PHL can join fastest-growing economies’ club By Jovee Marie N. dela Cruz @joveemarie
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EXPLAINER »B4
HOW PUTIN’S WAR AND SMALL ISLANDS ARE ACCELERATING THE GLOBAL SHIFT TO CLEAN ENERGY, AND WHAT TO WATCH FOR IN 2023
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N economist-lawmaker has expressed confidence that the Philippines will compete with Vietnam and India for the fastest-growing major economy in Asia-Pacific. House Ways and Means Chairman Joey Sarte Salceda said he is optimistic about the country’s growth prospects under President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. The lawmaker sees inflation easing next year, and the jobs numbers, which now exceed pre-pandemic levels, will improve further. “The sense of gloom from some projections does not come from Philippine fundamentals but from
expectations of global economic slowdown. I’m much more confident about the Philippine outlook,” Salceda said. In particular, Salceda says he is seeing signs that the country’s private sector “is starting to accumulate economic muscle.” “The most recent official manufacturing numbers showed that the fastest growth rate was in manufacture of machinery and equipment except electrical. The sector posted the highest annual growth rate of 76.4 percent in October 2022. That tells you that more businesses are preparing to make more things,” he added. Salceda noted the country’s electronics and semiconductor manufacturing sector is now operating
at an improving capacity. “Latest manufacturing figures showed that the industry division with highest average capacity utilization for October 2022 was manufacture of computer, electronic and optical products. That’s our top export sector. So, I am optimistic about growth in that sector,” he said. “If we can keep the momentum, I think we are in the race for fastestgrowing major Asian economy in 2023,” he added.
Competition with India, Vietnam
SALCEDA, however, said the country “must set its sights on being more attractive to investors than Vietnam or India are in the key growth areas of services, especially BPO, and tech-
nological manufacturing.” Salceda is particularly concerned about “the surge in relocation of semiconductor manufacturing companies from China and towards more US-friendly countries.” Under the Biden administration’s CHIPS Act, US companies are subjected to a 10-year ban prohibiting them from producing chips more advanced than 28-nanometers in China and Russia if they are awarded subsidies under the law. “Companies will look at other countries where they can make chips and still benefit from US incentives. For those involved in assembly, they will look at India, Vietnam, and the Philippines as candidate locations,” he added. Continued on A4
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PHL economy off to slow start in ‘23 By Cai U. Ordinario
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@caiordinario
HE Philippine economy is in for a slow start this year, especially with China recovering and increasing their demand for oil in 2023, according to local economists.
De La Salle University economist Maria Ella Oplas told BusinessMirror over the weekend that while the first quarter is usually the weakest period for the economy, it will be challenging this year. China’s recovery is expected to drive up oil prices anew and make it difficult for net oil importers like the Philippines to prevent the higher costs from seeping into local inflation and pulling down GDP growth. “It’s going to be a challenging slow start for us in terms of growth,” Oplas said. “I fear that with the reopening of China will come higher international oil prices which we cannot control because our demand is too small to affect the world market price.” Oplas said the post-holiday period is usually greeted with low inflation and weak GDP growth because of the lack of demand in the economy. But this time around, while demand dies down after a festive Christmas and New Year celebration, high inflation is expected to continue because of China’s recovery. “Manufacturers (are) holding back on their production because of the rising cost of production plus people are really not buying,” Oplas added.
PASSENGERS fill the departure area of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport after it was announced that flights to and from Manila are on hold due to technical issues at the air navigation facilities of the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines on Sunday, January 1, 2023. Story below. NONIE REYES
FOR ALL ITS BAD RAP, ‘CRACKER SECTOR GAINS TO PEOPLE CITED By Andrea E. San Juan
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HE latest New Year’s Eve revelry has once more drawn fresh calls for banning fireworks and firecrackers altogether, but industry players assert this is a misguided move. While it is highly regulated, the fireworks and firecracker industry also touts its “trickledown” effect benefiting small merchants. The firecracker and fireworks industry contributes to the economy since its business model is not discriminatory as to who can sell these products. Although fireworks and firecrackers are seasonal, the
Continued on A4
PESO EXCHANGE RATES n US 56.1200
president of one of the country’s fireworks associations said small merchants usually gain from the network they are able to establish because of selling these products. Drawing the line between fireworks and firecrackers in terms of definition, firecrackers are small explosive devices designed to make loud noise while fireworks are explosive pyrotechnic devices that make a display of lights and noise. “‘Yung trickle-down effect ng industry namin napakalaki. Minsan, tatanungin ako gaano karami ba talaga ang nasa industriya nyo? See “Cracker sector,” A2
Nearly 300 flights disrupted at Naia By Lorenz S. Marasigan @lorenzmarasigan
& Nonie Reyes
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HERESE DELA PAZ was looking forward to spending time with her relatives in Iloilo on New Year’s Day. With her were her husband and their one-year-old daughter. From San Mateo, Rizal, the Dela Paz family was at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (Naia) two hours prior to their flight. They were excited to see their relatives after a year of just talking over their mobile phones. However, their excitement turned to horror after learning that their flight had been cancelled. Flight operations at the Naia were temporarily halted on New Year’s Day after the gateway
experienced some “technical issue involving the radar frequency” at the Air Traffic Management Center (ATMC) of the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (Caap) on Sunday. “When we arrived at the airport, we were shocked that there were a lot of people in the check-in area. We were able to check in for our flight to Iloilo after 30 minutes. However, 45 minutes before our boarding time, we had yet to know our assigned gate. The airline then announced that they are expecting delays due to some system outage problem,” Dela Paz, a 30-year-old freelancer, said. Their flight bound for Iloilo was supposed to leave Manila at 1:10 p.m. Announcements from the airport’s public address system were made at 1:30 p.m.
“We thought it was just select flights that were cancelled. At around 2 p.m. we were told that our flight was included in the cancellation,” she said. The Dela Paz family is just one of the tens of thousands of passengers affected by the technical issue at Naia on Sunday.
282 flights affected
AS of 4 p.m., a total of 282 flights were “either delayed, cancelled or diverted to other regional airports affecting around 56,000 passengers in Naia,” according to the Manila International Airport Authority (Miaa). Miaa immediately implemented its crisis management protocols after learning of the radar frequency problem. See “300 flights,” A2
n JAPAN 0.4174 n UK 67.4394 n HK 7.1996 n CHINA 8.0372 n SINGAPORE 41.5796 n AUSTRALIA 37.8024 n EU 59.5545 n KOREA 0.0441 n SAUDI ARABIA 14.9335
Source: BSP (December 29, 2022)