Return of Philippines-New Zealand direct flights pushed
MANILA, Philippines — President Marcos is eyeing the return of direct flights between the Philippines and New Zealand to increase tourism and trade flow between the two countries.?
Investment latest news
SPNEC confirms plans to sell 40% stake in Terra Solar project to foreign investors
SP New Energy [SPNEC 1.10, down 2.6%; 92% avgVol] [link], now a Meralco [MER 374.80 unch; 80% avgVol] subsidiary under Manny V. Pangilinan’s chairmanship, confirmed reports that it plans to sell “up to 40% equity stake in the Terra Solar” project. The report quoted MVP as saying that SPNEC was in talks with three to five potential investors, and then quoted an unnamed executive who said that SPNEC would take in “at most” two of those potential foreign investors for a combined 40% stake in Terra Solar. MVP said that they were trying to engineer it so that each foreign partner might take a 20% stake. MVP noted that SPNEC still intends to meet its 2026 energization target.
DigiPlus Q1 profit: P2.0-B (up 370%)
DigiPlus Interactive [PLUS 12.76, down 4.6%; 79% avgVol] [link] reported a Q1 net income of P2.0 billion, up 370% y/y from its Q1/23 net income of P0.4 billion. PLUS attributed its performance to revenue increases in all of its material business segments: retail games (+237%), casino rental income (+30%), hosting fees (+19%), and other leases (+12%). In the “FUTURE PLANS” portion of the Management’s Discussion and Analysis section, PLUS said that it “continues to execute on its... vision to be the number one digital entertainment group in the Philippines.” PLUS said that it is looking to boost customer retention through the use of “big data technologies” and plans to “embark on aggressive marketing efforts” to “enhance customer engagement.” The group’s Franchise Fees and Taxes expense grew 201% y/y to P6.8 billion, but this is the amount that PLUS pays PAGCOR and the government as a percentage of its gross gaming revenue.
Press Release - Gatchalian wants to amend murky provisions of CREATE law
Senator Win Gatchalian is seeking to amend murky provisions of the Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises, or the CREATE Act, to address concerns such as lack of clarity and consistency in the measure's implementing rules and regulations (IRR).
When China’s Digital Silk Road meets Philippines’ digital transformation
When Ferdinand Marcos Jr became president, he laid out a policy of immediate digitalization of vital government services to boost the ease of doing business and combat corruption. This was an important policy as the Congressional Policy and Budget Research Department observed that digital transformation can be an important boost to the Philippines’ economic recovery in the post-pandemic period. Globally, digital transformation is nothing new as the ongoing process of digitalization has been shaping how countries do business and trade.
Marcos hopes for Philippines-EU FTA by 2027
MANILA, Philippines — President Marcos is hoping to conclude negotiations for a free trade agreement (FTA) between the Philippines and the European Union by 2027 that is seen to further boost trade and investments between the country and the EU.
Negative, positive outcomes seen in lifting foreign restrictions – Pulse Asia
MANILA, Philippines — Filipinos have a “nuanced” view on the possible impact of lifting the foreign ownership restrictions in the 1987 Constitution, according to Pulse Asia president Ronald Holmes.
House panel OKs rice tariffication amendments
MANILA, Philippines — A day after President Marcos certified as urgent the proposed amendments to the Rice Tariffication Law (RTL), a House committee approved yesterday a bill amending the measure.