WB approves $.6-B loan for PHL digitalization initiative By Cai U. Ordinario @caiordinario
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INTERNATIONAL COFFEE DAY Nescafé launches the Kape’t Bisig sa Pagbangon initiative to help drive interest in agriculture among Filipino youth. NESCAFÉ will provide a P10-M educational assistance fund for children of farmers and students taking up agriculture-related courses. NESCAFÉ also shared the Kape’t Bisig Music Challenge, asking social media users to show farmers their support and inspire today’s youth to become the coffee farmers of tomorrow. Photo shows Nestlé executives, media representatives and Department of Agriculture Region X Regional Technical Director Carlota Madriaga (seated, third from right) at the recent Kape’t Bisig press launch in Bukidnon. Story in Agri page, A9.
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HE Philippines secured a new Development Policy Loan (DPL) from the Washington-based World Bank Group to finance the government’s efforts to increase digitalization and help transform the country into a cashless society. In a statement, the World Bank said its Board of Executive Directors approved US$600 million for the Philippines’ First Digital Transformation DPL.
The DPL aims to promote the digital transformation of government and digital infrastructure policies, expand financial inclusion through digital finance, and stimulate the growth of digital services. “Greater adoption of digital technology can improve the efficiency and transparency of government services, empowering individuals who were previously far away from decision-making centers,” said Ndiamé Diop, World Bank Country Director for Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Thailand. See “WB,” A2
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RICE TARIFF CUTS NOT YET COMPLETELY OUT w
By Jasper Emmanuel Y. Arcalas
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Monday, October 2, 2023 Vol. 18 No. 350
@jearcalas
PHL NEARS INTERNATIONAL ARRIVALS GOAL OF 4.8M–DOT
HE reduction in rice tariffs is not completely off the table as the economic managers are set to review the lower rates imposed by President Marcos Jr. on certain agricultural commodities under his Executive Order (EO) 10.
By Ma. Stella F. Arnaldo
@akosistellaBM Special to the BusinessMirror
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NTERNATIONAL arrivals in the Philippines have breached the 4 -million mark, just a stone’s throw away from the government’s 4.8-million baseline target for the year. In a news statement, the Department of Tourism (DOT) said the 4-million arrivals were reached on September 29, which brought in an estimated P316 billion in visitor receipts. The total arrivals for the period were 35 percent less than the 6.16 million who arrived from January to September 2019. Of the total international arrivals this year, some 3.67 million (91.6 percent) were foreign nationals, while the rest at 337,426 were overseas Filipinos. Overseas Filipinos are defined as Philippine passport
Finance Secretary Benjamin E. Diokno disclosed that the reduction of rice tariffs has been “ruled out” for now after Marcos rejected the proposal last week. (Related story: https:// businessmirror.com.ph/2023/09/27/marcos-rejectsrice-tariff-cut-proposal/) “Narule out na yun [rice tariff reduction], for this time,” Diokno told reporters in a recent press briefing. However, this does not mean that the ball has stopped rolling as finance officials revealed that the administration’s economic team is set to meet soon to review the implementation of EO 10. Under Marcos’s EO 10, the lower tariff rates on imported rice, corn and pork were extended until the end of the year. “The President really is the decision maker. Our role as cabinet secretary is to give the best advice based on the most recent info. And then once a decision is made, our next job is to implement, not to question the decision,” he explained. Diokno emphasized that the government’s decisions are data-driven and are also based on the latest pertinent figures and information that they have.
holders who are permanently residing abroad.
Top source markets
SOUTH Korea remained the top source of foreign tourists with some 1.05 million in arrivals, representing 26.12 percent of total; followed by the United States with 679,090 (16.95 percent); Japan with 221,671 (5.53 percent); China with 194,258 (4.85 percent); and Australia with 187,143 (4.67 percent). Other key sources of foreign tourists were Canada with 164,168 in arrivals (4.1 percent); Taiwan with 146,396 (3.65 percent); the United Kingdom with 114,096 (2.85 percent); Singapore with 107,674 (2.69 percent); and Malaysia with 72,008 (1.80 percent). “We are very close to our target of 4.8 million by the end of this year. See “Arrivals,” A2
ADB lending to PHL could hit $20B over next 5 years
See “Rice,” A2
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EXPLAINER »B4
A GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN IS AVERTED FOR NOW WITH A TEMPORARY FUNDING BILL. WHAT HAPPENS IN A SHUTDOWN?
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EJ SOARS, EJ CONQUERS, EJ’S KING Ernest John “EJ” Obiena soars to a new Asian Games men’s pole vault record of 5.90 meters on Sunday night in Hangzhou, China. Obiena pulls off the feat before a packed 80,000seat Hangzhou Olympic Centre Main Stadium. His gold is the Philippines’ first since the late Lydia de Vega-Mercado ruled the women’s 200 meters at the 1986 Seoul games and the first medal since 2002 when Elma Muros-Posadas bagged bronze in women’s long jump at the 2002 edition in Busan. NONIE REYES
HE Manila-based multilateral development bank Asian Development Bank (ADB) could lend as much as $20 billion to the Philippines in the next five years once its new Country Partnership Strategy (CPS) is completed next year. ADB Philippine Country Director Pavit Ramachandran recently told reporters the projected annual lending of the bank to the country is $3.5 to $4 billion annually. This is the program lending for this year and next year, which could be the same amount for the next CPS. Ramachandran said the majority (70 percent) of this lending will be dedicated to large project investments while the remaining 30 percent is for budget support. He said the CPS of ADB with the Philippine government is being drafted and may be completed in the second semester of 2024. “This year, we are looking at about anywhere from $3.5 to $4 billion in terms of our lending. Next year, we expect a similar allocation. And a lot of this is on infrastructure, not only urban mobility, connectivity, but also, I mentioned,
flood resilience,” Ramachandran told reporters. “I think we’re looking at that being the lending [for the next few years]. It’s also consistent with what we’ve been doing now [and in] the last two or three years because these are large complex infrastructure projects [and] also some budget support mixed in on some strategic areas,” he also said. The new CPS, Ramachandran said, will mainly follow the previous CPS but will have a greater focus on climate change-related efforts. These efforts will include financing urban mobility, flood resilience, connectivity, and river basin projects. “It will have a very, very strong climate change focus; you know, we are aligning with the Philippine development plan, the socioeconomic development agenda, the medium-term fiscal framework,” Ramachandran said. “It’s very much about trying to support this transition to an upper middle-income country but ensuring strong, sustainable, resilient foundation so that will be social, See “ADB,” A2
PESO EXCHANGE RATES n US 56.9610 n JAPAN 0.3816 n UK 69.5323 n HK 7.2756 n CHINA 7.7890 n SINGAPORE 41.7144 n AUSTRALIA 36.6031 n EU 60.1850 n KOREA 0.0423 n SAUDI ARABIA 15.1884 Source: BSP (September 29, 2023)