State-owned Land Bank of the Philippines (LandBank) said its loans to agriculture and rural development recorded double-digit growth in 2023. In a statement Monday, LandBank said outstanding loans to the entire agricultural value chain amounted to P755.1 billion as of end-December 2023, higher by 23% than the P614.8 billion recorded in the third quarter. The amount accounts for about…
MANILA – The Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) is pioneering the country’s consumer loan for “green” purchases. The bank launched on Monday the BPI Green Solutions providing solar mortgage, eco-build financing and electric vehicle (EV) financing. In line with the Marcos administration’s commitment to the Paris Agreement to pursue initiatives on clean energy and promote sustainability across…
MANILA – The Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPOPHL) will be providing patent services to Brunei Darussalam IP Office (BruIPO), processing a maximum of 200 applications a year over the next five years. In a statement Monday, IPOPHL director general Rowel Barba said the BruIPO is outsourcing patent services following the memorandum of understanding (MOU) signed in…
The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) hopes for the enactment of the proposed Anti-Financial Account Scamming Act or AFASA bill, which will allow it to examine financial accounts involved in prohibited acts. Elmore Capule, BSP senior assistant governor and general counsel of the office of the general counsel and legal services, said in a recent media information session Senator Mark Villar has expressed optimism…
SUBIC BAY FREEPORT – Businessman Eduardo Aliño officially has assumed post as Chairman and Administrator of the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA). In his first press conference as SBMA chief, Aliño noted the vast potential of Subic should be given priority for development. “We have so many potentials here in Subic and we may put up more hotels, more infra projects to attract more investors,” he said, adding his management…
Department of Finance Secretary Ralph Recto has assured United States officials of the Philippines’ strong commitment to roll out a welcoming “red carpet” to potential investors in the country as directed by President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. In a statement, the Finance department said Recto recently met with US officials led by Treasury Department Deputy Assistant Secretary for…
The country’s unemployment rate dipped to its lowest level in November last year, while employment reached its highest since April 2005, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported Tuesday. At a briefing, National Statistician Dennis Mapa said results of the PSA’s latest Labor Force Survey (LFS) showed that unemployment rate further dipped to 3.6% during the month, down from the 4.2% recorded…
The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) which is responsible for generating jobs in the country, has vowed to continue attracting investments that produce higher-quality and higher-paying jobs. During the Bagong Pilipinas briefing Tuesday, DTI Undersecretary Kim Bernardo-Lokin said state investment promotion agencies (IPAs) are strengthening their investment strategies while improving the ease of doing business in the country to lure…
The Department of Trade and Insustry (DTI) said some P22 billion worth of projects sealed during the foreign visits of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. this year are already operational. DTI Undersecretary Ceferino Rodolfo said at the recent Bagong Pilipinas briefing the projects are part of the P4.019-trillion investment pledges bagged by the Chief Executive during his…
The Board of Investments (BOI) has started collaborating with AgriSpecialist, Inc. (ASI) for the commercialization and promotion of locally-developed bio-fertilizer products. In a statement Friday, the BOI highlighted the BIO-N bio-fertilizer developed by the University of the Philippines Los Baños-National Institute of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, which is being produced by ASI in its facility…
