TERM OF THE DAY


Source: Bureau of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprise Development- Department of Trade and Industry


Balance The amount of money remaining in an account.


business The Manila Times SATURDAY BY LAILANY P. GOMEZ REPORTER


HE International Monetary Fund (IMF) has raised its 2011 economic growth forecast for the Philippines.


» GROWTH FORECAST 5


(in percent) 5


Vivek Arora, IMF mission chief, said the lender now expects Philip- pine gross domestic product (GDP) to grow by 5 percent next year, faster than the forecast of 4.5 percent made in October. “The fragile global economic en- vironment remains a key to the out- look. In addition, rising capital in- flows need to be carefully managed in order to avoid asset price infla- tion and macroeconomic volatility,” Arora said in a briefing at the con- clusion of the 2010 Article 4 consul- tations with Manila. Philippine GDP grew by 7.5 per- cent in the first nine months of this


year, or well above the five to six percent official growth goal. The IMF also said it may be nec- essary for the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas to start normalizing its policy stance in the near term to forestall excess liquidity and infla- tion pressures amid a narrowing output gap. “Monetary policy has played a helpful role in keeping inflation low while fostering the recovery. If the global environment was to worsen, or other downside risks materialize, the pace of policy normalization could be adjusted,” Arora said. The IMF also expects inflation to


4 0


4.5 OcAs of tober December As of


remain within the target range at 4 percent this year and in 2011, while the balance of payments (BOP) would likely remain in surplus. The BOP summarizes the coun-


try’s economic transactions with the rest of the world. On the fiscal side, the govern-


ment’s efforts toward consolidation should help to provide the budget with more space to respond effec-


Exports slow in October »YEAR-ON-YEAR


BY DARWIN G. AMOJELAR SENIOR REPORTER


SALES abroad of Philippine-made goods rose at a slower pace in Octo- ber on weak shipments of electronic products—the country’s key export, the government reported on Friday. The National Statistics Office (NSO) said merchandise exports in October went up by 25.4 percent to $4.739 billion from last year’s $3.748 billion.


On a monthly basis, receipts from merchandise exports declined by 11 percent from $5.325 billion in Sep- tember.


Exports had expanded at a record pace of 46.4 percent in September. In the first 10 months, exports earnings were up by 37.1 percent to $43.047 billion from last year’s $31.397 billion. Electronics, which accounted for 63 percent of the country’s total ex- port revenue in October, rose 38.2 percent to $2.99 billion from last year’s $2.16 billion.


On a month-on-month basis, electronic products, however, de- creased by 14.1 percent from $3.478 billion posted in September. Sales of articles of apparel and clothing accessories amounted to $145.13 million last October, up 24.6 percent from $116.44 million last year.


Coconut oil shipments recorded an increase of 81.8 percent from $77.29 million last year. Exports of woodcrafts and furni-


ture were up by 29.3 percent to $118.26 million from its year ago level of $91.46 million. Rounding up the list of the top


10 exports for October were ignition wiring set and other wiring sets used in vehicles, aircrafts and ships, $100.29 million; other products manufactured from materials im-


GROWTH (in percent) 50


46.4


30 0


25.4 September October


manila times@gmail.com D ecember 11, 2010


B 1


IMF lifts Manila’s 2011 GDP forecast T


tively to future shocks, Arora said. “The authorities’ emphasis on strengthening tax administration is welcome and the Fund is commit- ted to supporting these efforts with technical assistance,” the IMF offi- cial said, adding that it would be important to rationalize fiscal incen- tives, address tax distortions and reform the excise tax system. The increase in the IMF’s growth projection for the Philippines was consistent with its higher growth estimates for the region. In its World Economic Outlook released last October, the IMF said Asia would post an average growth of 8 percent this year and 7 percent in 2011. These figures were about a percentage point higher than the Fund’s earlier forecasts.


In the report, the IMF said that Asian economies have demon- strated a firm recovery from last


GSIS eases rules on survivors’ pension


BY KATRINA MENNEN A. VALDEZ REPORTER


STATE-RUN Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) has re- laxed its rules on survivorship pen- sion so that employed spouses of members can also enjoy benefits from the pension fund.


ported on consignment basis, $96.53 million; metal components (excluding brakes and servo brakes), $81.12 million; cathodes and sec- tions of cathodes of refined copper, $62.35 million; tuna (including fresh, frozen, prepared or preserved in airtight containers), $25.47 mil- lion; and bananas, $25.19 million. Receipts from the top 10 exports reached $3.782 billion, or 79.8 per- cent of the total exports. Singapore was the Philippines’ top export market for October with receipts worth $860.59 million, or a 298.1 percent surge from the $216.20 million recorded a year ago. Japan followed with export sales of $762.39 million, up 25.5 percent from $607.61 million a year earlier. Exports to the US amounted to $696.55 million, also up from last year’s $660.99 million. Other top 10 markets for Octo-


ber were People’s Republic of China, $558.12 million; Hong Kong, 351.43 million; Thailand, $186.39 million; The Netherlands, $161.76 million; Germany, $155.36 million; Taiwan, $150.47 million; and Republic of Korea, $137.00 million. Receipts from the Philippines’ top


10 markets for October amounted to $4.020 billion, or 84.8 percent of the total.


Cold snap, Chinese-led boom fire up oil use - IEA


PARIS: Cold weather and surprisingly strong year-end global growth are pushing up oil and diesel demand, boosted by inflationary pressures and electricity rationing in China, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said on Friday. Year-end economic growth in the


33 advanced economies in the Or- ganization for Economic Coopera- tion and Development had also turned out stronger than expected, the IEA said.


Consumption of diesel, particu- larly to fuel small Chinese genera- tors and to get the harvest in, and also petrol for US motorists, is driv- ing oil demand into higher gear for the next few months. The world produced a record amount of oil in November, but despite this the unexpectedly strong demand raises the short- term price outlook, although the medium-term range looks steady at $75 to $85 per barrel, the IEA forecast.


The benchmark price of oil rose


by 32 cents to $88.60 a barrel in Sin- gapore on Friday. “Recent harsh northern hemi- sphere weather, allied to electric power rationing in China, if sus- tained could push short-term de- mand, again largely gas oil/diesel, higher and tighten market bal- ances further,” the IEA said in its monthly report.


“However, cheap gas prices and an ongoing structural shift away from oil in industry and power gen- eration, suggest the sensitivity of OECD demand in the event of cold weather is diminishing over time,” the IEA said. “Either way, global demand


growth should ease in 2011, from 2.5 million barrels a day [mbd] to 1.3 mbd, amid renewed struc- tural OECD decline, and as post- recession froth in markets like China subsides.”


The IEA, the energy policy and monitoring arm of the OECD, warned that the Chinese economy was threatened by in- flation owing to “runaway bank lending” and by a “danger of overheating” and the risk of a “hard economic landing.” The IEA raised its global oil de- mand estimate for this year by 130,000 barrels per day to 87.4 mil- lion barrels a day, and for next year by twice as much, 260,000 bpd to 88.8 mbd.


The immediate outlook, as bit-


ter weather hits the northern hemisphere, depends on OPEC holding its production levels steady at a ministerial meeting in Quito on Saturday.


A key force in the upsurge of de- mand is consumption of diesel and of gasoline, the IEA said.


AFP


The new GSIS Board of Trustees issued a resolution that reversed the rules on the qualification for survivorship pension. The previous rules prevented employed surviving spouses from getting half of the pensioner’s monthly benefit. The directive has removed pro- visions in the revised implement- ing rules and regulations (IRR) of the GSIS charter, Republic Act 8291, that disqualified surviving spouses from availing of the monthly ben- efit if they earn more than the mini- mum wage rate of national govern- ment employees or if they are get- ting pension from other institu- tions, regardless of the amount. This “controversial” provision in the IRR, GSIS said, argues that


a surviving spouse must be “de- pendent for support” on the de- ceased pensioners and is not “gainfully employed” to get the survivorship benefit. By removing the restriction, the board recognized that “gainful em- ployment” does not imply that a surviving spouse is no longer de- pendent for support upon the de- ceased member or pensioner. The board agreed that the previ- ous restriction is contrary to law since the Family Code clearly pro- vides that “support comprises eve- rything indispensable for suste- nance, dwelling, clothing, medical attendance, education and trans- portation, in keeping with the fi- nancial capacity of the family.” The strict qualifications on who gets the survivorship pension is also widely perceived to be a move to further preserve the funds of the GSIS and lengthen its actuarial life. “[But] while actuarial stability of


the system is of paramount impor- tance, GSIS remains a social serv- ice institution, which must meet


the needs of its members and pen- sioners,” the pension fund said. In place of the restriction, GSIS capped the survivorship pension to avoid “unusually large disparities” in benefits.


In either case, the basic


survivorship pension or the total pension to be received by the de- pendent children shall not ex- ceed 50 percent of the current salary of an undersecretary at step 1 of the salary matrix under the Salary Standardization Law and its amendments. Payment of the basic


survivorship pension to the de- pendent spouse shall be discon- tinued in case the latter remar- ries, cohabits, or engages in com- mon-law relationship.


Last month, the GSIS manage- ment and board began a review of policies that have been the subject of numerous complaints from members, particularly the pre- mium-based policy, the claims and loans interdependency policy, and the grant of survivorship pension.


year’s downturn. What should be done next by these economies is to implement policies that will allow them to post respectable growth rates over the medium to long term, the lender said.


With external demand from ad-


vanced economies unlikely to return to pre-crisis levels in the foreseeable future, Asia will need stronger domes- tic demand in order to continue along a robust growth path, the IMF said. A broad range of reforms are needed to support domestic con- sumption and investment, including strengthening social safety nets, en- suring access to credit, easing restric- tions in service sectors, and improv- ing infrastructure, the lender said. Exchange rate appreciation is an important part of rebalancing. “It is only natural that as Asian econo- mies grow stronger so too will their currencies,” it added.


Stocks fall on China’s price woes


BY KRISTA ANGELA M. MONTEALEGRE REPORTER


LOCAL share prices plunged on Friday while the peso went sideways as investors fretted over China’s plan to hike interest rates to stem inflation in the world’s second biggest economy. At the Philippine Stock Exchange,


the composite index fell 73.67 points, or 1.75 percent to 4,135.75, while the broader all-shares index lost 35.53 points, or 1.22 percent to 2,879.99. Losers beat gainers, 91 to 33, while


40 stocks were unchanged. A total of 912.98 million shares worth P4.46 billion were traded. “Share prices fell after the Dow’s flat


movement overnight, erasing the mid- week gains and pulling the measure under the 4,200-line,” Jun Calaycay of Accord Capital Equities Corp. said. US stocks closed mixed, with the


Dow Jones industrial average dipping 2.42 points, or 0.02 percent to 11,370.06 as investors chose to stay on the sidelines awaiting the tax compromise reached by the White House and Republicans. Asian markets also slumped, dragged by concerns over China’s inflation after the country posted a $22 billion trade surplus. “A possible interest rate hike in the


world’s fastest economy played equity valuations. Market watchers anticipate China to push interest rates higher to stem inflationary pressures,” said Calaycay. At the Philippine Dealing System, the local unit inched up a centavo to close at 43.66 on Friday from 43.67 the day before. The peso-dollar exchange rate opened at 43.72 and moved to a high of 43.80 and a low of 43.65. Traders said appetite for risk was sustained throughout the trading session. Trading volume eased to $722.62


million from $893.21 million the previous trading day. WITH REPORT FROM LAILANY P. GOMEZ


FOREIGN direct investments (FDI) to the Philippines recorded net in- flows last September, a turnaround from last year’s bleeding amid a glo- bal financial crisis.


Philippines enjoyed net FDI inflows in September »END-SEPTEMBER


INFLOWS (in billion dollars) 2


1.603


In a statement, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said it reg- istered net FDI inflows of $66 mil- lion for that month, a reversal of the $54 million net outflows recorded in September of last year. FDI pertains to money invested


by foreigners in the Philippines for establishing new businesses or ex- panding existing ones, and as such generates employment. The BSP said the net inflows dur- ing the month were mainly driven by reinvested earnings and other capital – posting inflows $26 million and $62 million, respectively – that more than compensated for the $22


1 0


2009 1.093 2010


mestic economy,” BSP Governor Amando Tetangco Jr. said. Despite the improvement last September, year-to-date FDI regis- tered net inflows of $1.093 billion, or 31.8 percent lower than the $1.603 billion in the same nine- month period last year.


million in net outflows booked in the equity capital account. “The moderate inflows this year re- flected cautious investor sentiment on the back of renewed concerns over the exposure of European banks to sovereign debt and the health of the American economy, notwithstanding the strong fundamentals in the do-


The BSP revised its FDI inflows projection for this year to $2 billion, from the earlier $1.8 billion fore- cast, on the back of the govern- ment’s public-private partnership initiative. Tetangco said the lower year-to- date figure “was due to the decline in the inflows of equity capital.” Net inflows from equity capital reached $185 million, or 89.5 per- cent lower than last year, when large investments in a local beverage com- pany and a local power corporation


were recorded, he said.


Gross equity capital placements for the first nine months this year came from the US, Japan, Singapore, Ireland, and Hong Kong. These investments were channeled to the following sectors: banking; real estate; manufacturing (semiconductors, pharmaceutical and health care products, air condi- tioner, refrigerators and parts); min- ing; power generation; transport, storage and communication; and recreational, cultural and sporting activities. Foreign investors also plowed back $247 million in earnings in the Philippines, from $21 million in 2009, on the back of favorable do- mestic economic prospects and higher corporate earnings. LAILANY P. GOMEZ


FertAlive – all organic, Philippine soil, plant booster


ers’ experience in many farms around the Philippines, we find FertAlive in- stantaneously available, easy to use, cheap, effective and efficient. According to Pedro Clemente Unson, brewmaster of Fertalive, “the base components of fertalive are: ac- tivated humic compounds, activated fulvic compounds, yucca, seaweed cold pressed northern, 27 enzymes necessary for plant growth-also 21 amino acids, bio-mass cultures, natu- ral plant surfactants, proteins, com- pound carbohydrates, fats, oils, cyano-bacteria, 5 types of beneficial algae, 8 specific 1st generation bacil- lus cultures, short and long chain polysaccharides, rooting hormones, 85 earth minerals (some are rare). Ped continues, “the food web inoculums are, beneficial fungi, ben- eficial protozoa and nutrient cycling nematodes all in a stable spore form, and 16 other proprietary ingredients sourced locally that make it unique. These are all processed, dried, and pulverized and brewed altogether to extract the beneficial microbes. That is why it is recommended to spray the plants in early in the morning (6 to 9 am) or late in the afternoon (3 to 6 pm) so that we do not harm the mi- crobes by exposing them to UV rays. This is also the reason why it is packed in black plastic bottles so as not to harm the microbes to UV rays while


F


ROM my own experience in my pocket-sized farm and other farm-


much better. Water used should be non-chlorinated.


MOJE RAMOS- AQUINO, FPM


in the bottle. They easily die when exposed to sunlight for a long period.” “The principle is just bombarding the plant and soil with so many mil- lions of microbes that have been lost in the soil for so many years due to chemical use, burning and erosion of natural elements, etc. In simple terms, it is just bringing life back to the soil.” Here are some FAQs and answers


about FertAlive. How is FertAlive applied? Mix


330ml per every 16 liters of water for rice, corn and other vegetable and or- namental plants. For vegetables and similar fast-growing cash crops, FertAlive is mixed with water at a con- centration of 20ml per 1 liter of wa- ter. For fruit trees, the concentration used is less at 5ml per 1 liter or 1 liter for every 200 liters of water due to enormous foliage that will be sprayed. For fast results, foliar spray is advised; for longer lasting effects, drenching the soil will be advisable. A combina- tion of both system of application is


What is the shelf life of the bottles? Unopened bottles kept in a cool dark place and away from heat should last at least one year from date of manu- facture. Opened bottles should be used within a month of opening as exposure to air may degrade and cause evaporation of some components. How frequent should FertAlive be used? The FertAlive brew, when mixed with water, should be sprayed or used as soil drench within 24 hours of mixing to ensure maximum effectiveness. A weekly spraying interval for fast growing plants (vegetables and ornamentals) is recommended. For fruit trees, an initial spraying of twice a month and monthly spraying thereafter would ensure a well balanced tree growth. All these are gen- eral recommendations, it should be noted that individual growing condi- tions exist and shall depend on each and every situation and a farmer’s or garden- er’s perception of a healthy plant. If you think you have a well-balanced and healthy plant, you can stop using FertAlive and then use it only as needed. Why is the concentration for fruit trees different for vegetables and ornamentals? Vegetables and ornamentals normally have a much shorter growing period compared to fruit trees so application at higher concentrations works faster. What are the expected savings? Us- ers can expect savings of at least 30


percent of fertilizer inputs compared to normal protocol recommended by seed suppliers when FertAlive is used, as recommended without any loss in crop yield. For vegetables, FertAlive will be used over four weekly applica- tions. Application could be termi- nated much earlier if the plants ap- pear to be doing well (robust appear- ance). For fruit trees, a monthly ap- plication per hectare during the veg- etative (non flower and fruit bearing months) should be more than enough to achieve a reduction in fertilizer in- put of at least 30 percent. Application during flower and fruit bearing stages is not recommended as the spray could disturb the flowers and buds and become detrimental to fruit set and fruit quality.


Will fertilizer and pesticide usage be detrimental to FertAlive? FertAlive ap- plied a few days before or after fertilizer and pesticide application is not expected to be affected by the chemicals provided the prescribed dosages are adhered to. Overdose of chemical usage could how- ever kill some of the microbes. FertAlive should never be mixed with pesticides and inorganic fertilizers as some of the live components maybe incompatible with the inorganic chemicals at such high concentrations.


Convincing!!! And it is only Php150/1-liter bottle during this introductory phase. For more inquiries and to try FertAlive, please e-mail moje629@gmail.com or text 0917-8996653.


LEARNING & INNOVATION


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