January export earnings dip 13.5% to $5.23B By Raadee R. Sausa
T THE WORLD ›› A10
RUSSIA: 60-DAY EXTENSION OF GRAIN DEAL ACCEPTABLE
HE Philippines’s export earnings fell by 13.5 percent to $5.23 billion in January, from the previous year’s $6.045 billion, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA). The latest data from the PSA also indicated that the country’s import bill during the period rose by nearly 4 percent to $10.97 billion, from $10.55 billion a year ago.
These results led to the widening of the country’s trade deficit in January. PSA data showed that the trade deficit reached $5.73 billion in the first month of the year, 27.2 percent higher than the previous year’s $4.51 billion. “The balance of trade in goods [BoT-G] is the difference between the value of export and import. T he BoT- G i n Ja nu a r y 2023 amounted to $-5.74 billion, indicating a trade deficit with an annual increase of 27.2 percent,”
the PSA said in a report. “The trade deficit in the previous month recorded an annual decline of -11.9 percent, while it posted an annual increase of 57 percent in January 2022,” it added. The PSA said export receipts in January fell as six of the 10 major commodity groups registered lower earnings, including electronic products—the country’s top export. These were coconut oil (-39.1 percent), cathodes and sections of cathodes, of refined copper (-39.0
percent); metal components (-19.8 percent); electronic products (-19.2 percent); chemicals (-14.6 percent); and other manufactured goods (-11.9 percent). By com mod it y g roup, t he agency said electronic products continued to be the country’s top export in January 2023 with total earnings of $2.83 billion, which accounted for 54.2 percent of the total exports during the period. See “Export,” A2
BusinessMirror A broader look at today’s business
www.businessmirror.com.ph
n
Wednesday, March 15, 2023 Vol. 18 No. 151
P25.00 nationwide | 2 sections 22 pages | 7 DAYS A WEEK
Oil-spill boat had no permit to sail By Butch Fernandez @butchfBM
T
HE effort to claim $1-billion indemnity from insurance taken out by the owners of the sunken boat spilling oil in Mindoro Oriental faces an uphill climb because of the company’s regulatory lapses, dashing hopes that thousands of people impacted by the massive leak could promptly get financial help for the damage and lost livelihood. Sen. Cynthia Villar stressed this at Tuesday’s Senate hearing on the massive oil spill and urged the government to step in and source funds to cover for the damage mitigation and cleanup for what has been called the country’s worst ecological disaster. Presiding over the Committee on Env ironment, Natural Resources and Climate Change, Villar also lined up environment
SEN. Cynthia Villar presides Tuesday at the Senate hearing on the oil spill in Oriental Mindoro, tagged as the country’s worst ecological disaster. At the hearing, Villar disclosed that the owner of MT Princess Empress, which sank off Naujan town on February 28, had not amended its certificate of public convenience when it acquired the vessel, and thus it had no permit to sail. VOLTAIRE F. DOMINGO/SENATE PRIB
Spending hike may offset income tax cuts–BIR
T
protection measures filed by senators, including six bills she herself endorsed for plenary action, declaring ecologically vital areas as protected areas (PAs) under the National Integrated Protected Areas Systems (NIPAS). Villar expressed dismay over the extent of damage caused by the oil spill from tanker MT Princess
HE Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) is banking on higher spending by Filipinos to offset the possible reduction in its collection of personal income tax as a result of the second round of income tax reduction under the TRAIN law. BIR Commissioner Romeo D. Lumagui Jr. said money collected by the bureau from Filipinos’ consumption would be able to compensate for the reduction in their annual income tax filings. “Hopefully, it will compensate. Effectively, with higher take-home pay, hopefully they will be spending,” Lumagui told reporters in a recent interview. “So, consumption tax.” Under the TRAIN law, the tax rate for individuals earning between P250,000 and P8 million
See “Oil-spill,” A2
See “TRAIN law,” A2
PHL NOW 2ND COUNTRY WITH MOST WEB THREATS By Lorenz S. Marasigan @lorenzmarasigan
T
HE Philippines ranked second in the world with the most web threats in 2022, according to global cybersecurity firm Kaspersky, reflecting how cybercriminals were “relentless and persistent” in targeting Filipino organizations last year. According to the K aspersky Security Network (KSN) Report for 2022, K aspersky users in the Philippines rec e i v e d “r e p e a t e d a t t a c k s ” from threats through removable devices and affected web
sites in 2022 versus the year prior. This made the Philippines go two notches up in the list of the most attacked countries last year, next to Mongolia, and followed by Ukraine, Greece, and Belarus. The ranking is based on the number of web-based cyberthreats detected and blocked by Kaspersky products. A single device can frequently be targeted by cybercriminals and subjected to multiple attacks, the report noted. “I would always insist for any business that’s new, or qualifies as a small and medium enterprise, to have basic protection
from the get-go. Secure the endpoint and then have encryption in place. As you expand, spending on the business and security should be in lockstep. It’s pointless to build a business that is not protected because once you’re compromised, it is costly to repair the damage. At the very least, it could look like losing opportunities for your business because of lost customer trust,” said Chris Connell, Managing Director for Asia Pacific at Kaspersky. In terms of vulnerabilities and attacks through removable devices such as USB sticks, the Philippines placed 72nd in the
world, reaching 25.06 million malware attacks last year. Worms and file viruses accounted for the majority of such incidents that were detected and blocked by Kaspersky products in devices of its Filipino customers. Li kew ise, c ybercr imina ls tr ied to penetrate systems through attacks via browsers. Detected and foiled incidents by K aspersky plunged from 50.54 million to 39.39 million. Drive-by downloads and social engineering are the “favorite attack methods used by cyber See “Web threats,” A2
PESO EXCHANGE RATES n US 54.9190 n JAPAN 0.4123 n UK 66.9353 n HK 7.0023 n CHINA 8.0203 n SINGAPORE 40.7774 n AUSTRALIA 36.6145 n EU 58.9336 n KOREA 0.0424 n SAUDI ARABIA 14.6290 Source:
BSP (14 March 2023)