Author: Business News Asia

As part of the Bureau of Customs’ (BOC) commitment to facilitate trade, the Bureau through the Assessment and Operations Coordinating Group’s (AOCG) Import Assessment Service (IAS) and Port Operations Service (POS) has intensified efforts in monitoring and tracking cargoes and warehouses to ensure compliance of stakeholders to BOC guidelines and procedures. IAS through its Warehouse Coordinating Division’s (WCD) enhanced warehouse monitoring and inspection foiled attempts to divert 10 containers of sugar in Cebu Customs Bonded Warehouses (CBW). The operation led to the investigation and possible closure of the errant warehouse as well as the collection of additional revenues estimated at…

The 4th National Environmental Law Enforcement (NELE) Summit led by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) ended recently with the adoption of three resolutions to prevent and fight environmental crimes. The NELE summit, held last July 14-16, resulted in the adoption of resolutions to approve a five-year indicative plan of the National Law Enforcement Coordinating Committee-Sub-committee on Environment and Natural Resources; to support the enactment of the proposed Environmental Protection and Enforcement Bureau (EPEB); and to request for immediate passage of a bill that will amend Republic Act 9147 or the Wildlife Resources Conservation and Protection Act. Signatories…

The Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) Kaisa Sa Sining (KSS) Visayas Network announces the recipients of the 1st KSSLAP (Kaisa Ini sa Sining, Lunsay nga Artistang Pilipino) Awards. Due to the present quarantine and travel restrictions, the KSSLAP Awards Ceremonies will be held virtually this August 24-27, 2021 and will be aired via the CCP FB page in September. The awardees are Lutgardo Labad (Bohol / theater and cultural administration), Alphonsus Tesoro (Capiz / cultural administration), Marilyn Gamboa (Negros Occidental / cultural administration), Ian Rosales Casocot (Dumaguete / literature), Peque Gallaga (Bacolod / film and theater), Jess de Paz…

Leyte’s inflation rate slightly climbed by 0.4 percentage point in June 2021, from 0.9% in May 2021 to 1.3% during reference month. Meanwhile, the region’s inflation rate slightly increased by 0.2 percentage point from 3.1% in May 2021 to 3.3% in June 2021. The inflation rate of Leyte was lower than the region’s rate since February last year. The commodity groups that reported positive inflation rate in Leyte are: Transport (5.6%); Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco (2%); Health (1.6%); Furnishing, household equipment and routine maintenance of the house (1.5%); Food and Non-alcoholic Beverages (1.4%); Communication (0.7%); Restaurant and Miscellaneous Goods and…

Moody’s Investors Service is upbeat about the Philippines’ recovery prospects from the COVID-19 crisis, expecting the economy to outperform most of the sovereigns it rates in terms of average growth up to 2025. In its latest credit analysis report on the Philippines, the international debt watcher cited its 10-year average growth projection for the Philippines for the period 2016 to 2025 at 4.8 percent—despite the sharp contraction last year resulting from the pandemic. “Although this 10-year average includes the steep recession in 2020 associated with the global coronavirus pandemic, we expect the Philippines to grow faster than nearly 85 percent…

Now that a temporary freeze has been imposed on the implementation of a BIR regulation erroneously increasing taxes on private schools instead of reducing them, Senator Joel Villanueva reiterated the importance of making the provisional stay permanent by amending the law. At the same time, Villanueva lauded the Department of Finance for putting a stop, albeit temporary, to a misreading of the intent of the Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises Act (CREATE Act) when the BIR increased taxes for academic institutions a revenue regulation issuance. “Ito po ang kailangan natin na ‘academic revenue freeze.’ Dagdag na tulong, hindi…

Data science, analytics, and digital transformation can help make better policies and deliver better services as the Philippines heads to a new and better normal, said the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA). “I have always believed and advocated for digital transformation within the government in order to strengthen policy-making and service delivery. The government and businesses alike need to use data science to make better policies. This has become even more urgent in the new normal,” Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Karl Kendrick T. Chua said during the 2021 Analytics Summit PH on July 27, 2021. Organized by the Analytics Association…

The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) and the United Nations – Food and Agriculture Organization (UN-FAO) are set to sign a cooperation agreement to mainstream the Shock-Responsive Social Protection (SRSP) system on July 27. The Cooperation Agreement provides a framework for the collaboration between the DSWD and the UN-FAO to work towards the adoption of the Philippine Roadmap on Shock Responsive Social Protection and other potential initiatives relevant to resilience building of Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) beneficiaries and other vulnerable households. The Cooperation Agreement is accompanied by a two-year work plan providing critical steps to the development…

The Department of Tourism (DOT) reiterated its call for safe personal travels as the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) placed Metro Manila and other areas under a stricter quarantine measure to prevent local transmission of the Delta Variant of COVID-19. Tourism Secretary Berna Romulo-Puyat noted that under the IATF resolution number 128, point-to-point travel to areas under General Community Quarantine (GCQ) and Modified General Community Quarantine (MGCQ) shall be allowed without age restrictions subject to an RT-PCR test-before-travel requirement for those below 18 and above 65 years old, and other protocols and restrictions as…

Leading the Philippine delegation at the World Trade Organization (WTO) Virtual Trade Negotiations Committee Ministerial-level Meeting on Fisheries Subsidies on 15 July 2021, Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez and Agriculture Secretary William Dar encouraged trade and agricultural ministers to speed up negotiations to come up with new disciplines to eliminate subsidies that contribute to illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing, overfished stocks, and overcapacity and overfishing in time for the 12th WTO Ministerial Conference (MC12) to be held by December this year. “The Philippines stands together with other members who are committed to deliver an outcome in the fisheries subsidy negotiations…

Philippine lifestyle and fashion brands and manufacturers are set to widen their market reach as they participate in the NY NOW, a US-based lead generation, visibility, and connection platform, from July to December 2021. Byhand Consulting, an international marketing consulting firm specializing in solving the issues of artisanal enterprises in over 60 countries, sees the capability of Philippine products to capture global attention at the NY NOW Digital Market. The companies get a global boost through the six-month-long participation. The eclectic mix of emerging and established brands gathered together to reintroduce and intensify the country’s capacity as a world-class destination…

Some 1 million doses of the Sinovac anti-COVID vaccines arrived at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 3 at around 7:30 a.m. on Friday, July 23. On July 22, 1.5 million Sinovac doses were delivered. This brings the total Sinovac deliveries to the country this July to 5 million doses. According to Health Usec. Carol Tanio, these vaccine doses will be distributed to the NCR Plus 8 and the other areas across the country. These shots will be mostly allocated for the second dose. As of today, the Philippines has received a total of 30,985,230 vaccine doses, of which…

President Rodrigo Roa Duterte approved the travel restrictions for all travelers coming from Malaysia and Thailand or those with travel history to Malaysia and Thailand within the last fourteen (14) days preceding arrival in the Philippines. Beginning 12:01AM of July 25, 2021 until 11:59PM of July 31, 2021, such travelers shall be prohibited from entering the Philippines. Passengers already in transit from the abovementioned countries, and all those who have been to the same within 14 days immediately preceding arrival to the Philippines, who arrive before 12:01AM of July 25, 2021, may still be allowed to enter the country but…

The government has secured ample supply of COVID-19 vaccines that could be administered throughout August as the country received a total of 27.9 million doses of the jabs out of the 164 million doses for procurement, the country’s vaccine czar said on Monday. “So mayroon po tayong ample na supply na hindi po tayo kakabahan sa month ng August. Ang tinitingnan po natin ngayon ‘yung month ng September,” Secretary Carlito Galvez Jr. said in his report to President Rodrigo Roa Duterte in Davao City. Galvez, who is also the chief implementer of the National Task Force Against COVID-19, said they…

Tens of thousands of jobs are expected to be created over the next seven years through a new social bond to be issued by one of the Philippines’ leading banks to help smaller businesses recover from the impacts of COVID-19. IFC is investing US$150 million in a seven-year social bond to be issued by Union Bank of the Philippines (UnionBank, PSE: UBP), the country’s seventh-largest private-sector bank. The bond, which will be issued under UnionBank’s new sustainable finance framework, will be the first social bond by the bank and its longest-term USD-denominated bond to date. It also marks only the…

FTX Trading Ltd, owner and operator of FTX.COM, a cryptocurrency exchange, today announced the closing of a $900 million Series B fundraise, valuing the Company at $18 billion. This new financing round will expand FTX’s global presence, accelerate the Company’s growth, and represents one of the largest raises for a crypto company. Over 60 investors participated in the $900M Series B, including Paradigm, Sequoia Capital, Thoma Bravo, SoftBank, Ribbit Capital, Insight Partners, Third Point, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Altimeter, BOND, NEA, Coinbase Ventures, Willoughby Capital, 40North, Senator Investment Group, Sino Global Capital, Multicoin, the Paul Tudor Jones family, Izzy Englander, Alan…

THE KEEPERS Holdings, Inc. (formerly Da Vinci Capital Holdings, Inc.), distributor of leading brands such as Alfonso, Johnnie Walker, Jose Cuervo, Jim Beam and Jinro, has filed a registration statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for a follow-on offering to raise funds for the expansion of the liquor, wine and specialty beverage distribution operations of the Lucio Co-led holding company. The listed-company was given approval by its stockholders for the issuance and listing of up to 3.0 billion common shares through a follow-on public offering,or a “re-IPO”, during its annual meeting of stockholders held last May 28, 2021.…

Boston, MA – Venti Technologies, the leader in safe-speed autonomous logistics systems, today announced that it has secured approximately $8 million in a seed round funding. The financing round was led by LDV Partners and Alpha JWC Ventures, leaders in supporting pioneering technical teams to build winning companies in their spaces. The investment will further Venti’s leadership in producing AI-enabled autonomous logistics transport, including fulfilling new and existing customer agreements with PSA Corporation, a global ports operator with 60 ports under management; automotive manufacturers including SAIC Volkswagen and SAIC-GM; the world’s largest automotive logistics provider, SAIC Anji Logistics Tech, and…

ZALL Smart Commerce Group (ZALL), Asia’s largest B2B e-commerce group, looks to become the world’s leading global digital trade platform with its new strategic rebrand. It aims to create an open and interconnected B2B trading ecosystem between China and ASEAN, and to drive the rapid growth and development of industries and businesses through the use of new trading methods and advanced technologies. With the strategic rebrand, ZALL aims to create value through its global intelligent services across B2B transactions, supply chain services and digital cloud services, transforming industrial value chains across the region and enabling businesses to improve overall efficiency.…

The Board of Singapore Myanmar Investco Limited (“SMI”) is pleased to announce that it has entered a comprehensive non-binding memorandum of understanding (“MOU”) yesterday with NASDAQ-listed Internet company The9 Limited, to launch a cryptocurrency cloud mining business. Focusing initially on three types of cryptocurrencies – Bitcoin (BTC), Filecoin (FIL) and Chia (XCH) – the mining business will be hosted in a range of facilities across Canada, US, Central Asia and the ASEAN region to serve customers. This business is expected to commence in Q4 2021 and will be subject to regulatory approval. Following the MOU, SMI has also entered into…