‘Slow China recovery weakening PHL exports’ By Cai U. Ordinario @caiordinario
T WORLD | A10
ISRAEL LAUNCHES ANOTHER RAID ON GAZA HOSPITAL, SPARKING CRITICISM AND ENDANGERING CIVILIANS
ROTARY CLUB OF MANILA JOURNALISM AWARDS
2006 National Newspaper of the Year 2011 National Newspaper of the Year 2013 Business Newspaper of the Year 2017 Business Newspaper of the Year 2019 Business Newspaper of the Year 2021 Pro Patria Award PHILIPPINE STATISTICS AUTHORITY 2018 Data Champion
HE slow recovery of the Chinese economy is affecting the demand for Philippine exports, according to US-based think tank Moody’s Analytics. In its latest economic brief, Moody’s Analytics said the country’s exports to China declined 16.9 percent in 2023 compared to the 16.1 percent growth in US exports to the country. Moody’s Analytics said this pushed down China’s ranking to only the 4th largest export market for the Philippines last year.
“That was a big enough drop to rank China as the fourth largest destination for exports behind Japan and Hong Kong. The sputtering economic recovery in China continues to disappoint Filipinos,” Moody’s Analytics said. In January 2024, data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) showed export earnings grew 9.1 percent. Moody’s Analytics said this performance ended a four-month decline in exports. The growth, Moody’s Analytics said, was driven mainly by electronic products which accounted for 58 percent of total
export earnings. The think tank said the growth in electronic product exports were semiconductors, electronic data processing, and automotive electronics. “The strong export reading was encouraging given soft industrial production figures for January. It appears that exporters used inventories to fill orders,” Moody’s Analytics said. Earlier, Trade and Industry Officer in Charge Ceferino S. Rodolfo told reporters that the department welcomed the rebound in the country’s export performance in January 2024.
Rodolfo also said the government is looking at expanding exports in other sectors such as processed food. He also said the government continues to join expositions in other countries such as those in the Middle East. He added that representatives from the DTI and members of the local industry are now in the United States to explore opportunities in health information management systems. (See: https://businessmirror.com.ph/2024/03/13/phlexport-earnings-grow-9-1-injanuary/).
BusinessMirror
EJAP JOURNALISM AWARDS
BUSINESS NEWS SOURCE OF THE YEAR
(2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021) DEPARTMENT OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
2018 BANTOG MEDIA AWARDS
NEW NAIA PASSENGER w
n
Tuesday, March 19, 2024 Vol. 19 No. 156
P25.00 nationwide | 2 sections 22 pages |
TERMINAL FACILITY EYED By Lorenz S. Marasigan
S
@lorenzmarasigan
AN Miguel Corp. plans to construct a new passenger terminal building for the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (Naia) to double the capacity of the airport, the rehabilitation and operations and maintenance deal of which it officially secured on Monday. Ramon S. Ang, the company’s president, said the consortium called New Naia Infrastructure Corp. will “clean” the image of Naia through several enhancement initiatives, including the construction of a new terminal. “We saw that the return will be good if we build a new terminal. It will be located at the Philippine Village Hotel. What we need is the approval of the government. We can finish that quickly,” he said in a press conference, noting that the terminal can be inaugurated within three years from approval. The new terminal will have a capacity of 35 million passengers per annum (MPPA) and will be equipped with 50 boarding bridges. “We have to build an airport that is good for 65
MPPA. No terminal will be phased out, but we will decongest all terminals by moving the offices to the planned new multipurpose building carpark,” Ang added. By moving the offices to a new location, Naia’s existing terminals will have 30 percent more capacity, he noted. On Monday, the Department of Transportation (DOTr) and the Manila International Airport Authority (Miaa) signed the concession agreement for the Naia Public-Private Partnership (PPP) Project, the first PPP contract to be awarded since the new PPP Code took effect in December. Ang said the company will optimize the use of the terminals and will replace aging components, improve runway movements, and ensure a smoother See “New,” A2
THE Department of Transportation (DOTr) and the Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) signed the concession agreement with the SMC-SAP & Company Consortium for the NAIA Public-Private Partnership (PPP) project on Monday. President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. (center, back row), House Speaker Martin G. Romualdez (left), and Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin (right) witnessed the signing of the concession agreement for the rehabilitation and modernization of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (Naia) in Malacañang. “The gateway that should be the red carpet to our country has become a dirty rug that unfairly defines a visitor’s first impression,” said Marcos (story on A14). The agreement was signed by (front row, from left) San Miguel Corp. President and CEO Ramon S. Ang, DOTr Secretary Jaime Bautista, and MIAA General Manager Eric Jose Ines. CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
Foreign buyers at ITB Berlin remain interested in the PHL By Ma. Stella F. Arnaldo
@akosistellaBM Special to the BusinessMirror
T SIPALAY City’s Lakbayon Project won second place in the Green Destinations Top 100 Story Awards’ Thriving Communities Category at ITB Berlin. A simple strolling exercise activity of a women’s organization helped ease the city’s waste pollution problem in the Poblacion Beach, supported their family income, and helped Sipalay become a major tourist destination. The project has already benefited 14,675 family member beneficiaries in 11 barangays. PHOTO VIA ITB BERLIN
HE Philippines generated some P422.2 million in sales leads from its participation at ITB Berlin, the world’s largest travel trade fair, held from March 4 to 6 at Messe Berlin. This was over 55 percent higher than the P271.6 million sales leads generated in 2023, according to the Tourism Promotions Board (TPB), the marketing arm of the Department of Tourism (DOT). Sales leads indicate business deals that may pan out for Philippine travel sellers within one to two years. TPB Chief Operating Officer Margarita M. Nograles described the Philippine delegation to ITB Berlin this year as “the biggest ever” with 60 delegates, who included representatives from destination
management companies, hotels and resorts, DOT-attached agencies, and the local governments of Bohol, Camiguin, Negros Occidental, Siquijor, and Sipalay. Megaworld Hotels & Resorts’ (MHR) Head of Distribution and Revenue Management Loleth So told the BusinessMirror, “I had 30 confirmed appointments but I met far more buyers than that, as I was moving around the [convention] halls so much. I walked around to all my appointments’ booths, so I met more business partners along the way to my appointments.”
Pricing, accessibility continuing concerns
SHE added that this was the first time for MHR to be represented at ITB Berlin, so “most of the buyers we met were new clients. See “Foreign,” A2
PESO EXCHANGE RATES n US 55.5490 n JAPAN 0.3727 n UK 70.7583 n HK 7.1017 n CHINA 7.7189 n SINGAPORE 41.5382 n AUSTRALIA 36.4179 n EU 60.4929 n KOREA 0.0418 n SAUDI ARABIA 14.8123 Source: BSP (March 18, 2024)