BusinessMirror November 14, 2023 by BusinessMirror

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

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EJAP JOURNALISM AWARDS

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(2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021) DEPARTMENT OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

2018 BANTOG MEDIA AWARDS

PHL RETAIL E-COMMERCE UP 26%, HIGHEST IN S.E.A. w

Tuesday, November 14, 2023 Vol. 19 No. 34

P25.00 nationwide | 2 sections 20 pages |

By Andrea E. San Juan @andreasanjuan

HE Philippines ranked first in retail e-commerce growth in 2022 among Southeast Asian countries, posting a 25.9-percent growth, according to an Asian Development Bank (ADB) report. The ADB report, published in November 2023 with the title “ECommerce Evolution in Asia and the Pacific: Opportunities and Challenges,” noted that although the e-commerce ecosystem in the Southeast Asian subregion is still “nascent,” the market has been growing rapidly and outpaces the rest of its Asian neighboring countries. Citing a 2022 report by CramerFlood, ADB said the subregion’s growth of 20.6 percent in retail e-commerce in 2022 “stands out” among all other economies and regions globally. In addition, it noted that only four economies reported faster growth rates than the combined figure of Southeast Asia. Two of these, however, still belong in the subregion, namely, the Philippines and Indonesia, ADB said. “The Philippines, on the other hand, ranks first in retail e-commerce growth in 2022, posting 25.9-percent growth. Continued on A5

ROLLING DOWN HISTORY Exploring history on wheels. Local tourists glide through Intramuros on Segways, passing by the Plaza San Luis Complex. The complex, a masterpiece by the Intramuros Administration, showcases nine houses that embody the architectural charm of 19th-century Spanish colonial-era. Intramuros stands proud as a nominee for the prestigious “World’s Leading Tourist Attraction” in 2023. NONIE REYES

ASIAN FIRMS FACE ‘CHAOTIC’ ’24-’25 ON SUPPLY CHAIN WOES By Andrea E. San Juan @andreasanjuan

“CHAOTIC scenario” is expected for Asian companies in the next 24 months due to issues on demand visibility brought by geopolitical conflicts impacting supply chains, according to Procurement and Supply Institute of Asia (PASIA) President Charlie Villaseñor. “There’s a lot of things going on—reverse globalization, or supply chain diversification— countries are going to be moving towards more geopolitical

politics, even though they don’t want to do it, but they’re being forced to address this also; there seems to be still an issue on demand visibility,” Villaseñor said in a televised interview. The issue of demand visibility among companies, the PASIA president noted, is that companies are “not really getting a firmer appreciation of what the demand and the supply situation would be.” With supply chain visibility, parts, components or products in transit can be tracked from the manufacturer to the final destination. Continued on A5

Consing is 1st head of MIC; warning raised on IRR risks By Samuel P. Medenilla @sam_medenilla

& Jovee Marie N. dela Cruz @joveemarie

RESIDENT Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. on Monday appointed Office of the Presidential Adviser for Investment & Economic Affairs (OPAIEA) Executive Director Rafael D. Consing Jr. as the first head of the Maharlika Investment Corporation (MIC), and House Committee on Ways and Means Chairman Joey Sarte Salceda promptly called him the right person for the job. However, a warning against the risks of billions of public funds easily being lost as a result of the

removal of stricter provisions under the revised implementing rules and regulations of the MIC was raised by a former lawmaker, who called the Maharlika law “a dangerous law.” This danger, said lawyer Neri Colmenares, “is to hundreds of billions of public funds,” and the risk is “now further worsened by the new IRR promulgated by Malacañang.” As Maharlika stands at the crossroads of finance, development, and public administration, economistlawmaker Salceda said Consing’s robust background in three major positions in the corporate world and the Palace make him the ideal leader for the crucial role. See “Consing,” A2

PESO EXCHANGE RATES n US 55.9550 n JAPAN 0.3694 n UK 68.4106 n HK 7.1646 n CHINA 7.6808 n SINGAPORE 41.1494 n AUSTRALIA 35.5258 n EU 59.8047 n KOREA 0.0425 n SAUDI ARABIA 14.9182 Source: BSP (November 13, 2023)