‘Political spat hasn’t reached capital markets yet’
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HE current bickering between the camps of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and former president Rodrigo Duterte, former allies in the 2022 elections and now bitter political enemies, have been cited among the risks of the P50-billion initial public offering of Maynilad Water Services Inc. “Political instability in the Philippines may have a negative effect on the general economic conditions in the Philippines which could have a material adverse impact on our results of operations and financial condition,” Maynilad said. Several analysts, however,
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played down the situation and said that the political bickerings may not have seeped into the capital markets, yet. “When the news came out, understandably there was some selling; however, recently the focus has shifted to other factors such as the tariff war, Fed and BSP [Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas] rate outlook, geopolitical tensions to name a few,” Luis Limlingan, Regina Capital Development Corp.’s managing director, said. Michael L. Ricafort, Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. chief economist, said the entire idea was part of market risk, “if markets become volatile, though largely caused by external factors recently such as
Trump’s tariffs and other protectionist policies that could increase US inflation and could lead to fewer future Fed rate cuts that could be matched by the BSP.” He added: “All of these would determine market conditions, both external and local if conducive or favorable for IPO/share sale in terms of getting enough market interest and for the issuer to sell at the highest/most favorable price possible.” Juan Paolo Colet, managing director at China Bank Capital Corp., the issue has not had a material effect on the stock market. “Many large investors do not appear to be particularly perturbed by that [political feuding] issue.
Naturally, they will observe how the situation evolves, but their primary focus is on Trump, the Fed, and US markets,” he said. “In our assessment, the current political dynamics between the Marcos and Duterte camps is not having any significant impact on the local capital markets. Potential issuers are on track to proceed with their fundraising plans. Their top of mind concerns are interest rates and Trump 2.0,” he said. Maynilad’s prospectus pointed out that there have been public disagreements between President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. and the Vice President Sara Z. Duterte. “Duterte resigned as Secretary See “Political,” A2
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QUIRKY WEATHER, IN ‘BM’ PHOTOJOURNALIST’S EYES Photo at right, by one of BusinessMirror’s Mindanao correspondents Erwin Mascarinas, shows residents on makeshift rafts navigate flooded fields in Barangay Libertad, Bunawan town, Agusan del Sur, just about the same time last year, when quirky weather dumped unseasonal heavy rains in that part of Mindanao. That photo, and the left one showing a boy sitting on the shoulder of a man wading towards a high dry area in Barangay Buhangin, Butuan City, won back-to-back honors at the recent Globe Media Excellence Award. The photo at right, published in BusinessMirror on February 3, 2024 won 2nd place in the Photo of the Year category; the one at left, published in ABS-CBN News on February 7, 2024, won 3rd Place honors for Photo of the Year.
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By Reine Juvierre S. Alberto @reine_alberto
ESPITE the opportunity for the Philippines presented by the United States-China trade dispute, it needs to scale up production and compete with neighboring exporters to take advantage of the electronics market, according to a report.
The Financial Stability Coordination Council (FSCC) released the 2024 Financial Stability Report (FSR) on Thursday, saying that geopolitical tensions, such as trade realignments, could provide opportunities for Philippine exports in electronics. “Trade dynamics may present an opportunity for the Philippines to take a larger share of US imports,” it said. While electronic goods are the Philippines’s top exports with a share of 49.7 percent in 2021 to 55.2 percent in 2023, the report said the country is constrained
from expanding its market share. Integrated Circuits (ICs) dominate, accounting for two-thirds of total electronic exports and a third of total exports from 2021 to 2023. Top China imports of the United States are electronic goods, but the share of total imports has declined from 32.5 percent in 2021 to 27.0 percent in 2023. Nearly 50 percent of Chinese electronic goods imported by the US are telephone sets, such as smartphones, for which the Philippines has limited production capacity. See “FSR,” A2
‘TIES WITH US TO SHIELD PHL FROM TRADE WAR FALLOUT’ By Andrea E. San Juan
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@andreasanjuan
HE Philippines remains unfazed by the upcoming imposition of reciprocal tariffs by the United States even as government officials await their turn to have a dialogue with Washington regarding its universal tariff plan, according to the top official of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI). “For now, we don’t have any information yet. So, it’s business as usual with the US. I’ve already set a meeting with my counterpart. So, I’m just waiting for the schedule of the meeting. There’s so many people that want to meet with him,” Trade and Industry Secretary Cristina A. Roque told reporters on the sidelines of the Asia SME Forum 2025 in Pasay City on Thursday. The country’s Trade chief was
asked if the DTI is putting in place contingency measures to shield consumers from the possible “secondary” or inflationary effects of the US administration’s reciprocal tariffs. “But for now, [it’s] business as usual. We feel that we will not be affected. We’re allies,” said Roque. Last February, the DTI said it will work closely with the United States administration to address its concerns about the recently proposed universal tariff on imports. In early February this year, the Trade chief said DTI “will actively engage in discussions to find a mutually beneficial solution that supports both our economies and further strengthens our trade and investment ties, including the possibility of preferential trade agreements.” (See: https://businessmirror.com. See “Ties,” A2
DA urges hog raisers to produce 2-M more heads By Ada Pelonia
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@adapelonia
HE Department of Agriculture (DA) has urged the swine industry to produce an additional 2 million hogs annually to restore the country’s pig population to pre-African swine fever (ASF) levels by 2028. Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. said the country produced nearly 14 million hogs before ASF hit the country. Currently, this figure has dwindled to 8 million, which creates a deficit of 6 million heads for the sector, he added. With this, Laurel said the sector should produce an additional 2 million hogs each year through 2026 to 2028 to return to pre-ASF levels. “We intend to reach 14 million in three years,” Laurel told reporters on the sidelines of the 31st national hog convention and trade exhibit in Pasay City on Thursday. He noted that the potential commercial rollout of ASF vaccine this year and the funding earmarked under the proposed animal industry competitiveness enhancement fund (Ancef) could help propel the country’s hog output. Under the proposed Ancef, the DA said around P4 billion will be allocated for the swine industry to prop up its recovery and growth.
The DA chief also tasked Undersecretary Dante Palabrica with creating a roadmap that will guide the recovery of the industry, which is crucial to the nation’s food security and economic growth. Laurel noted that if the hog production recovers to pre-ASF levels, this could “significantly” reduce the country’s pork import. “Filipinos still prefer the meat of freshly slaughtered hogs,” he said. The DA chief also said he has spoken with two large commercial hog producers who have committed to each produce half a million more heads of hogs starting next year. “If they deliver, I already have around 1 million additional heads,” he added. The country’s swine sector has been grappling with ASF, which slashed hog output since its detection in 2019. Data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) put the country’s swine inventory in 2024 at 8.75 million heads, or 8.5 percent lower than the 9.57 million heads recorded in the previous year. The DA said livestock and poultry sectors, accounting for a quarter of the country’s agricultural output, provide livelihood for over 2.8 million Filipino farmers. Pork and chicken make up more than half of the Filipino diet’s protein source, it added.
PESO EXCHANGE RATES n US 57.6690 n JAPAN 0.3832 n UK 74.2661 n HK 7.4166 n CHINA 7.9335 n SINGAPORE 43.0045 n AUSTRALIA 36.2853 n EU 61.9307 n KOREA 0.0393 n SAUDI ARABIA 15.3739 Source: BSP (March 27, 2025)