PHL aims to raise $2B from dollar bond sale
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THE WORLD | A10
ISRAELI FORCES TAKE CONTROL OF THE GAZA SIDE OF THE RAFAH CROSSING WITH EGYPT
HE Philippines is looking to raise as much as $2 billion from a two-part dollar bond sale on Tuesday, its first trip to the international market this year, according to Finance Secretary Ralph G. Recto. The offer is part of a plan to raise about $5 billion in funding from overseas markets for 2024, Recto said in a mobile phone reply to queries.
Manila’s proposed sale of 10year and 25-year debt comes during the busiest day for global bond issuance in Asia outside Japan since June 2023. At least four other borrowers have lined up offerings. “I expect our rates/spreads to be better than our credit rating. So far, the rates seem to be okay,” Recto said. The Philippines is rated BBB+ by S&P Global Rat-
ings, Baa2 by Moody’s Ratings and BBB by Fitch Ratings, all investment grade. The Philippines’s dollar bonds would have an initial price guidance of T+120 basis points (bps) area for the fixed 10-year bond and 6.05 percent area for the 25year sustainability or green bond. The joint bookrunners for the dollar bond offering are Bank of America, Citigroup, HSBC, JP
Morgan, Morgan Stanley, Standard Chartered and UBS. The country has been breaking with the practice of tapping the market early in the year, opting instead to look for a window of opportunity to issue new debt. It has some $774 million of bonds due in September and another $1 billion notes due in October. See “Bond sale,” A2
A broader look at today’s business www.businessmirror.com.ph
Wednesday, May 8, 2024 Vol. 19 No. 204
P25.00 nationwide | 2 sections 22 pages | 7 DAYS A WEEK
INFLATION QUICKENS TO 3.8% ON COSTLY FOOD n
By Andrea E. San Juan @andreasanjuan
& Reine Juvierre Alberto @reine_alberto
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ORE expensive rice and vegetables and higher transport costs caused inflation in April to accelerate to 3.8 percent, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said Tuesday. The National Economic and Development Authority (Neda) and the Department of Finance (DOF) said the government is now fasttracking interventions to beef up food supply to shield consumers from the ill effects of El Niño as well as La Niña. Data released by the PSA indicated that inflation quickened for the third consecutive month in April. The inflation rate last month was faster than the 3.7 percent recorded in March, but slower than the 6.6 percent in April 2023. Citing data from the PSA , Neda noted that April witnessed a “surge” in food inflation as it rose to 6.3 percent from the previous month’s 5.7 percent. Key contributors include vegetables, up by 4.3 percent; fish, up by 0.4 percent and ready-made products up by 4.8 percent. While rice—a staple in Filipino households—recorded a lower inflation rate of 23.9 percent in April, down from 24.4 percent in March, it remained as the “primary driver” of inflation, accounting for 2.1 percentage points. “Based on how we calculate the inf lation rate of rice, it will be elevated simply because of See “Inflation,” A2
DAM LOW. The left photo captures Ipo Dam in Norzagaray, Bulacan, showing a significant drop to 99.75 meters, below its usual operating level of 101 meters, as of Tuesday, May 7, 2024. On the right, Angat Dam in the same area exhibits a visible recession, with its water level down to 185.18 meters, nearing its minimum operating level of 180 meters. The DENR's warning of possible limited water supply in Metro Manila in the coming weeks due to reduced water allocation, particularly from Ipo Dam, underscores the critical situation. Notably, the Angat reservoir caters to around 90 percent of Metro Manila's raw water needs. NONOY LACZA
MANILA, BEIJING LIST CONDITIONS FOR EASING MARITIME TENSIONS By Malou Talosig-Bartolome
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HE De pa r t ment of Foreign Affairs (DFA) challenged China to sit down with Philippine officials to reduce tensions in the West Philippine Sea (WPS). “The Philippines has been earnest in seeking ways to reduce tensions with China through established diplomatic channels. If China is serious about properly managing the differences at sea, we urge China to favorably consider the standing Philippine invitation to
convene the next meeting of the Bilateral Consultation Mechanism on the South China Sea [BCM-SCS] as soon as possible,” the DFA said in a statement Monday. Beijing demanded that Manila halt the delivery of construction materials to grounded naval ship BRP Sierra Madre in Ayungin Shoal and to stop bringing other non-claimant countries to the dispute. “If the Philippines truly wants to lower tensions in the South China Sea, they See “WPS,” A2
DA: Govt wants to fast-track launch of vaccine vs ASF By Ada Pelonia @adapelonia
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HE Department of Agriculture (DA) wants to fasttrack the approval process for the vaccine against African swine fever (ASF) as the local hog industry continues to grapple with the disease. Agriculture Undersecretary Deogracias Victor Savellano said the DA and the Department of Health (DOH) are set to sign a memorandum of agreement that aims to hasten the rollout of the vaccine. “Pinag-align na yung requirements ng Food and Drug Administration [FDA] at Bureau of Animal Industry [BAI] para minsanan
na lang yung lakaran, kung ano yung requirements nila ‘yun na rin yung ginagawa namin para mapabilis para sa ating stakeholders,” Savellano told reporters on Tuesday. “Gusto nga namin bukas na sana ma-approve pero syempre may mga protocols kasing sinusunod. [We want to get it approved as fast as we can, but we still have to follow the protocols],” he said, when asked about the timeline for launching the vaccine. Savellano said the agencies are set to finalize the MOA possibly next week. While waiting for the vaccine, he said the DA is continuously See “DA,” A2
PESO EXCHANGE RATES n US 57.2000 n JAPAN 0.3717 n UK 71.8832 n HK 7.3170 n CHINA 7.9360 n SINGAPORE 42.3609 n AUSTRALIA 37.8836 n EU 61.6044 n KOREA 0.0423 n SAUDI ARABIA 15.2513 Source:
BSP (7 May 2024)