine banana will soon become more competitive in South Korea with the reduction of tariffs starting January 1. DTI Secretary Cristina Roque said that through the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with Korea, the 30-percent tariffs levied on banana exports would be reduced by 6 percentage points annually until it gets zero-rated in the fifth year. “Malakas naman ang export
talaga ng bananas. It’s just that because of the tariff, mas mataas yung presyo natin,” Roque told reporters on Thursday. “When other countries had the same tariffs as ours, our exports of bananas were like $300 million. Now, bumaba na siya ng $160 [million] because yung ibang countries wala na silang tariff for bananas and us we still have,” she said. Roque said that with the Philippine-Korean FTA, prices would drop “drastically” because the tariffs would also decrease, expecting robust exports of Philippine bananas by 2025.
NOTICE OF FILING OF APPLICATION/S FOR ALIEN EMPLOYMENT PERMIT/S (AEP/S) Notice is hereby given that the following companies/Employers have filed with this Regional Office application/s for Alien Employment Permit/s: ESTABLISHMENT / ADDRESS No.
NAME OF FOREIGN NATIONAL , POSITION AND BRIEF DESCRIPTION
QUALIFICATION AND SALARY RANGE
AVANZADO OUTSOURCING SERVICES CORP. U-501 Prestige Tower Condominium, F. Ortigas Jr. Road, Ortigas Center, San Antonio, City Of Pasig
DIANA Project Specialist 1.
Brief Job Description: Responsible for managing, planning and supervising the execution of a specific project.
Basic Qualification: College graduate, with previous work experience in a similar role and with excellent technical and communication skills. Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999
See “dole ncr” on A8-A10 See “Banana,” A2
PESO EXCHANGE RATES n US 58.9850 n JAPAN 0.3810 n UK 74.1677 n HK 7.5910 n CHINA 8.0970 n SINGAPORE 43.2727 n AUSTRALIA 36.6710 n EU 61.0672 n KOREA 0.0406 n SAUDI ARABIA 15.7000 Source:
BSP (19 December 2024)