Philippines Morning News For September 7

Foreign investments up 70%
The total foreign investments (FI) approved in the second quarter of 2018 jumped by 70.4 percent from its year ago level, data released by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) showed.
— Malaya

PN readies BRP Tarlac for first port call to Russia
The Philippine Navy (PN) is currently preparing BRP Tarlac (LD-601), one of the two strategic sealift vessels in its fleet, for its first ever port visit to Vladivostok, Russia.
— Philippine News Agency

Shell turns over P3-million donation to Liter of Light for off-grid villages
Pilipinas Shell has turned over a P3-million donation to the Liter of Light Foundation to support its efforts to provide light to more off-grid communities and augment their residents’ sources of income.
— Manilastandard.net

WB tapped for funding of Mindanao plant rehab study
State-run National Power Corp. (NPC) said the World Bank will finance the feasibility study for the rehabilitation of the 982 megawatts Agus-Pulangi hydropower plants in
Mindanao.
— Malaya

Australian foundation spends P10M for Davao education project
THE FLAGSHIP project of the Australian Foundation for Fostering Learning in the Philippines (AFFLIP) has spent up to P10 million for its education program in Davao
City’s Talomo District, according to its officials.
— BusinessWorld Online

Japan turns over P8M worth of container wing van, outpatient rural health building
The Japanese government has turned over some P8 million worth of container wing van for small rice farmers and an outpatient rural health building in two separate
municipalities in Zamboanga del Sur.
— Manila Bulletin

PH, Jordan sign 5 agreements as Duterte starts official visit
The Philippines and Jordan on Thursday signed five cooperation agreements as President Duterte and King Abdullah II sat down to discuss strengthening relations between their nations.
— Philippine Daily Inquirer

Inflation forecasts hiked, legislative measures urged
Banking giant HSBC has raised its 2018-2019 inflation forecasts for the Philippines following August’s nine-year high, accompanying this with a warning that monetary policy tightening was not enough to mitigate above-target consumer price growth.
— The Manila Times

Business sentiment lowest since 2010 — BSP
Business sentiment is at an eight-year low caused by a number of economic factors, according to the latest survey of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP).
— CNN Philippines

Manufacturers vow 3-month price freeze
Consumers can expect some reprieve from surging prices as manufacturers have agreed to hold off price hikes in the next three months, a trade official said yesterday.
— The Philippine Star

Duterte to create dep’t to ease business processing for investors in PH
President Rodrigo Duterte on Thursday vowed to create a department that would process documents of investors in the Philippines as he assured a “business with ease” climate in the Philippines.
— Inquirer.net

Planned Asean meet to focus on Boracay Island rehab
The government’s rehabilitation of Boracay Island is being eyed as one of the cases to be presented in the planned Asean meeting on mainstreaming biodiversity in the tourism sector.
— Manilastandard.net

Arroyo allies call for Duterte econ managers to quit amid surging inflation
Several lawmakers who are allies of House Speaker Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo have called for the resignation of President Rodrigo Duterte’s economic managers after inflation hit 6.4 percent in August.
— ABS-CBN

Approved building permits rise 11.7% in Q2 — PSA
CONSTRUCTION starts, based on approved building permits, grew 11.7% year-on-year, driven by non-residential projects, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said.
— BusinessWorld Online

The body count of mayors in the Philippines is going up as Duterte’s drug war rages on
A Philippine mayor was shot dead on Wednesday as the number of officials killed under mysterious circumstances has risen to 11 since President Rodrigo Duterte took
office in 2016.
— Business Insider

Jordan to provide Philippines with Cobra attack choppers
Jordan on Thursday agreed to provide two Cobra attack helicopters to the Philippines in a development seen to strengthen Manila’s defense capabilities.
— The Philippine Star

4 multilateral firms eyeing to finance P50-B Agus hydro plant rehab
At least four multilateral lending firms are in the queue and expressing willingness to finance the P50 billion Agus hydropower complex rehabilitation project of the
government.
— Manila Bulletin

Palace insists on court martial vs Trillanes
The Palace said Thursday that the resignation of opposition Senator Antonio Trillanes IV from the military does not undo his violations of the Articles of War while he was still in the service.
— Manilastandard.net

Philippines to Gradually Boost Reserves That’s at 6-Year Low
The Philippine central bank plans to gradually bolster its foreign-exchange reserves as the year-end overseas remittance season approaches, Deputy Governor Diwa
Guinigundo said.
— Bloomberg

SBMA signs development, trade tie-up with Israeli port firm
The Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) has allied with the Israeli port of Eilat under an agreement that will promote the all-water route between the Subic Bay Freeport and Israel’s only anchorage on the Red Sea.
— Business Mirror

P6.77-B Cal-Comp IPO approved by regulators
THE Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has given the green light for Cal-Comp Technology, Inc.’s P6.77-billion planned initial public offering (IPO).
— The Manila Times

PH metallic mine value up by 4% in H1
The country’s total metallic mineral production value grew by 4 percent in the first half of the year to P54.57 billion from P52.42 billion a year ago, driven by better
metal prices in the world market, the Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) said.
— Malaya

Private sector-led rice importation pushed
Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III wants to remove some functions of the National Food Authority (NFA) in regulating the supply of rice and allow a private sector-led importation of the Filipino stable food to stabilize its skyrocketing prices.
— Manila Bulletin

Lazada launches biggest online mall in Southeast Asia
ONLINE retail platform Lazada has officially launched the biggest online mall in Southeast Asia and is set to offer discounts of up to 90 percent to shoppers on September 9 with its early Christmas sale.
— Business Mirror

US, Philippines floating back together again
After a period of strategic estrangement, the Philippines and United States are getting back together again.
— Asia Times

Commentary: Filipino consumers face an uphill battle with inflation
The Philippines’ inflation rate has been the highest in Southeast Asia since January this year, compared to Vietnam, Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore.
— The Philippine Star

Resigning can’t undo Trillanes’ Articles of War violation: Palace
Senator Antonio Trillanes IV remains liable for the violations of the Articles of War he committed while in military service despite his resignation, Malacañang said
Thursday.
— Philippine News Agency

Philippines implements fresh nickel mining curbs in environment protection drive
The Philippines, one of the world’s top suppliers of nickel ore, will this week start limiting the land that miners can develop at any one time as new rules to protect
the environment take effect.
— Reuters/ Business Insider

High inflation to affect Filipino migrant worker remittances
The Philippines’ inflation rate surged to a nine-year high in August, which will affect the remittances sent by Filipino migrant workers to their families.
— MENAFN

SEC lists projects eligible for ASEAN Green Bond issue
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has identified the types of projects that may be eligible for the ASEAN Green Bonds.
— The Philippine Star

Globe unit seeks to complete 704 circuits for rural towns by September
GLOBE Telecom Inc. subsidiary Innove Communications Inc. aims to complete a number of connectivity platform projects by September, as it works closely with the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT).
— Business Mirror

Nestlé Philippines seeking clarity on junk food ban in QC schools
NESTLÉ Philippines is seeking clarity on the Quezon City ordinance banning the sale of junk food and sugary drinks near schools, as more local government units are planning to follow the city’s example.
— BusinessWorld Online

China Bank Savings, MCBL partner with DepEd on salary loans for staff
CHINA Bank Savings (CBS) and Manulife China Bank Life Assurance Corp. (MCBL) have partnered with the Department of Education (DepEd) to make salary loans easy for its employees.
— Business Mirror

The Philippines’ Silent Filmfest, the only one in Asia
The 12th International Silent Film Festival, traditionally held at SM Megamall during the last week of August is “the only silent film festival in the whole of Asia… And the only one of its kind that matches international silent films with very talented Filipino musicians of all kinds.”
— Rappler

The Philippines participates in SEMICON Taiwan 2018 with a delegation and booth
The Philippines is participating in SEMICON Taiwan 2018, which runs from Sep. 5 to Sep. 7 at the Naganang Exhibition Center in Taipei, with a delegation and a
booth.
— Taiwan News

NFA issues rules for Zambasulta rice imports
The National Food Authority (NFA) on Thursday announced that the 33,500 metric tons (MT) of rice for Zamboanga City, Basilan, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi (Zambasulta) must arrive before the end of September.
— Business Mirror

Feature photo Benson Kua

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 September 7 added by Stella-maris Ewudolu on September 7, 2018
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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.