Sunday, April 28, 2013
U.S Pacific Command
'via Blog this'CROW VALLEY, Philippines (Apr. 9, 2013) - North Carolina-based Marines and Armed Forces of the Philippines Marines assemble a .50-Cal Browning heavy machine gun during live-fire training. The live-fire training is part of Exercise Balikatan 2013, an annual bilateral exercise in its 29th iteration, which provides a venue for Armed Forces of the Philippines and U.S. military forces to develop and continue to enhance interoperability across a wide range of military actions. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Courtney G. White)
Wednesday, April 24, 2013
Koreans keen on investing in PH, says diplomat
'via Blog this'Koreans keen on investing in PH, says diplomat
“We think that recently, the leadership has been very successful in building the economy, especially through PPP and infrastructure. Also, the fight against corruption is very effective,” Min told the Philippine Daily Inquirer.
“I think it has opened for great potential for closer and deeper cooperation, especially in the economic field, because Korean companies are very much interested in investing in the Philippines, because there are many good elements, favorable elements for investing,” said Min.
“The human resources are fantastic. I think also there are many projects that can be done here, especially in infrastructure. There is still a need to build many bridges, roads, railroads, the telecommunications systems,” Min added.
There remain concerns, however, including high electricity costs and limits to foreign ownership of businesses here.
“Still, we have some expectations especially about the investment climate and the legal environment. If you have a better environment, then it will really stimulate foreign investment,” said Min.
There are some 1,000 Korean firms in the Philippines, said Min, the biggest being Hanjin Shipping with a $2 billion investment in the country.
Total trade between South Korea and the Philippines was estimated at $11.5 billion in 2012, an increase from the 2011 total of $10 billion.
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-CAAP expects EU to lift ban on Philippine air carriers this year-
'via Blog this'MANILA - The Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) on Wednesday said it expects the European Union (EU) ban to be lifted within the year after a "positive" meeting in Brussels last week.
"We are looking forward in getting lifting (EU ban) within the year," William Hotchkiss 3rd, CAAP director general, said, adding that the meeting was "positive."
EU Commission Directorate General for Mobility and Transport (DG MOVE) head director Matthew Baldwin invited CAAP to a meeting in Belgium on April 16.
During the meeting, CAAP presented its mandate as well as developments in the past five years in the Philippine aviation sector.
Hotchkiss said the EU noted improvements in CAAP with regard international safety standards.
He said the EU also accepted its invitation for an on-site visit to Manila on June 3 to re-validate what CAAP presented in Brussels.
"The visit will coincide with the EU Air Safety Committee Meeting to be held on the last week of June in Brussels, Belgium," Hotchkiss said.
He said the committee is tasked to determine whether a country can be removed from the EU blacklist.
The on-site invitation came after the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) removed the Philippines from a list of member-states with unresolved significant safety concerns (SSCs).
The EU has kept the Philippines on a blacklist since 2010. These negative ratings prevent Philippine carriers from flying to European destinations and expanding in America.
Hotchkiss said John Barbagallo, manager for International Policy and Programs at the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), would also conduct a check-in visit on May 2.
He said the visit will determine if FAA will conduct another audit before the US agency decides on bringing back the Philippines to Category 1.
"We are confident that we complied. Hopefully within the year we will be upgraded," Hotchkiss said.
The Philippines has a Category 2 status, which the FAA bestows on countries that fail to comply with the ICAO Standard and Recommended Practices (SARPs) on international civil aviation safety.
Once the Category 2 status is lifted, Philippine Airlines (PAL) plans to fly to London, Paris, Rome and other parts of the US. Cebu Pacific also wants to fly to the US.
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Phl a rising star in a gloomy world
'via Blog this'MANILA, Philippines - The Philippines is a “rising star” in a gloomy world economy and could grow by as much as eight percent by 2016 if reforms in governance and business policies continue, a unit of debt watcher Moody’s Investors Service said.
Philippines economic growth could register between 6.5 percent and seven percent this year and the next, hittinggovernment targets for both years, Moody’s Analytics senior economist Glenn Levine said in a report yesterday.
“The Philippines has been among the brightest parts of a generally gloomy global picture,” Levine said.
“Some low-hanging fruit has already been picked, but if development and reform continue near their current pace, the Philippines’ potential rate of growth will rise towards eight percent by 2016,” he explained.
Projections compare with the medium-term targets of the Aquino administration: six to seven percent this year, 6.5 percent to 7.5 percent in 2014, seven to eight percent in 2015 and 7.5 percent to 8.5 percent in 2016.
“Sustainable” growth will likely occur as a result of strong government spending that is pushing up construction activities, Levine said, noting that the sector grew 14 percent last year.
The business process outsourcing industry, meanwhile, is expected to offset weakening exports, which already dropped 9.4 percent as of February as electronics shipments “receded.”
Topping it all is a low inflation environment, which allowed the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) to keep borrowing costs at their cheapest level to support lending activities and boost growth.
Inflation has “stabilized” at 3.2 percent as of the first quarter, falling at the low-end of the BSP’s three to five-percent target for the year. Consumer prices rose by an average of 3.2 percent in 2012. The overnight borrowing rate is at record-low of 3.5 percent.
But the Aquino administration’s “greatest achievement,” Levine said, was containing the budget deficit which allowed the country to bag its first-ever investment grade rating from Fitch Ratings last March.
The deficit fell to just 1.8 percent of economic output last year, and the government aims to hold it “near two percent” up to 2016. Government liabilities have also been manageable, with more local than overseas debts accumulated.
“The Philippines’ recent performance against a weak global backdrop shows that good governance is far and away the most important driver of growth in emerging markets,” Levine said.
“The crackdown on corruption and (the) encouragement of local and foreign investment, in particular, have worked well,” he added.
Policymakers should, however, treat rising domestic liabilities and asset bubbles as “mild concerns.” The bigger risk is the “complicated” taxation and business processes as well as limitation to foreign ownership.
“If the government wants to attract more foreign investment, it must ease its restrictions on foreign ownership and streamline the rules for starting businesses, paying taxes and dealing with workers,” Levine said.
http://www.philstar.com/
amazing Philippines
(36) Modern Philippines:
'via Blog this'Philippines is just amazing in many ways. Its people, culture, nature and so on. You name it..
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