Category: Business Mirror

Singapore-based Sembcorp Industries Ltd. is exploring New Clark City in Tarlac as a potential site for an industrial park, bringing to the Philippines its experience in developing industrial estates across Asia.

The company recently visited New Clark City in Capas, Tarlac to assess the potential for its proposed investment, as it considers replicating its industrial park model in the Philippines.

Sembcorp’s industrial park business is particularly well established in Vietnam, where it developed the Vietnam Singapore Industrial Parks (VSIP) with local partner Becamex IDC Corp. The company also has industrial park operations in China and Indonesia.

As of May, the VSIP portfolio had reached 26 industrial parks covering more than 14,300 hectares, according to Sembcorp.

The proposed Philippine project would position the company within New Clark City, which forms part of the Luzon Economic Corridor connecting Subic, Clark, Manila and Batangas.

New Clark City is being developed as a site for manufacturing, logistics, infrastructure and other investments, with the Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) promoting the area to potential investors.

For Sembcorp, the Philippines could provide another market for its industrial park business as the country seeks to expand its manufacturing base and attract more investments into economic zones.

Sembcorp Industries is involved in energy and urban development, including industrial park development and utilities.

Its industrial parks typically combine manufacturing and commercial facilities with supporting infrastructure and utilities, allowing companies to establish operations within integrated industrial estates.

A project in the Philippines would also add to the country’s efforts to attract established industrial park developers as competition for manufacturing and supply-chain investments grows across Southeast Asia.

For now, Sembcorp has yet to announce a specific investment amount, development timetable or final site for the proposed Philippine industrial park.

FOREIGN holdings of Philippine government securities jumped in 2025, as investors were drawn to relatively higher yields and improving macroeconomic conditions.

Total foreign holdings rose by 32.13 percent to P600.03 billion by the end of 2025 from P454.12 billion in end-2024, according to data from the Bureau of the Treasury (BTr).

The share of foreign holders of government securities to total holdings also grew to 5 percent from 4.2 percent in 2024, a steady upward trend from 2.10 percent in 2023.

‘Philippine government bonds offered investors relatively high returns while maintaining investment-grade credit quality, making them an attractive destination amid improving global risk sentiment and renewed interest in emerging-market debt,’ said Ruben Carlo O. Asuncion, chief economist at Union Bank of the Philippines, to BusinessMirror.

Investors were attracted by higher yields, the possibility that the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas would reduce interest rates, lower inflation and sustained confidence in the country’s macroeconomic fundamentals, Asuncion said.

Demand for short-term securities remained strong as this was further supported by uncertainties in the global market in the first half of the year and investors sought lower-risk instruments.

Aggregate trading volume of government securities also hit P12.7 trillion as of end-2025, an 80 percent increase from P7.052 trillion in the previous year, enhancing price discovery and liquidity.

‘BTr aims to steadily increase the share of foreign holders in government securities as part of its ongoing efforts to enhance foreign investor participation,’ the Treasury said.

Last year, the national government raised P191.965 billion through its issuance of global bonds. The Republic launched a landmark multicurrency deal including a $1.25-billion 10-year tranche, a $1-billion 25-year ESG tranche and its first-ever pound 1- billion sustainability-themed security in the Euro market.

About 68.42 percent of the government’s outstanding debt is sourced from the domestic market, while 31.6 percent has been sourced externally as of end-2025.

Majority of the government’s debt is in Philippines pesos (67.78 percent), followed by US dollars (25.81 percent), Euro (3.21 percent), Japanese Yen (2.99 percent), Chinese Yuan (0.05 percent) and other currencies (0.15 percent).

The weighted average interest rate for the entire foreign debt is 4.33 percent, while domestic debt is 5.73 percent as of end-2025, Treasury data showed.

The government follows the Medium-Term Debt Strategy (MTDS), which prioritizes domestic funding to mitigate foreign exchange risks while targeting concessional loans and US dollar-denominated debt. It also aims for a mix of at least 75 percent domestic and 25 percent external financing.

All MTDS risk indicators remain within targets, with the average time to maturity for the total debt portfolio at 7.41 years against the seven- to 10-year target as of end-2025.

Approximately 90.38 percent of the total debt is fixed-rate, while the average time to re-fixing of outstanding debt is 6.10 years due to limited issuance volume of tenors at the long end of the curve as of end-2025, Treasury data showed.

THE Philippines could regain economic growth momentum next year as the global artificial intelligence (AI) boom offers a new avenue for growth through investments in semiconductors, data centers and higher-value business services, HSBC said.

In a roundtable discussion with reporters on Tuesday, HSBC Chief Asia Economist Frederic Neumann said the country’s economic growth could rebound to 4.8 percent next year as external shocks fade, energy and food prices normalize and government spending recovers.

‘The structure of the Philippine economy remains actually quite healthy,’ Neumann said, pointing to the financial sector being in ‘good shape,’ a ‘robust’ balance of payments and manageable government debt.

HSBC sees roughly $50 billion of additional annual economic activity that businesses could potentially capture in the Philippine market, Neumann said in his presentation during HSBC’s flagship event on the same day.

Beyond cyclical economic recovery, Neumann said the global AI investment boom is an opportunity for the country to expand its role in regional supply chains.

With the Philippines already having a foothold on AI hardware supply chain, Neumann said its current presence in testing, assembly and packaging must ‘expand quite aggressively’ to claim a bigger share of the investment.

‘We already have kind of the beginning of that industry. We just need to build on that and grab some of the incremental investment. And that’s mostly a foreign direct investment story attracting this big investment,’ Neumann said.

Around $40 billion of AI-related goods are associated with the Philippines, although at a smaller scale compared to Singapore, Taiwan and Korea.

HSBC Philippines President and Chief Executive Officer Sandeep Uppal said the country’s semiconductor exports are currently worth around $20 billion, compared with roughly $100 billion for Malaysia.

‘The need of the hour is execution, not new ideas,’ Uppal said, stressing that the country needs more semiconductor manufacturing and supply chain investments.

Multinational companies are also continuing to establish global capability centers in the Philippines, increasingly focused on areas such as analytics, innovation and marketing, Uppal added.

Neumann said localized data centers would provide the digital infrastructure needed by business process outsourcing (BPO) companies and other businesses to use AI while maintaining low-latency access to computing and data.

‘We need localized data centers that help the BPO industry to remain competitive. And I think that you will see, in the next few years, a lot more data center investments in the Philippines,’ he added.

While there are energy shortages, water supply issues and land disputes, Neumann said this is not unique to the Philippines. ‘We have these problems everywhere…and there’s always a way to solve that.’

‘I wouldn’t be surprised if we see some big data center investments coming through because the industry is also looking at the Philippines, looking at the BPOs, and knows that there will be future demand for data centers,’ Neumann said.

‘As these data centers get built, workers get hired, infrastructure needs to be developed. So that drives growth,’ he added.

The Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) opened its doors to more than 15 families from Philcoa, Quezon City, a neighboring community of the Agency, who were forced to leave their homes and seek a safe place to stay amid the heavy rains and severe flooding the past few days.

DAR Administrative Service Director Mary Joyce S. Ricamora and agency personnel worked together to accommodate the affected families and provide them with a temporary evacuation area at the DAR gymnasium while floodwaters remained high.

DAR Secretary Conrado M. Estrella III, together with other DAR officials, personally checked on the families who sought temporary shelter at the DAR compound. The also provided food for the evacuees as they waited for conditions to improve and for it to become safe for them to return home.

The simple gesture reflected the spirit of bayanihan-opening one’s doors, looking after one another, and extending help to those in need, especially during difficult times.

‘We wanted to make sure that the families have food and a safe place to stay while they wait for floodwaters to subside. In times like this, we all need to help one another,’ Ricamora said.

The families sought shelter at the DAR compound amid intense rainfall that affected Metro Manila. The Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA), citing data from the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA), reported 201.7 millimeters of rain recorded in just five hours.

For DAR, the response was not only about providing a temporary place to stay. It was also about showing care for a neighboring community facing a difficult situation.

The initiative reflects the spirit of bayanihan that continues to guide DAR personnel-extending compassion beyond the agency’s mandate and being ready to lend a hand when communities need it most.

Government service is ultimately about people. And in times of crisis, sometimes service means opening the door, making room, and being there for those who need it, Estrella pointed out.

THE Bureau of Customs (BOC) is seeking to restore funding for its modernization program, critical to its anti-smuggling drive and sustaining its revenue collections, after more than 80 percent of its proposed budget was slashed.

On the sidelines of the Development Budget Coordination Committee’s briefing at the House of Representatives last Monday, Customs Commissioner Ariel F. Nepomuceno told reporters that the BOC had requested a budget of over P28 billion for next year.

The proposal covers personnel services, maintenance and other operating expenses, capital outlays and the agency’s ‘modernization budget,’ Nepomuceno said.

However, the amount reflected in the proposed 2027 National Expenditure Program (NEP) was only P5.902 billion, an 80-percent reduction in the BOC’s original proposal.

‘What was cut was the modernization component,’ Nepomuceno said, adding that the BOC will try to appeal as budget deliberations begin. ‘How can you modernize if you don’t have the necessary systems and equipment?’

Part of the BOC’s modernization plan is to acquire more scanning machines and radiation detection equipment to strengthen controls at the country’s ports, Nepomuceno said.

An additional 124 scanning machines are needed to fully address gaps in the agency’s border control capabilities, Nepomuceno said. ‘There are issues that we cannot detect radioactive materials. To do that, we need equipment,’ he added.

Aside from scanners, the Customs chief said sea vessels and other fleet assets are also needed to enable the BOC to prevent high-seas smuggling of cigarettes, fuel and drugs.

While the agency is in partnership with the Philippine Coast Guard and the Philippine National Police – Maritime Command in securing national borders, they have their own mandates and priorities, Nepomuceno noted.

The BOC is eyeing public-private partnerships (PPP) as an alternative way to finance some of its modernization projects. However, he noted that it could be difficult as importers would have to be charged for certain customs services, such as the selectivity system.

Nepomuceno said better equipment and enforcement capabilities would directly strengthen the BOC’s anti-smuggling efforts and indirectly help increase revenue collections.

‘[The modernization program] will sustain the momentum of collecting well and collecting based on forecast or projections,’ he added.

This year, the BOC is expected to hit its P1.011 trillion revenue target, which was increased from the earlier goal of P1.003 trillion.

As of end-July, the BOC has collected P587.711 billion, or 58.13 percent of the full-year target.

The BOC is projected to collect P1.074 trillion in 2027 and P1.134 trillion in 2028, based on state budget documents.

Landers Superstore, the country’s fastest-growing membership shopping destination, has officially partnered with the La Salle Green Hills Alumni Association (LSGHAA) to provide exclusive benefits to the LSGH community through a special membership promotion supported by Chinabank.

The partnership was formalized during a contract signing ceremony held at Landers Arcovia on June 10, 2026. The event was attended by officers and board members of LSGHAA, led by President Dr. Jose Luis Angel B. Orosa and Vice President for Internal Affairs Mr. Halmond Parker R. Ong, together with Mr. Kenneth Ocampo, Vice President for Marketing and Membership of Landers Superstore, Ms. Mona Batalla, Senior Membership Manager, and members of the Landers Marketing and Membership team.

Under this partnership, La Salle Green Hills alumni who present a valid LSGH Alumni Card at any Landers store and sign up for a Landers Executive Membership with a Landers Executive Visa Signature powered by Chinabank credit card application will receive their Executive Membership free of charge, courtesy of Chinabank. Approval of the Chinabank credit card is subject to the Bank’s credit evaluation and applicable terms and conditions. The initiative strengthens the collaboration among the three organizations while delivering meaningful benefits and greater value to the LSGH alumni community and their families.

Landers Executive Membership is the most rewarding membership tier, offering a 2% unlimited rebate on Landers purchases, free online delivery on orders with a minimum spend of P3,000, zero personal shopper fees, and other exclusive member-only privileges. The partnership reflects Landers Superstore’s continued commitment to fostering meaningful collaborations and creating more rewarding experiences through innovative membership programs.

With 16 stores and a growing community of more than 2 million members nationwide, Landers Superstore continues to elevate the membership shopping experience by delivering exceptional value through exclusive perks, world-class selections, and unique experiences that enable members to find what they value most.

Interested La Salle Green Hills alumni may present their valid LSGH Alumni Card and sign up for a Landers Executive Membership with a Landers Executive Visa Signature powered by Chinabank credit card application at any Landers store. This special offer is valid until August 31, 2026.

For inquiries or concerns regarding Chinabank credit card applications, clients may call Chinabank Customer Service Hotline at +632 888-55-888. Chinabank is regulated by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas.

ABS-CBN Corp. expects its current momentum to carry the company back to profitability, its top executive said, after slashing its debt by more than half, cutting overhead spending by 54 percent, and rebuilding revenues to their highest level since it lost its broadcast franchise in 2020.

‘We recognize that we are not yet where we need to be,’ ABS-CBN President and CEO Carlo Katigbak told shareholders at the company’s annual stockholders’ meeting on Wednesday. ‘We continue to believe with complete confidence that the momentum you are seeing will carry us through to profitability.’

The media conglomerate has brought down its outstanding debt to just under P8.5 billion from P20.5 billion in 2019, excluding Sky Cable Corp.-a 58-percent reduction achieved largely through asset sales, Katigbak said.

The company has also fundamentally restructured its cost base. General and administrative expenses and manpower costs, excluding Sky, fell to a combined P6.9 billion in 2025 from P15 billion in 2019, before the franchise loss.

Revenues excluding Sky reached P12.6 billion last year, the highest since the shutdown of its free-to-air operations. This compares with P9.3 billion in 2021, the first full year without a franchise, though still well below the P33.2 billion it generated in 2019.

Recurring net loss excluding Sky, before one-time gains and losses, narrowed to P2.5 billion in 2025 from P8.3 billion in 2020, with losses shrinking every year since.

‘This is a new ABS-CBN that we are building, faithful to our mission of public service, but adapting to a different time and circumstance,’ Katigbak said. ‘We no longer depend on owning platforms to reach audiences, instead building partnerships that would have once seemed impossible.’

Among these is the company’s collaboration with longtime rival GMA Network Inc. on ‘Pinoy Big Brother,’ as well as content deals with Amazon Prime, where its mini-series ‘The Silent Noise’ won Best Asian Content at the Global OTT Awards 2026, and Netflix, where ‘Sosyal Climbers’ topped the Philippine charts and cracked the platform’s global top 10 for non-English films.

The company’s P-pop group BINI has logged 2 billion streams and became the first all-Filipino group to perform at Coachella. The group was also tapped by Dreamworks Animation and Universal Pictures to perform the soundtrack for the film ‘Forgotten Island.’

Star Cinema produced the three highest-grossing Filipino films of 2025, with a combined box office of P900 million, while the company’s YouTube channel has grown to over 55 million subscribers, the largest entertainment channel in Southeast Asia.

Katigbak said the company’s survival is a test of its public service mission.

‘It is a chance to decide whether ‘In the Service of the Filipino’ was just a compelling slogan that served us well in good times, or if it is the genuine reason for our existence, proven because we embraced it in impossible times.’

On a consolidated basis with Sky, ABS-CBN posted revenues of P15.8 billion in 2025, down 9 percent from P17.3 billion, as the cable TV and broadband segment continued to lose subscribers. Consolidated net loss narrowed 23 percent to P4.7 billion from P6.1 billion the prior year.

Health gets P1.06 trillion, which would push our health spending up to 3.19 percent of GDP from 2.68 percent this year. This means more money for hospitals, medicine and health services.

Infrastructure, under the government’s Build Better More Program, gets P1.467 trillion-or 4.4 percent of GDP and P178 billion more than this year-to build more roads, bridges, railways and water systems.

Based on DBM breakdown, education (DepEd) gets the largest share at P976 billion, or 13.55 percent of the total budget. Public works (DPWH) gets P644 billion for roads and bridges.

Health, specialty hospitals and PhilHealth combined get P353.8 billion. Local government and public safety (DILG) gets P332.5 billion. National defense gets P328.8 billion, including military modernization. And transportation (DOTr) gets P302.2 billion for railways and public transit.

The DBM says it expects Congress to scrutinize the budget carefully, and I agree that’s how it should be-every peso needs to go where it will actually help people.

On the ground, I’m encouraged that the DBM already started releasing funds for 2026 infrastructure projects to the DPWH toward the end of June. The DPWH began awarding contracts in June and July. Secretary Balisacan said he expects public construction spending to pick up in the third quarter and keep building momentum after that.

To hit the government’s full-year growth target of 3.5 to 4.5 percent, our economy should grow at least 4.4 percent in the second half of the year, based on DEPDEv’s calculations. Indeed, this will be tough, but the target is still within reach if we work together. Specifically, we should speed up high-priority infrastructure projects, with immediate economic impact.

Our growth engine needs a restart. Agriculture, manufacturing and exports are already pulling their weight. To keep the rest of the economy moving, we need to release the budget on time, get contractors moving and clear the way for economic activities and opportunities.

I think we have a real shot at hitting our second-half growth target. It requires higher investments from the government and the private sector and the cooperation of everyone.

WITH the Philippines strengthening its food safety system, Poland is training the spotlight on the European Union’s production standards in its poultry sector to expand bilateral trade.

The National Poultry Council-Chamber of Commerce (KRD-IG) organized a study mission to Poland for representatives of the Philippine food industry last June as part of the ‘European Poultry-From Our Farms to Your Tables’ campaign, co-funded by the EU.

This, after the Philippine government signed into law the Animal Industry Development and Competitiveness Act in 2025, which the KRD-IG said reflected the growing importance of food safety and supply chain transparency in international trade.

‘The Philippines is one of the most promising markets outside the EU for the Polish poultry industry,’ KRD-IG President Dariusz Goszczynski said.

‘We are pleased with the strong interest in the European production and food safety standards presented during the mission. We believe direct meetings with Philippine industry representatives will support further growth in trade,’ he added.

As such, the study mission to Poland focused on food safety, product traceability, and veterinary supervision in the European poultry sector.

The delegation learned about the European poultry production system and veterinary supervision rules at the Polish Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

Experts also discussed risk-based controls, export certification, and systems designed to ensure traceability across the supply chain.

Furthermore, the study mission included production-site visits, which helped show how European quality and food safety standards work in practice.

Delegates also explored quality control and traceability systems and discussed opportunities to expand trade between the EU, including Poland, and the Philippines.

Meanwhile, Goszczynski said the group is working to scale down further the county-level regionalization scheme for bird flu to the municipal level to enable more efficient trade in poultry products.

‘We are also working to establish regionalization within the smallest possible area accepted by the Philippine authorities, which will be another important step towards expanding Polish poultry exports,’ Goszczynski said.

After receiving a system accreditation from the Department of Agriculture (DA) in 2023, Poland has also secured a regionalization agreement with the Philippines for poultry.

According to KRD-IG, the Philippines is becoming an ‘increasingly important market’ for the European poultry sector.

Citing DG AGRI’s European Commission data, the group said Philippine imports of poultry meat from the EU reached 67,296 metric tons (MT) in 2025, compared with 3,486 MT two years earlier.

Poland is the third-largest supplier of chicken meat, particularly mechanically deboned meat (MDM) shipments, to the Philippines.

The National Electrification Administration (NEA) has recognized the Zamboanga City Electric Cooperative (ZAMCELCO) for reducing system losses from over 20 percent to roughly 13 percent between January to July this year.

According to NEA Administrator Antonio Mariano Almeda, ZAMCELCO implemented measures to reduce or eliminate non-technical system losses.

‘I am glad to restate that the measures taken show great promise,’ Almeda said. ‘Our experience in ZAMCELCO and other ECs [electric cooperatives] now serves as the foundation for developing an institutionalized program to support and implement the envisioned system loss law, should this mandate the prohibition of system loss from pilferages to be passed on to the consumers,’ he added.

Through a P400-million investment from Crown Investment Holdings Inc. (CIHI) targeting infrastructure upgrades and anti-pilferage measures, ZAMCELCO serves as a model for impending regulations on passing system losses to consumers.

‘ZAMCELCO was hopeless before; its system loss was at 20 percent to 23 percent,’ Almeda said. ‘All we did was look for those who didn’t have meters. I told the investment manager to infuse capital, jack up their collection and reduce system loss.’

ZAMCELCO holds a 25-year investment contract awarded in 2018 to CIHI. Beginning November of 2025, the investment managers spent close to P400 million to reduce system loss, purchasing 45,000 meters and building anti-pilferage structures such as elevated meter clusters.

ZAMCELCO also actively pursued criminal convictions, coordinating with law enforcement agencies like the National Bureau of Investigation in Zamboanga City to prosecute power thieves.

To sustain such developments, Almeda encouraged ECs to utilize the reinvestment fund for sustainable capital expenditures to finance debt service tied to expanding and upgrading power systems under Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC)-approved capital expenditure plans.

Meanwhile, Almeda said electric cooperatives are considering a phased approach with state support to address technical system loss tied to rural electrification.

‘There is a direct correlation between line extensions and implementing sitio electrification,’ Almeda said. ‘The longer the line you extend, the bigger the technical system loss incurred.’