PHL-as-Asean-gateway pitched to foreign biz By Cai U. Ordinario @caiordinario
L THE WORLD ›› A10
RIGHTS GROUP FILES SUIT IN GERMANY AGAINST MYANMAR MILITARY RULERS
OC ATING in the Philippines is a good investment for foreign businesses as the country can serve as a gateway to the population-rich Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), according to the National Economic and Development Authority (Neda). In his speech at the Philippine Economic Briefing in Frankfurt,
Germany, Neda Secretary Arsenio M. Balisacan noted that the Philippines has a population of 110 million while the entire ASEAN has 680 million people. Investing today, Ba lisacan said, would allow investors to grow with the Philippine economy, which is already in the midst of reapi ng t he demog r aph ic dividend with a large young and English speaking population. “So what’s in it for investors and businesses? The Philippines is a
fast-growing economy of over 110 million people. Apart from having a sizable domestic consumer market, it can serve as a competitive launching pad for the ASEAN economies, home to over 680 million people, roughly 9 percent of the world population,” Balisacan said. Balisacan said the Philippines is open for business, particularly in sectors such as energy, water, logistics, transportation, agribusiness, manufacturing, tourism,
health, education, and digital connectivity. “With all of our transformative reforms and initiatives set into motion, the Philippines is poised to regain its pre-eminence in Southeast Asia and beyond. We invite investors and the business community to join our country’s emerging narrative of economic growth and prosperity,” Balisacan said. See “Asean,” A2
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Wednesday, January 25, 2023 Vol. 18 No. 102
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Talks on NAIA mgt fast-tracked By Samuel P. Medenilla
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@sam_medenilla
FFORTS to improve the operations of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) are now under way through new maintenance and concession agreements for the facility, according to the Department of Transportation (DOTr). I n a p re s s c o n f e re nc e i n Malacañang on Tuesday, Transportation Secretar y Jaime J. Bautista disclosed that President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. instructed them to fast-track the signing of a new agreement with the maintenance provider of NAIA, Sumitomo-Thales. The measure is meant to prevent another “glitch” in the communications, navigation and surveillance/air traffic management (CNS/ATM) of NAIA similar to what happened earlier this month, which led to the cancellation of over 600 flights.
Currently, NAIA has no maintenance agreement since its system warranty with Sumitomo-Thales expired in 2020, according to Bautista.
Pending negotiations
AS early as September 2022, DOTr initiated negotiations with Sumitomo-Thales for the maintenance of NAIA, but it is being hampered by the firm’s pending claims with the government. “We met with Sumitomo-Thales a few weeks ago and we suggested See “NAIA,” A2
Pagcor clarifies issues on POGOs raised in Senate
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HE Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (Pagcor) thanked senators on Tuesday “for the opportunity to clarify matters related to the country’s offshore gaming license operations [POGO]” but sought to correct “the misinformation that arose from” the Ways and Means committee’s last hearing the day before. First, Pagcor noted that among the crimes earlier associated with the POGO sector, there are no longer incidents of kidnapping. “There have been no reported criminal activities or kidnapping-
related incidents of workers in the offshore licensing industry for over three months. This came as a result of the interagency cooperation meeting held last September 2022 involving Pagcor, the Philippine National Police (PNP), National Bureau of Investigation, Department of Justice (DOJ), and Department of the Interior and Local Government to combat illegal gaming operations, including offshore gaming,” said the Pagcor statement on Tuesday. Likewise, it said, partnerships
PASSENGERS from Xiamen, China, a key tourist market for the Philippines, are screened by immigration and quarantine officers as they arrive on Tuesday. Officials from the Department of Tourism, the Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) and the Chinese Embassy in Manila led the welcome for 189 passengers on Xiamen Air flight MF819 which arrived at NAIA 1 from China on Tuesday. NONIE REYES
TOURISM BOOSTED; PHL WELCOMES XIAMEN GRP
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HEY ’RE back. At least 189 Chinese passengers from X iamen and 15 f light crew were welcomed upon ar r iva l at the Ninoy Aqu i no Inter n at ion a l A i r port (NAI A) Terminal 1 on Tuesday by Tourism Secretary Christina Garcia Frasco, Chinese Ambassador to the Philippines Huang Xilian and Manila International Airport Aut hor it y (MI A A) Genera l Manager Cesar Chiong. The arrival of Xiamen Airlines flight MF819 is being celebrated because it marks the
airline’s return in a bigger way after closing its offices in Manila during the Covid-19 pandemic, and restarting the flights in October, albeit on limited basis, with two flights a week. It began its daily service on January 17, using a Boeing 738. Pioneering flag carrier Philippine Airlines has also started operating its own once-a-week f lights between Manila and Xiamen on January 13, but will code-share with Xiamen Air for the summer season, from April and October. See “Tourism,” A2
See “POGOs,” A2
PESO EXCHANGE RATES n US 54.3880 n JAPAN 0.4162 n UK 67.3323 n HK 6.9453 n CHINA 8.0292 n SINGAPORE 41.2499 n AUSTRALIA 38.2239 n EU 59.1306 n KOREA 0.0442 n SAUDI ARABIA 14.4861 Source:
BSP (24 January 2023)