APEVC Singapore Investors Supports Philippines' Duterte War on Drug: Improved law and order will be positive

Asia Private Equity-Venture Capital Summit: Singapore, Sept 30, 2016. Photo: ASIA LAW PORTAL

Mark Mobius still likes Philippine investments despite extrajudicial murders

·         Mark Mobius : on War on Drugs and Killing of Drug addicts and pushers "at the end of the day, I think the impact of the improved law and order will be positive."

·         "I think the drop in the peso may have been connected to the slowdown in remittances because with the economic situation in the Middle East and in Europe, the U.S., remittances have not been as high as they were," Mobius said.

Despite growing concerns over the extrajudicial murders in the Philippines, the country will likely emerge as an improved investment destination, Mark Mobius said on Friday.

"Of course, it's a tragedy that anybody gets killed, but in the context of what's happened in the Philippines in the past and the commitment to law and order, I'm not too worried about it," the storied emerging markets investment cheerleader said on the sidelines of the Asia Private Equity and Venture Capital Summit in Singapore.

Mobius, who joined Franklin Templeton in 1987 to lead the Templeton Emerging Markets Fund, is currently the executive chairman at Templeton Emerging Markets Group.

The new Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte's "law-and-order" agenda has been blamed for a surge in extra-judicial killings. More than 3,800 people have been killed in Duterte's crackdown on drugs since the June 30 inauguration, Reuters reported last week.

The parliament has also been told of murders allegedly ordered by the Philippine president during his tenure as mayor of Davao city. Duterte has denied the allegations, but has also made comments indicating he condoned both those murders and ones since he took the country's top office.

In remarks that Mobius was likely unaware of, Duterte on Friday likened himself to Nazi leader Adolf Hitler in a complimentary manner and said he would "be happy to slaughter" three million drug users and peddlers in his country, Reuters reported. Mobius didn't immediately respond to an emailed request for comment on whether the remarks change his views.

But Mobius was unconcerned about the investment climate in the country.

"The concern about the illicit killings is a minor issue. The big issue is how they implement true law and order and the degree to which Duterte is able to do that," Mobius said in his remarks at the conference.

Mobius did cite some concerns about how Duterte's "brash" remarks may affect foreign perceptions of the country.

The firebrand Duterte, who's style has often been compared with U.S. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, has sparked concerns in markets due to his erratic outbursts, which have included threatening China with a "bloody" confrontation over disputes in the South China Sea.

Earlier this month, Barack Obama cancelled a meeting with Duterte after Duterte used a derogatory term to describe the U.S. president.

"Of course [Duterte's behaviour] affects foreign relations. It affects foreign investors because they get concerned and you have the corporate governance concerns and so forth," Mobius said. "But at the end of the day, I think the impact of the improved law and order will be positive."

Mobius also didn't believe the Philippine currency's swoon since Obama cancelled his meeting with Duterte was entirely due to concerns about the president's temperament.

The U.S. dollar was fetching as much as ‎₱48.48 Philippine pesos on Friday around midday Asia time, , the highest for the pair since the depths of the global financial crisis in 2009, compared with around ₱46.40 pesos before the cancelled meeting.

"I think the drop in the peso may have been connected to the slowdown in remittances because with the economic situation in the Middle East and in Europe, the U.S., remittances have not been as high as they were," Mobius said.

Scene of the Crime Operatives (SOCO) work at the scene where two suspects were shot dead following an encounter and shootout with police at a checkpoint along a highway in Manila on August 28, 2016. Photo: Noel Celis | AFP | Getty Images

Earlier this month, Philippine media reported that in July, overseas Filipinos sent 5.4 percent less cash home than in the year-earlier month, but there's still been a 3 percent on-year rise for the first seven months of the year.

But apart from the immediate political situation, Mobius also pointed to a broader, longer-term transformation in the Philippines, led by its overseas workers

"The diaspora around the world, living in the Middle East, living all over the place…is not only sending back money, they're sending back know-how and technology," he said.

Many of those workers were returning to the country and taking up business leadership roles, he said. - CNBC

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Kaspersky Lab reveals how criminals could exploit biometric ATM authentication

Researchers at Kaspersky Lab have investigated how cybercriminals could exploit new biometric ATM authentication technologies to steal the fingerprint data of banking customers.

While many financial organizations consider these emerging biometric-based ATM solutions to improve security over current authentication methods, cybercriminals can potentially use biometrics to steal sensitive information.

In its investigation into these underground cybercrime practices, Kaspersky Lab researchers found that there are already at least 12 sellers offering skimmers capable of stealing victims’ fingerprints.

At least three of these underground sellers are currently researching devices that could illegally obtain data from palm vein and iris recognition systems.

The first wave of biometric skimmers was observed in “presale testing” in September 2015, in which the developers of these skimmers discovered several bugs.

Developers found that the main issue related to the use of GSM modules for biometric data transfer, which were too slow to transfer the large volume of data obtained.

As a result, new versions of the biometric skimmers will use different, faster data transfer technologies.

“The problem with biometrics is that unlike passwords or pin codes, which can be easily modified in the event of compromise, it is impossible to change your fingerprint or iris image,” said Olga Kochetova, security expert, Kaspersky Lab. “Thus, if your data is compromised once, it won’t be safe to use that authentication method again.

“That is why it is extremely important to keep such data secure and transmit it in a secure way. Biometric data is also recorded in modern passports – called e-passports – and visas. So, if an attacker steals an e-passport, they don’t just possess the document, but also that person’s biometric data. They have stolen a person’s identity.”

There have also been ongoing discussions in underground communities regarding the development of mobile applications in which attackers exploit the victim’s photo posted on social media and use it to dupe a facial recognition system.

In addition to these biometric ATM theft tools, Kaspersky Lab researchers reveal that hackers will continue to perform malware-based attacks, blackbox attacks and network attacks to compromise data that can later be used to steal money from banks and its customers.

Securelist.com offers a full threat overview report regarding upcoming cyberthreats to cash machines and safety tactics that can be deployed to protect banks from these threats.

Additionally, there are a number of videos demonstrating the various attack vectors against ATMs.

Previously reported, WISeKey International Holding Ltd released WISeID 6, an updated edition of its personal data and identity protection application that is now integrated with BlockChain technology. – Biometric Update

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Philippine Growth Forecast 2016 is RAISE by International Monetary Fund, ADB

ADB, IMF raise PH growth forecasts for 2016

MANILA — Despite the “political noise” just a few months into the Duterte administration, multilateral lenders Asian Development Bank and International Monetary Fund raised their respective 2016 growth forecasts for the Philippines on the back of solid economic fundamentals.

Following the conclusion of its executive board’s Article IV consultation with the Philippines, the IMF said in a Sept. 26 statement that the “outlook for the Philippine economy remains favorable despite external headwinds,” such that it raised to 6.4 percent from 6 percent previously its growth projection for 2016.

The Duterte administration targets a “conservative” 6-7 percent gross domestic product (GDP) growth this year following a 6.9-percent expansion in the first half.

“Risks to the outlook are tilted to the downside. The Philippine authorities are well equipped to respond as needed with suitable policies should any risks materialize, particularly given the strong fundamentals and ample policy space,” according to the IMF.

Manila-based ADB also raised it growth forecast for the Philippines to 6.4 percent from 6 percent in the earlier Asian Development Outlook 2016, an updated version of the report released Tuesday showed.

According to Richard Bolt, ADB country director for the Philippines, the rosy growth projection was on the back of robust, broad-based domestic demand, the solid foundation provided by favorable macroeconomic fundamentals, as well as plans of the Duterte administration to ramp up infrastructure spending.

Asked during a press conference if concerns on President Rodrigo R. Duterte’s controversial statements against leaders of top trading partners such as the US and the EU as well as the “war” being waged by the administration against illegal drugs allegedly causing extrajudicial killings were not seen diminishing investor appetite, Bolt replied: “So far, we are not seeing number [showing slowing investments]. We should separate what is perceived political performance versus the economic prospects to growth. Our growth projection is still good.”

Bolt said particularly encouraging about the Duterte administration has been its “very solid” 10-point socioeconomic agenda aimed at slashing poverty to 17 percent by 2022 from 26 percent at present.

While the jobless and poverty rates have remained high, Bolt said the new government has started addressing these challenges, and has gone “on the right track” given its higher infrastructure spending tack, plans to ease foreign investment restrictions, and moves to further cut red tape and improve the ease in doing business.

It also helped that the Dutrte administration had committed to continue the effective macroeconomic policies of previous administrations, he said.

For Bolt, advancing the reform agenda will be vital to lessen risks to the Philippines’ growth outlook, which is already being impacted by weaker than expected economic growth in its top trading partners.

“Risks to the outlook are tilted to the downside. The Philippine authorities are well equipped to respond as needed with suitable policies should any risks materialize, particularly given the strong fundamentals and ample policy space,” Bolt said in a statement.

The IMF, meanwhile, said its executive directors “commended” Philippine authorities “for their continued strong macroeconomic management, with robust growth and low inflation.”

But just like the ADB, the IMF also noted that “the favorable macroeconomic performance has not led to corresponding improvements in poverty reduction, inequality and unemployment.”

“[The IMF’s directors] considered that the new administration has an opportunity to put the economy on a higher and more equitable growth path. [They] encouraged efforts to increase investments in infrastructure and human capital, improve targeting of social spending, enhance competitiveness and foreign direct investment, and making the financial system deeper and more inclusive,” the IMF said.

The IMF also backed the plan to widen the budget deficit target to 3 percent of GDP in the medium-term to boost infrastructure development.

“They noted that this would allow a welcome boost to infrastructure and social spending, while ensuring fiscal sustainability,” as long as the government could raise additional revenues through a comprehensive tax reform program.  SFM– Inquirer

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