‘Govt spending will boost GDP growth in Q3’
TOO BAD FOR DIDAL IN HANGZHOU
Margielyn Didal tries and fails to defend her women’s street gold medal of skateboarding at the 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou on Wednesday—no thanks to a left ankle injury that hasn’t fully healed since she got it in October last year in Brazil. NONIE REYES
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MPROVED government spending may drive the country’s GDP growth to as much as 5.2 percent in the third quarter, according to a local think tank. In its latest Market Call report, the First Metro Investment Corporation-University of Asia and the Pacific (FMIC-UA&P) Capital Market Research said GDP growth in the third quarter may reach 5 percent to 5.2 percent. “We still see sufficient strength in the economy to get a 5.0-5.2 percent YoY [year-on-year] Q3 GDP growth, while the acceleration of the above sectors plus consumer spending should bring back Q4 growth above 6 percent,” the local
think tank said. According to FMIC-UA&P, elevated national government spending in the third quarter should provide the stimulus for the third quarter, as the think tank expects a “strong rebound in employment and consumer spending starting September.” It added that the industry sector expansion will be “broad-based,” although manufacturing will take the lead. “The Services sector should see domestic and foreign tourism drive Trade, Transportation and Storage, and Accommodations and Food Services starting September,” the think tank said. With this, FMIC-UA&P said it still sees full year GDP growth at a “respectable” 5.5 percent despite
the global slowdown. Last month, the think tank noted that spending from the national government would pave the way for a rebound in the second semester. Slowing inflation would encourage more household consumption which would also boost GDP growth. However, Oxford Economics said last Monday that based on its trackers, the country’s GDP growth may slow to a range of 4 to 5 percent in the third quarter. The think tank said the data from its trackers is near Oxford Economics’ own growth forecast of 4.3 percent for the period. “The Philippines and Indonesia are Asean’s two more domestically focused economies and the
two where policy rates have been hiked well above the neutral rate. Our trackers suggest the impact on growth of tight policy continues to be more severe in the former than the latter,” Oxford Economics said. While the Philippine economy’s growth on a quarter-on-quarter basis may represent a reversal from the contraction posted in the second quarter, the impact of high interest rates may extend beyond the third quarter, the think tank said. “We think it will struggle to regain much more momentum, as the lagged impact of monetary tightening weighs further,” Oxford Economics said. (Full story here: https://businessmirror.com. ph/2023/09/26/q3-growth-toslow-on-bsps-tight-policy/).
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House okays budget bill, some CIFs realigned
@jearcalas
HE national government has raised $611.2 million from its latest retail dollar bond (RDB) offering, three times higher than its minimum target of $200 million.
The initial auction for the state’s second RDB offering last Wednesday, the first under the Marcos Jr. administration, fetched a total of $636.2 million bids from investors, according to data from the Bureau of the Treasury (BTr). However, the Treasury only accepted $611.2 million, or about 96 percent of the initial total tender as yields averaged 5.509 percent, slightly higher than the 5.32-per-
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cent secondary market benchmark rate. The 5.5-year RDB tender by the Treasury set a coupon rate of 5.75 percent while investors’ asking rates ranged from 5 percent to 5.75 percent. The auction for the RDB, which will mature by 2029, would run until October 6 with issuance date
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HE House of Representatives went on a congressional break on Wednesday with the final approval of the proposed P5.768trillion General Appropriations Act and all 20 priority bills of the Legislative-Executive Development Advisory Council (Ledac). Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez said the approval of the 2024 national budget reflects the House’s commitment to the welfare of Filipinos and their enduring pursuit of a more prosperous and equitable nation. “When we passed the 2024 [national budget], our goal was to give comfort to the lives of our people. I am confident that the budget we passed will not only help to improve the condition of Filipinos. This is also the key to our continuous rise towards a better future,” the Speaker said in his speech before adjourning the session. Romualdez said the budgeting process was marked by rigorous discussions, particularly on confidential and intelligence funds, which the House scrutinized well to ensure accountability and responsible use. “We underscored the need for agencies to abide by the strict accounting and auditing rules governing the handling and release of such funds and emphasized the need to safeguard their efficient and responsible utilization,” Romualdez said. “As a result, the House was able to assess and evaluate the nature and use of these funds, correct any mix-ups, and allay public concerns regarding this issue,” he added.
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MARINE SCIENTISTS BADLY NEEDED FOR S. CHINA SEA B M T-B
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@maloutalosig
ARINE scientists dedicated to research about the marine ecosystem in the South China Sea are direly needed to protect the depleting coral reefs and fisheries in the area. Deo Florence Onda, microbial oceanographer from UP Marine Science Institute, said the South China Sea face environmental threats that affect not only the Philippines but the entire Indo-Pacific region.
@joveemarie
Aside from the usual threats such as oil spills, poaching and coral harvesting, other emerging threats include the artificial island building of China, water pollution brought by plastics and sewage disposal from vessels of military and militias, and climate change. “The environmental protection of the South China Sea—because of the innate interconnectivity of the habitats—is a shared problem.... The only way to do that S “M,” A
CIF realignment
IN the ever-changing Philippine business landscape, the interplay of space, art and humanity is vividly captured as people appear like specks beneath a towering skyscraper adorned with the Calamansi & Sampaguita mural (2016) by artist Pastel. This captivating artwork adds a striking contrast to the scenery along McKinley Parkway in Bonifacio Global City, Taguig. BERNARD TESTA
APPROPRIATIONS committee chairman Elizaldy Co confirmed that the chamber will realign the confidential and intelligence funds (CIF) of certain civilian agencies, including the Office of the Vice President and Department of Education, to augment the budgets of intelligence and security forces addressing escalating threats in the West Philippine Sea. “The country’s safety and security are of paramount importance. To protect our territorial integrity from external threats, Congress is giving top priority to agencies directly in charge of protecting the country’s safety and securing its borders,” he said. Following the unanimous decision of all party heads in the House of Representatives, Co said they will augment funding for the National Intelligence Coordinating Agency (Nica), the National Security Council (NSC), the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG), and the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR). “As discussed, we will realign the confidential funds of various civilian agencies. Now is the time to give our intelligence community C A
PESO EXCHANGE RATES US 56.9110 ■ JAPAN 0.3819 ■ UK 69.1867 ■ HK 7.2767 ■ SINGAPORE 41.5894 ■ AUSTRALIA 36.4003 ■ SAUDI ARABIA 15.1714 ■ EU 60.1720 ■ KOREA 0.0421 ■ CHINA 7.7827 Source: BSP (September 27, 2023)