Filipinos in South Korea

Sweet Spot! Philippine Properties so Affordable now: OFW Chance to Invest

Luxurious houses in the Philippines 

Philippines interest rates have room to fall, keeping stocks and bonds buoyant and making property investment affordable especially for first-time homebuyers, investment experts said on Friday (July 20, 2012).

In a press briefing at the opening of the Money Summit, BPI Family president Teodoro Limcaoco said the Philippines was "nearing the sweet spot" in terms of macroeconomic fundamentals, suggesting that financial literacy was, thus, an imperative for people to achieve their financial goals in this favorable environment for investing.

For 80 percent of Filipinos who have assets, Limcaoco said, bulk of their asset base was in the form of their homes. As such, he urged young people to begin planning early and save money for home acquisition.

"We're optimistic about the property market," Limcaoco said, noting the large backlog of unmet demand as sectors like tourism and business process outsourcing boost people's disposable income. The low-interest rate environment and the "unparalleled" competition among developers, he added, were likewise keeping the property market buoyant.

Rex Mendoza, president of Philippine American Life and General Insurance Co., said prior to the Asian currency crisis of 1997, there were many investors buying property assets with the hope of re-selling them at a profit. But when interest rates shot up, there were no buyers for the properties, he said.

"Today, if you're gonna see where the boom is coming from, it's from the 1-million to 2-million (per residential unit) price range," Mendoza said, noting this was very affordable especially for households with double income or those led by couples who were both earning.

Mendoza said he would be cautious on the pricing on the higher-end of the property segment.

"We expect interest rates to go down further and will probably stay low for a reasonable period. That said, the bond market will continue to do well because there's some opportunity in capital gains, maybe give 4-6 percent [return] per annum," said BPI senior vice president and head of asset management and trust group Maria Theresa Marcial-Javier.

Under this environment, Javier said prospects remained good for the stock market even if price to earnings (PE) multiples seemed "a little bit on the expensive" side. She noted that the market was now trading at 16 times PE ratio based on 2012 earnings forecasts and a likely growth in average earnings per share of 10-12 percent.

A PE ratio of 16 means that investors are, on a per share basis, paying 16 times the amount of money that the companies will likely make for that year.

"There might be some correction historically. There's this seasonal [market] decline in the 'ghost month' of August but we see a strong support at the 5,000 level," Javier said, referring to the traditional Chinese Hungry Ghosts festival next month.

"We expect this to stay at above 5,000. The downside is minimal so to those investing in stocks expect higher volatility. Be brepared to take on more risk," she said.

Limcaoco said one big overhang for the markets would be the situation in Europe, which a number of debt-strapped states are still grappling with.

"There's worry that this will cause risk aversion," he said.

Cebu Properties

Customs seizes ₱42.5 million worth of rice from Vietnam‏

 

Customs Commissioner Ruffy Biazon inspects the ₱42.5 million worth of smuggled rice from Vietnam seized at Subic Bay Freeport yesterday. EDD GUMBAN . Photo by PhilSTAR

The Bureau of Customs (BoC) seized 42.5 million worth of smuggled rice from Vietnam, the biggest haul of illegal agricultural product importation seized by the BOC  under the Aquino administration.

BOC Commissioner Rufino Biazon said the 90 units of 40-footer container vans arrived at the Port of Subic (POS) and were misdeclared as construction materials and gypsum boards.

"This is a large scale attempt to smuggle rice into the country by misdeclaring the illegal shipment. We will vigorously pursue charges against those involved in this attempt," he said.

The shipments arrived in two batches, the first 50 was last June 13, 2012 while the remaining 40 units came in last June 20.

Biazon said they are thinking of turning the seized items to the National Food Authority (NFA) or sell it through auction as additional revenue for the bureau.

However, the shipment would be subjected to tests by the Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) to ensure that it is fit for human consumption before they are disposed off.

The Food and Drug Administration will check the rice to ensure that they are not contaminated with chemicals before they are disposed of.

The shipments were allegedly consigned to Masagana Import Export, Inc., of 2161 P. Paterno St., De La Paz, Binan, Laguna and Oriental Tradelink Express, Inc. of the Subic Bay Freeport Zone.

A background check will be conducted on the said firms.

The seizure was a joint operation of the Office of the Commissioner's Revenue Enhancements for the Attainment of Collection Targets (REACT) Task Force, Enforcement Group (EG) and the POS District Collector's Office.

₱6.5 Billion Funding linking Roads to Las Vegas, Manila Philippines

Pagcor City is Asia's Las Vegas-like gaming and entertainment complex that PAGCOR proposed to offer on 8 km² of land on the reclamation area of Manila Bay, Philippines. It lies the western side of Roxas Boulevard and south of SM Corporate District (SM Mall of Asia), part of Parañaque City. Investments to the project can reach up to $15 billion US Dollar, which is scaled down from the more recent $20 billion US Dollar budget.

The four companies granted licenses to build, own and operate integrated resorts at the government's Entertainment City are pouring in up to 6.5 billion to fund an elevated road project that would link the airport to the 100-hectare Las Vegas-style casino complex.

This was disclosed by Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (Pagcor) chairman and chief executive officer Cristino Naguiat Jr.

In an interview with The STAR, Naguiat said the amount would be split among the four investor-groups but to be coursed through Pagcor as the proponent of the Entertainment City.

"Best chance is by next week, we (Pagcor) and the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) will sign an agreement for the (road project)," Naguiat said.

DPWH is the proponent of the 15.86-billion Ninoy Aquino International Airport Expressway Project, which is among the government's infrastructure projects lined up under its Public-Private Partnership (PPP) program.

Naguiat said that under the agreement to be signed with the DPWH, Pagcor, through the four licensees of Entertainment City, would bankroll part of the cost of building the road.

The toll operator would then pay Pagcor after 10 years.

"It will be a soft loan to be paid after 10 years with almost no interest," Naguiat said.

The four licensees are: 

  • Andrew Tan's Alliance Global 
  • Enrique Razon's Bloomberry Resorts 
  • Japanese tycoon Kazuo Okada 
  • Taipan Henry Sy's Belle Corporation.

According to data from the DPWH, the NAIA Expressway project involves the maintenance and improvement of the existing NAIA Expressway Phase I road and the construction of Phase 2 of the NAIA Expressway, which is expected to decongest traffic between the different airport terminals.

"The alignment for Phase 2 involves the construction of a 4.83-kilometer road from the NAIA Expressway Phase 1 following the existing road alignment over Sales Avenue, Andrews Avenue, Domestic Road and NAIA Road, and ends with entry andexit ramps at the Roxas Boulevard and Manila Cavite Toll Expressway, the Diosdado Macapagal Boulevard and Pagcor's Entertainment City," the government's PPP Center said in a separate statement.

The total length of the NAIA Express way is 9.37 kilometers and is expected to ease traffic going to and from the Manila International Airport at the NAIA complex.

Furthermore, it will also provide direct links to passenger terminals 1 and 2, including the International Cargo Terminal.

PhilSTAR

Investment Recommendation: Bitcoin Investments

Live trading with Bitcoin through SimpleFX Trading platform would allow you to grow your $100 to $1,000 Dollars or more in just a day. Just learn how to trade and enjoy the windfall of profits. Take note, Bitcoin is more expensive than Gold now.


Where to buy Bitcoins?

For Philippine customers: You could buy Bitcoin Online at Coins.ph
For outside the Philippines customers  may buy Bitcoins online at Coinbase.com