PHL manufacturing slows for 3rd month in April By Cai U. Ordinario @caiordinario
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HE country’s Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) slowed for the third consecutive month in April, also marking an eight-month low, according to the latest report from Standard & Poor’s (S&P) Global. Based on the latest PMI report, the Philippines’s PMI slowed to 51.4 in April. This is lower than the PMI of 52.5 in March and 52.7 in February 2023. Maryam Baluch, economist at S&P Global Market Intelligence, traced the slowdown to a softening in new orders and output. “Additionally, price pressures cooled further during the latest
survey period. While operating expenses grew at a solid rate, the pace of inflation was the weakest in two-and-half-years. Reflecting softer hikes in cost burdens, manufacturers raised their selling prices at the slowest pace in 28 months,” Baluch said. S&P Global also noted a softer uptick in new business, leading firms to expand their output but at the weakest pace in the past six months. “Looking ahead, manufacturers across the Philippines remained largely optimistic, as the degree of confidence in the year-ahead outlook for output reached a threemonth high. That said, the degree of confidence was weaker than the series average. Furthermore, our
latest forecast expects growth in industrial production to moderate to 5 percent in 2023,” Baluch said. S&P Global also reported “widespread reports of resignations” that led to a third consecutive month of contraction in payroll numbers across Filipino firms. The think tank said that while “the rate of job shedding” was low, firms still linked this to challenges in retaining their staff. T he Ph i l i p p i ne St at i s t i c s A ut hor it y ( P S A ) e a r l ie r re por ted that the manufacturing sector shed over 300,000 jobs in February due to significant declines in employ ment in several subsectors, including tea production. (Full story here: https://businessmirror.
com.ph/2023/04/12/local-factories-shed-over-300k-jobsin-february/) Apart from staff shortages, firms also experienced material shortages and expensive materials from some suppliers also affected the sector’s performance. S&P Global also said the manufacturing industry experienced delivery delays as well as the strengthening of the US dollar, which pushed up manufacturers’ costs during the period. Last month, PSA data also showed the country’s factory output growth slowed in February due to the lackluster performance of food manufacturing. See “PMI,” A2
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BIDEN, MARCOS TACKLE DEFENSE, ECONOMIC PARTNERSHIPS
US-PHL ties redefined, boosted AMID ongoing conflict and growing concerns of further turmoil in Sudan, foreign governments are working to evacuate their citizens from the country. Military transport aircraft have been deployed by many nations, with France utilizing its Djibouti airbase for the airlift. However, the evacuation process has not been without complications, as roughly 2,000 British nationals are still in Sudan and have expressed dissatisfaction with their government's lack of information regarding evacuation plans. The accompanying image depicts Jordanians who were successfully evacuated from Sudan arriving at a military airport in Amman, Jordan, on April 24, 2023. AP/RAAD ADAYLEH
Peza banks on US making PHL a sub location for firms
By Samuel P. Medenilla @sam_medenilla
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By Andrea E. San Juan
FTER stagnating in the previous administration, security and economic partnerships between the Philippines and the United States were “strengthened and redefined” following the bilateral meeting between President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. and US President Joseph “Joe” Biden on Monday. The meeting comes at a crucial time as the US is trying to counter the growing inf luence of China in Asia.
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Bilateral defense guidelines
M A R C O S w e l c o m e d B i d e n’s ironclad commitment to help in defending the country amid the “complicated geopolitical situation” in the Pacific. “It is only natural that—for the Philippines to look to its sole treaty partner in the world, to strengthen and to redefine the relationship that we have and the roles that we play in the face See “US-PHL,” A2
(UPPER photo) US President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden welcome President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and his wife Louise Araneta Marcos as they arrive at the White House in Washington, Monday, May 1, 2023. Biden reiterated US commitment to the Philippines’ security and noted the “deep friendship” of the two nations as concerns grow about the Chinese navy’s harassment of Philippine vessels in the South China Sea. (Above) Marcos meets with the Filipino community at the Ritz Carlton Hotel in Washington, DC. AP/SUSAN WALSH & BM/TROI SANTOS
HE Philippine Economic Zone Authority (Peza) said it is hoping to attract foreign direct investments (FDI) in areas of advanced manufacturing and electric vehicles, among others, as it pins its hopes on the United States to make the country an alternative location for US firms wishing to offshore their manufacturing activities. “The Philippines could be a viable site for US-based companies from North America or those American offshore companies shifting out production from their existing locations to take advantage of the country’s growing domestic market, huge pool of world-class and work quality-oriented workers, and as a production and distribution hub in the region,” Peza Director General Tereso O. Panga told reporters in a Viber message on Tuesday. See “Peza,” A2
PESO EXCHANGE RATES n US 55.4970 n JAPAN 0.4037 n UK 69.3657 n HK 7.0700 n CHINA 8.0194 n SINGAPORE 41.5272 n AUSTRALIA 36.7834 n EU 60.9302 n KOREA 0.0413 n SAUDI ARABIA 14.7976 Source:
BSP (2 May 2023)