Specials Channel

Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ (BSP) policy-making Monetary Board (MB) on Thursday dialed back slightly the inflation assumption for 2018-20 after latest forecasts suggest more restrained inflationary pressures in the next two years.

A consolidation of the actionable recommendations submitted by the private sector in the four regional “Sulong Pilipinas” workshops conducted in Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao in November yielded proposals ranging from improving agricultural output and simplifying loan requirements for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to enhancing peace and order measures, and stricter profiling of the government’s cash transfer or social protection beneficiaries.

The country’s inflation rate is expected to decline further below 6 percent this month and even lower to 3.6 percent next year, even if the second tranche of the oil excise tax increase pushes through, an economist of a major Philippine bank said.

“For the first time we are seeing significant negative m-o-m (month-on-month) growth after inflation plateaued at around 6.7 percent. It confirms that inflation is heading back to the 2-4 percent target range in response to decisive non-monetary measures to curb food prices as well as favorable recent developments in highly volatile international oil prices,” he said.

Malacañang on Wednesday welcomed the deceleration of inflation in November, attributing it to President Rodrigo Duterte’s decisive action when prices of basic commodities swelled the previous months.

The 2019 Radical Australia Cup calendar has been unveiled with an exciting six round championship to highlight the eleventh season of the popular one-make prototype Series that just recently saw a change in management along with the signing of a new Category Management Agreement with the Confederation of Australian Motor Sport.

“Infrastructure and capital outlays and capital goods imports remained elevated and should drive faster growth in fourth quarter and beyond, with some support from improving exports,” investment bank First Metro Investment Corp. (FMIC) and the University of Asia & the Pacific (UA&P) said Monday in the latest issue of The Market Call.

In a briefing after the 6th Philippine-Japan High Level Joint Committee on Infrastructure Development and Economic Cooperation meeting at the Philippine International Convention Center (PICC) Wednesday night, Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III said, “many countries around the world are paying attention to the Philippines primarily because President (Rodrigo) Duterte has refocused our entire foreign policy.”

GUANGZHOU, China -- GAC Motor, China's leading automaker, is showcasing its four core technologies – industrial design, environmental power, smart technology and driving systems – and highlighting its strength in innovation at Auto Guangzhou 2018 ("the Show") at the China Import and Export Fair Complex from November 19-25. In addition, the company is displaying its entire product line-up, including the GS5, its new "2+X" concept vehicle, and is launching a presale of its GM6 minivan.

Executives of the San Pedro, Laguna-based technology company, Shiptek Solutions Corporation, remain optimistic about Internet connectivity in the country, thus, the establishment of its end-to-end digital logistics platform called XLOG.

SEOUL, South Korea -- E-mobility, or electric mobility, is projected to mark the next significant paradigm shift in the transportation industry, providing growth opportunities not only for electric vehicle manufacturers, but all service providers in the fields of energy and transport systems. While progress is accelerating in pace and sophistication, some obstacles to EV adoption remain. One of the main issues is that EVs require charging along their journey, and likely at charging stations managed by different charge point operators. To prevent compatibility issues down the road, the Open Charge Point Protocol (OCPP) was established to allow interoperability in EV charging infrastructure and streamline payment processes across mobility operators. With more than 40,000 installations in 49 countries, OCPP has become the de facto open communication standard for open charger to network communications.

Furthermore, the consortium was given ninety days to submit related documents including: congressional approval of its franchise; registration from the Securities and Exchange Commission; approval of the Philippine Competition Commission of its bidding agreement implementation; posting of the performance security bond and its rollout plan for the entire commitment period for the processing of its Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity (CPCN) by the NTC.

SEOUL, South Korea -- KT Corp. (KRX: 030200; NYSE: KT), South Korea's largest telecommunications company, successfully tested a self-driving bus at the country's largest international airport this week, the latest showcase of its autonomous vehicle technology and innovation.

NESS ZIONA, Israel and VENTURA, California -- Nano Dimension Ltd., a leading additive electronics provider (Nasdaq, TASE: NNDM), announced that Techniplas, a leading global design and manufacturing provider of automotive products and services, today unveiled a new steering wheel concept that incorporates its proprietary cognitive lighting technology with 3D printed electronics. Using a Nano Dimension DragonFly Pro 3D printer, Techniplas engineers directly printed conductive paths into a concept wheel in a single step.

A ranking official of the Department of Finance (DOF) stressed that Package 4 of the proposed tax reform program is primarily intended to fix taxation on the financial and capital markets, and funding the government's “Build, Build, Build” program is only a secondary consideration.