Category Archives: Business and Economic News

Moody’s Reaffirms Philippines’ Investment-Grade Rating: What It Means for OFW Earnings

26 Monday Aug 2024

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Moody’s has reaffirmed the Philippines’ investment-grade credit rating at “Baa2” with a stable outlook, reflecting the country’s successful economic reforms and fiscal policies. This update, announced by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), is welcomed by BSP Governor Eli Remolona Jr., who highlighted the central bank’s focus on maintaining price stability for sustainable growth.

The Baa2 rating, just above the minimum investment grade, is a result of the Philippines’ efforts to liberalize the economy and strengthen fiscal policies. Moody’s noted that these reforms create a more business-friendly environment and attract foreign investments, supporting medium-term economic growth.

For Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs), this positive rating can have a direct impact on earnings. A stable investment-grade rating often strengthens the peso, which can increase the value of remittances when converted from dollars. With the Philippines’ economic outlook improving, OFWs might see their dollar earnings stretching further, benefiting their families back home.

In Q2 2024, the Philippines’ GDP grew by 6.3%, and FDI inflows rose 15.8% to $4.0 billion. Moody’s expects continued growth, driven by interest in key sectors. The Marcos administration’s “Build Better More” initiative aims to boost infrastructure investments, addressing the country’s infrastructure needs.

Inflation climbs to 4.9% in July (source: NSO)

05 Tuesday Aug 2014

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I just saw this news in My ColFinancial Dashboard:

Inflation climbs to 4.9% in July
The NSO reported that inflation rose to 4.9% in July, the fastest rate of inflation since November  2011. This brought year-to-date inflation to 4.3%, still within the BSP’s projected range of 3-5% for  2014. The acceleration in inflation was largely due to food and non-alcoholic beverages with prices  rising by 8.2% during the month. (source: NSO)

It only means that the value of your money decreases by almost 4.9% this month. So if you are invested in banks giving 1.5% interest, you are automatically loosing due to the inflation. The Investor’s aim is to get interest higher that inflation. So better start learning.

Invest and Do not gamble, Learn first. happy Investing

COL Financial Will Soon Offer Mutual Funds and UITF

23 Sunday Feb 2014

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investing_thumb.jpgSoon COL Financial will offer mutual funds and UITF as mentioned in the Philstar article. COL Financial who happen to be my stock broker will broaden their product to include mutual funds and UITF. This is an advantage for us OFW who like to diversify our investment through other types of investment.

It is always good to be in mutual fund if an investor cannot monitor their stocks investment.

In reported disclosures, COL Financial said it entered into agreement with the asset management arm of Ayala-led Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) and Sun Life Asset Management Co. Inc. (SLAMCI).

ColFinacial have also signed a memorandum of agreements with BPI-Asset Management and Trust Group “with respect to the participation of the company in certain funds of BPI for the benefit and account of the company’s clients.”

For the SLAMCI partnership, COL Financial said it plans to offer mutual funds to its clients. Mutual funds are also pooled funds, but are offered by insurance and other investment companies, and regulated by the Securities and Exchange Commission.

ColFinancial customers can tap in the SLAMCI mutual funds which currently manages seven mutual funds under the Sun Life Prosperity family of funds, including fixed or bond fund, equity fund, balanced fund, government securities fund, money market fund, and dollar-denominated funds.

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ADVFN acquisition of Financemanila.net for P6Million in cash and share of stocks

17 Wednesday Jul 2013

Posted by in Business and Economic News

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I just learned that FinanceManila.net has been acquired by ADVFN Plc (“ADVFN” or the “Company, for about Php 6 Million payable as PHP2.5 million in cash and PHP3.5 million inf new ADVFN shares of 1p each as reported in online.wsj.com.

“I am delighted to announce the acquisition of Finance Manila which, in my view, is the most exciting trader community in the Philippines. Financemanila.net hosts large, active investor communities, which I believe are a perfect match for ADVFN’s premium subscription and advertising offerings. We will use the Investors Hub template we have developed in the US to take the site to the next level and accelerate ADVFN’s planned expansion into the fast growing markets of Asia.” said Clem Chambers, CEO of ADVFN.

Just to give you an idea about the traffic of financemanila.net I made a comparison with sulit.com through alexa graph pageviews/user. The graph shows the margin of difference when it comes to pageviews/user. It also shows that it has almost the same pageviews/user of sulit.com.ph, which another successful pinoy website that becomes a business venture.

Compare Sulit and Finance Manila Rev 2

According to who.is, Finance Manila has been registered and become online since October 18, 2004. In just 9 years this website has attracted millions of visits per month and has a reported 2 Million Page Views per month.

Finance Manila Whois Data

So is it a good buy? Let me do some calculation as follows:

2,000,000 Pageviews x 0.05 (Ad Clicks Rate) x $0.05 (cost per click) = $ 5,000 per month x Php 43/1 $ = Php 215,000 per month

So based on my calculation ADVFN can have its ROI for its cash payment in just a matter of 1 year, as long as the financemanila.net will hold its visitors or even increase its visitor. It is a good decision from ADVFN since  lots of Filipino are now starting to learn about Financial Literacy. This is story is another success stories of the those netrepreneur that started earlier than most of us.

Congrats to FinanceManila.net and to ADVFN partnership.

Attend Free and Paid Seminars at Money Summit and Wealth Expo 2013

08 Monday Jul 2013

Posted by in Business and Economic News

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It is always recommended that before we invest in stocks, mutual funds, and other investment portfolio, it is always right to invest first in ourself. It is either by reading books or attending different seminars that could expand your knowledge about our chosen subject. It is good to report that there will be a Free and Paid Seminar from July 12-13, 2013 at the SMX Convention Center, Pasay City from 9:00 AM until 5:00 PM. Below are the details of the seminar. Thanks to Fitz for this details:

MSWE2013-header-women

Money Summit & Wealth Expo 2013 Details

This event will happen on July 12-13, 2013 at the SMX Convention Center, Pasay City from 9:00 AM until 5:00 PM. That’s two whole days, Friday and Saturday, of learning which you should not miss.

The summit is actually composed of 2 events happening at the same time. There’s the Expo and there’s the Conference.

EXPO (Free Financial Seminar)

There will be Expo talks where various Registered Financial Planners will be speaking about basic personal finance and investments. Some of the topics include financial planning, risk management, estate planning, stocks, bonds, VUL’s and real estate.

Below are the Expo topics and speakers:

Day 1

  • Financial Planning 101 with Jesi John Bondoc, RFP®
  • Risk Management 101 with Allain Aquino, RFP®
  • Education Planning 101 with Jeremy Jessley Tan, RFP®
  • Estate Planning 101 with Christopher Cervantes, RFP®
  • Investing 101 with Paul Michael de Jesus, RFP®
  • Day 2
  • Stocks 101 with Ramir Libre, RFP®
  • Bonds 101 with Jesi John Louie Areopagita, RFP®
  • Building Your Investment Portfolio with Malaya Laraya, RFP®
  • Pooled Funds 101 with Lawrence Yu, RFP®
  • VULs 101 with Jake Lingan, RFP®
  • Forex 101 with King San Jose, RFP®
  • Real Estate 101 with Christopher Lim, RFP®

CONFERENCE (Paid Advanced Financial Seminar)

The main event of the summit is the conference where various topics on financial and property markets will be discussed. This is where all the advanced learning will happen.

Below are the Conference topics and speakers:

Day 1

  • Investing Beyond Market Cycles: Mario Miranda, Bank of the Philippine Islands
  • Building Your Wealth Through Stocks: April Lee Tan, COL Financial
  • Women & Investing, a panel to be facilitated by Salve Duplito, with:
  • Miriam Quiambao, Managing Director, 3Win Realty & Development Corp.
  • Leila Hernandez, Author, The 9 to 5 Millionaire
  • April Alemania-Dayrit, Real Estate Investor

Day 2

The second day of the conference will be composed of break-out sessions where you will learn advanced and detailed strategies on investing and trading.

Stock Market Track

  • Pick the Right Stocks: Introduction to Fundamental Analysis: Malaya Laraya, Certified Securities Representative and Founder, Pesos and Sense
  • Selling Your Stock: Knowing When to Walk Away, Knowing When to Run: John Mangun, Analyst and Columnist
  • Profiting from Triangles and Breakouts: Ron Acoba, Chief Technical Strategist, Trading Edge Consultancy
  • Experienced Stock Trading: How Not To Be Deceived By Company Disclosures and Financial Statements: Prof. Benjie Sandoval, BPI Securities
  • The Death of Day Trading: Mac Murray, Emerging Markets Specialist
  • Forex Market Track
  • Real Estate Market Track
  • Getting Started in Forex Trading: Fitz Villafuerte, Founder, Ready to be Rich
  • How To Trade Forex For A Living: Trade Secrets Of A Full Time Trader: Mark So, Chief Forex Trader and Founder, Forex Club Asia
  • Advanced Price Action Strategies: Paul Familiaran, FXCM Account Manager
  • Algorithmic Trading: Admiral Markets
  • Tips for First-Time Homebuyers and Investors – Jay and Cherry Castillo, Founders, ForeclosurePhilippines.com
  • Do’s and Don’ts of Investing in Rental Properties: Carl Dy, Real Estate Investor
  • Investing in Office Condos: Melo Porciuncula, Head of Capital Markets, KMC MAG Group
  • How to Fix and Flip Foreclosed Properties: Noli Alleje, Managing Director, The Property Forum

Attendance Fee?

  • EXPO: totally free!
  • CONFERENCE:
  • Standard Pass: P2,495.00 – access to Day 1 only
  • VIP Pass: P5,995.00 – access to Day 1 and Day 2

I believe that the mentioned seminar is really a great investment for somebody who wants to learn Financial Literacy.

Register Here

AXA and Metrobank Card launch MSwipe

01 Wednesday May 2013

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Today, AXA Philippines and Metrobank  launches MSwipe, the country’s first mobile insurance payment system. MSwipe allows AXA customers to make real-time credit card payment transactions using mobile devices such as smartphones or tablet devices, giving them an innovative, convenient and secure means of paying their life insurance premiums anytime, anywhere according to a report made by GMA Network.

mswipe

Photo Credit: AXA Philippines

This new innovation called, MSwipe will enable AXA financial advisors to use their registered smartphones and tablets to receive credit card payments for their customers’ premiums.

A good news for AXA customers since they will not need to carry cash or checkbooks in paying. But credit card users, needs to make sure that they will have to pay their credit card payment on time or else, this system will make them into debt if not handled properly.

It always good to have a new technology but users need to be aware on how to use it properly.

Philippines Now Investment Grade, Given by Fitch Rating

27 Wednesday Mar 2013

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PSEIAll who are in Financial sector as well as investor is now rejoicing after Fitch Rating upgraded Philippines to Investment Grade. The immediate effect is that blue chips stocks rose before the closing time of today’s stock market.

27 March 2013: Fitch Ratings upgraded the Philippines’ Long-Term Foreign-Currency Issuer Default Rating (IDR) to ‘BBB-‘ from ‘BB+’. The Long-Term Local-Currency IDR has been upgraded to ‘BBB’ from ‘BBB-‘. The Outlooks on both ratings are Stable. The agency has also upgraded the Country Ceiling to ‘BBB‘ from ‘BBB-‘ and the Short-Term Foreign-Currency IDR to ‘F3’ from ‘B’.

After the red week, Philippine stock market bounce with a 5 day green (positive) day.

According to Fitch Rating, here are their assumptions :

The agency assumes the Aquino administration will persist with its fiscal, governance and social reform agenda.

Fitch estimates trend GDP growth for the Philippines in a range of 5%-5.5%.

The ratings incorporate an assumption that the Philippines is not hit by a severe economic or financial shock sufficient to cause a significant contraction in GDP and trigger stress in the financial system. Fitch assumes that there is no materialisation of severe risks to global financial stability that could impact emerging market economies, such as a breakup of the euro zone or a severe economic crisis in China.

And the following items should be taken care by Philippine government since this could lead to a negative rating:

The main factors that could lead to a negative rating action, individually or collectively, are:
-A reversal of reform measures and deterioration in governance standards.
-Sustained fiscal slippage, leading to a higher fiscal debt burden.
-Deterioration in monetary policy management that allows the economy to overheat.
-Instability in the banking sector, leading to a crystallisation of contingent liabilities on the sovereign balance sheet.

As long as the above assumption will be maintained by Philippines, we will be seing a good economic growth of the Philippines. Again I believe that it’s time to invest. Filipinos should start being financially literate.