Philippines Morning News For August 29

Philippines says will lift one-month Uber suspension if $3.7m fine paid
The Philippine transport regulator said on Friday it would lift a one-month suspension on Uber Technologies Inc if it paid a penalty of 190 million pesos ($3.7 million), a fine nearly 20 times greater than Uber had offered to pay.
— Deal Street Asia

Cost of Mega Manila Subway to reach $6 billion-$8 billion if built now
THE Mega Manila Subway is expected to cost more than initially expected as the government wants to complete the project by the end of President Duterte’s term, the National Economic and Development Authority (Neda) said.
— Business Mirror

Top Growth Opportunities: Dairy & Soy Food in the Philippines
Philippines ranks as one of the smallest market in the global Dairy & Soy Food sector in terms of per capita expenditure in US$ terms, though larger than China and Indonesia. Though population rates and disposable income are increasing in the country, the Filipino Dairy & Soy Food market currently does not see a comparatively large average spend.
— Markets Insider

Small Exchange: Philippines central bank seeks forex data, Fed boosts liquidity for foreign banks and Tunisia’s forex recovery
The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) is proposing to implement new incentives for banks and institutions to hand over additional data related to interbank wholesale, retail, and the parallel market of non-banks.
— finder.com.au

Chinese boats stir Philippine anxieties
“Why should I defend a sandbar and kill Filipinos because of a sandbar?” declared Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte when asked about reports suggesting China has sought to occupy a land feature (Sandy Cay) close to the Philippine-occupied island of Thitu in the South China Sea.
— Asia Times

Exclusive: PH innovation hub Launchgarage to raise VC fund in 2018
Manila-based innovation hub Launchgarage is planning to take on a venture capital role as it aims to raise a $5-10 million investment vehicle by the third quarter of 2018.
— Deal Street Asia

Ayala Land to launch P70 billion worth of projects in H2 2017
PROPERTY developer Ayala Land Inc. is set to launch between P60 billion and P70 billion worth of projects during the second half of the year, or more than half of the value of scheduled launches for the year.
— Business Mirror

Peso may fall to P53 to the dollar despite strong growth: analyst
The peso may fall to P53 to the dollar within the year despite the country’s strong growth and sound economic fundamentals, according to a global foreign currency trading house on Monday.
— ABS-CBN (video)

ADB, World Bank to be lead coordinators in Marawi rehabilitation
Multilateral lenders Asian Development Bank and World Bank will lead foreign donors in helping the Philippine government in the rehabilitation of war-torn Marawi City, the country’s chief economist said.
— Philippine Daily Inquirer

Atlas Mining losses widen to P573 million as production drops
Atlas Consolidated Mining and Development Corporation registered a bigger consolidated net loss of P573 million during the first half of 2017 compared to the P325 million loss in the same period of 2016.
— Manila Bulletin

PHL imports to boost global rice trade
The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) raised its latest global rice trade forecast mid-August by 700,000 million tons to 43.2 million tons. It’s seven percent larger than a year earlier and the third-highest on record.
— Malaya

Philippines to be a complementary destination for Uruguayan citrus fruit
The world of citrus, which allowed Uruguay to place about 100 thousand tons for US $ 86 million in 2016, is moving. And that movement includes the arrival in the country in September of a Philippine health mission with the intention of obtaining the opening of that market for the Uruguayan production of citrus fruits.
— Fresh Plaza

Fuel prices up on Tuesday
In a move to reflect crude prices in the international market, local oil firms will hike pump prices of gasoline by 35 centavos a liter, 20 centavos per liter on diesel, and 20 centavos per liter on kerosene effective Tuesday morning.
— Philippine News Agency

Pag-IBIG housing loans up 17% in H1
PAG-IBIG Fund released P28.8 billion in housing loans during the first six months of the year, up 17 percent
from the amount released in the same period last year.
— The Manila Times

Philippines: Menlo Capital ventures into telco with PT&T acquisition
Menlo Capital Corp, an investment house in the Philippines, has ventured into the telecom business with its acquisition of Philippine Telegraph & Telephone Corp (PT&T).
— Deal Street Asia

Desperate Marawi survivors to take their troubles to Manila
Displaced Marawi residents will take to the streets of Manila this week to push for self-determination in rehabilitation efforts and demand an end to martial law rights violations in the southern Philippine island of Mindanao.
— UCA News

BSP to keep deficit below 1% of GDP — Espenilla
The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) will not allow the current account deficit to exceed 1 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) while economic managers ensure that the surge in imports will go to good investments.
— Philippine Daily Inquirer

LTO to start distribution of 5-year driver’s license cards
The Land Transportation Office (LTO) in Quezon City will start distributing driver’s licenses valid for five years.
— The Philippine Star

Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte says police should kill ‘idiots’ who resist arrest
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has told his country’s police officers they should kill “idiots” who try to resist arrest.
— The Independent

Tobacco-producing provinces to have P15.8-B tax share
Tobacco-producing provinces are getting a combined P15.8 billion in 2018 as their annual share of the national government’s excise tax collections from Virginia, Burley and native tobacco, Surigao del Sur Rep. Johnny Pimentel said.
— The Manila Times

Davao firm develops product that removes odor in animal waste
A Davao-based herbal manufacturer is securing license from the Department of Agriculture (DA) to proceed with the development of its new product that terminates odor from animal residues.
— Davao Today

Bases authority to harmonize Clark projects with new Freeport master plan
THE Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) said it will study the upcoming redesign of the master plan of Clark Freeport Zone to ensure it properly integrates projects planned for the area.
— BusinessWorld Online

DOST giving away P20 million in funds for startups
TO support local startups, the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) is alloting P20 million in grants this year.
— Sun Star

Government cuts underspending rate below 1%
The Department of Budget and Management (DBM) has lowered the underspending rate to below one percent in the first half of the year amid the reforms undertaken by the Duterte administration.
— The Philippine Star

Gov’t threatens to end MRT maintenance pact
Busan Universal Rail Inc. (BURI) yesterday urged the government to prove allegations of incompetence to deliver its obligation as a maintenance provider of MRT3 that could lead to the termination of its three-year contract.
— Malaya

Transco needs P110B for VisMin transmission lines
STATE-OWNED National Transmission Corp. (Transco) needs up to P110 billion to develop transmission lines in the Visayas and Mindanao.
— The Manila Times

Eight more foreign banks eye PH offices
Eight more foreign banks are seeking to set up shop in the Philippines that could further boost the banking industry, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas said.
— Manilastandard.net

PH to ink deal with Singapore on solving traffic woes
Transport officials are turning to Singapore for help in addressing the country’s perennial traffic problem which is costing the economy at least P2.4 billion daily.
— Philippine Daily Inquirer

Watered-down TRAIN may lead to veto
The President may possibly veto the proposed Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion Act (TRAIN) if lawmakers decide to pass a watered-down version of the proposal, the Department of Finance said.
— Malaya

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Find our previous morning news feature photos in the AEC News Today Morning News Feature Photos gallery where you will find a pictorial display of daily life throughout the Asean Economic Community (AEC).

Philippines morning news by AEC News Today is your one stop source for Philippines news on matters of governance and policies affecting Asean business communities. It is published M-F by AEC News Today: Governance, not government; policies not politics.

Philippines Morning News For August 29 added by Stella-maris Ewudolu on August 29, 2017
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Stella-maris Ewudolu

Journalist at AEC News Today

Stella-maris graduated with a Bachelor of Arts, Education from Ebonyi State University, Nigeria in 2005.

Between November 2010 and February 2012 she was a staff writer at Daylight Online, Nigeria writing on health, fashion, and relationships. From 2010 – 2017 she worked as a freelance screen writer for ‘Nollywood’, Nigeria.

She joined AEC News Today in December 2016.