Philippine financial markets ended Monday lower, with the benchmark stock index declining and the peso weakening as investors digested slower-than-expected economic growth data.

After 17 years of intermittent government-led initiatives to turn the Siu Lek Yuen industrial area into residential housing, a company recently applied to convert two industrial buildings on the site into 928 residential flats. The move would offer a more viable and profitable path forward for developers because even though Hong Kong’s residential property market was cooling, industrial properties faced a sharp decline in demand, according to analysts. The industrial manufacturer Chiaphua Group...

The Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) on Monday announced a partnership with Globe Telecom Inc. and Touch Mobile (TM), both part of the Ayala Group, to allow subscribers to open the BPI app without data charges.

Local carriers Cebu Pacific and Philippine Airlines (PAL) have launched promotional seat sales offering discounted domestic and international fares for travelers planning holiday trips and vacations in 2027.

Sy-led property developer and mall operator SM Prime Holdings Inc. saw a 5% drop in its net income for the first nine months of the year, dragged by weaker real estate gains during the period.

The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) on Monday assured the public that there is no need to panic buy basic necessities and prime commodities, as there are enough supplies to meet demand.

Telecommunications firm Globe is offering millions of its mobile and broadband customers free access to artificial intelligence (AI) tools this holiday season through its AI Fiesta platform, as the company seeks to broaden the use of emerging technology among Filipinos.

In late March 2023, Sergio Ermotti’s telephone rang. Then, he was serving as chairman of Swiss Re and set to renew his term, comfortably ensconced in what appeared to be a dignified, settled chapter of an illustrious banking career. On the other end of the line was UBS chairman Colm Kelleher. A day earlier, Kelleher’s bank had agreed to buy fallen rival Credit Suisse for 3 billion Swiss francs (US$3.66 billion) in a historic, state-brokered rescue – and urgently required a battle-tested hand to...

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) is eyeing the production of polymer banknotes in-house by next year, in a bid to ease dependence on outsourcing amid the high demand, a top official said Monday.

The Department of Agriculture (DA) said on Monday that there will be no “unusual” hike in prices of pork this coming Christmas season, reiterating the pork supply is more than sufficient.

Hong Kong retail investors are increasingly turning to exchange-traded funds (ETFs) to build long-term wealth, with nearly half planning to start investing in the products or increase their exposure over the coming year, according to a survey by BlackRock’s iShares. The study of 2,007 Hong Kong adults found that 31 per cent currently held ETFs, giving the city the second-highest ownership rate among the five Asia-Pacific markets surveyed. The others were Australia, Japan, Singapore and...

DeepSeek’s Harness artificial intelligence agent framework has reached 1.54 million daily active users less than three months after launch, the Chinese AI champion said on Sunday, marking rapid growth in a new battleground between leading Chinese and American AI giants. Users of Harness through the company’s official application programming interface were consuming around 92 trillion tokens a day as of November 4, the Hangzhou-based start-up said. That is equivalent to about 1.1 billion tokens...

The Social Security System (SSS) released P63.74 billion in death benefits during the first nine months of 2026, marking a 10.4% increase from the P57.74 billion in the same period last year.

A pledge by China’s central bank to investigate Solana’s recent campaigns in mainland China has extinguished hopes that a crackdown on cryptocurrencies will be eased and underscored Beijing’s unyielding hostility towards foreign public blockchains. The People’s Bank of China (PBOC) had halted recent offline events Solana planned to hold on the mainland and would launch investigations into the entities and individuals involved, the PBOC-backed Financial News reported on Friday. Citing an...

Motorists will experience a slight sigh of relief as fuel companies will implement a price rollback on pump products starting Tuesday, November 10, the Department of Energy said Monday.

The Department of Agriculture (DA) has authorized a 60-day quantitative restriction on the importation of selected pork cuts as the influx of imported meat has damaged the local hog industry.

Employees in Hong Kong’s more tightly regulated financial institutions are generating about HK$35.8 billion (US$4.66 billion) in investible income each year, but are having difficulty investing due to personal account dealing (PAD) restrictions, according to a report. The restrictions can apply to bank employees, brokers and asset managers, among others, to prevent insider trading, manage conflicts of interest and ensure that clients’ interests come before employees’ interests. The report...

OCBC analysts report that Thailand's central bank held rates at 1%, upgraded growth forecasts, and flagged inflation risks. They expect no short-term changes but a 50bp hike in 1H27.

The Bank of Thailand plans to introduce regulations for a baht-pegged stablecoin in March 2027 while suspending applications for new money changer licences throughout 2027.

The Philippine economy grew by 2.1% in the third quarter of 2026, slower than the revised 2.4% expansion recorded in the previous quarter, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said Monday.

French private equity giant Ardian sees prime opportunities to snap up quality assets in China amid a liquidity slowdown in the world’s second-largest economy, as it looks to meet European investors’ strong demand for diversification, according to company executives. Ardian, which managed over US$200 billion worth of assets as of March, planned to target Chinese market leaders in various industries, which could include technology, healthcare and business services, the firm’s executive president,...

MANILA, Philippines — Philippine businesses may be dragged back to a harsh reality after this year’s holiday season, which they expect will offer only a temporary balm against mounting domestic and external pressures on all fronts. According to the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI), the country’s largest business group, Christmas may provide a brief

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines’ foreign exchange reserves dropped to a near four-year low in October, extending their annual slide amid compounding pressures from the peso’s weakness, foreign debt payments and lower gold values. Preliminary data from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) showed the country’s gross international reserves (GIR) dropped 11.7 percent from a year

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Tourism (DOT) is pushing aviation regulators to lift the ban on turboprop aircraft at the country’s main gateway, arguing that the restriction has made domestic travel more difficult and expensive since its full implementation this year. Turboprop aircraft, which are smaller than jets and are typically deployed by Philippine carriers

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine government expects to open applications for its long-awaited Electric Vehicle Incentive Strategy (Evis) by January 2027, as it moves to attract automotive manufacturers and build a domestic industry for electric vehicles (EVs). Trade Undersecretary Ceferino Rodolfo said the program’s implementing rules and regulations (IRR) were in the final stages of preparation,

MANILA, Philippines — A higher inflation outlook this year could keep the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) on a tighter monetary policy path for longer, delaying the start of its rate-cutting cycle until the fourth quarter of 2027. In two separate reports, Nomura economists said they raised their full-year 2026 inflation forecast to 5.9 percent from

MANILA, Philippines — A business leader I advised was considering a merger. Even the possibility had to remain closely guarded: if word escaped and share prices rose, the deal could collapse. He needed somewhere to think aloud about a decision he could scarcely discuss with anyone. That is one meaning of being lonely at the top.

MANILA, Philippines — As Southeast Asia continues to rise in economic and strategic importance, it is worth asking a simple question: How well do we really understand “Asean?” For many Filipinos, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) is a familiar acronym that surfaces during summit meetings, diplomatic engagements or discussions on regional affairs. Yet Asean

In November 2022, as Hong Kong prepared to host its inaugural Global Financial Leaders’ Investment Summit, Typhoon Nalgae was bearing down on the city, bringing much of it to a standstill. However, at the Four Seasons Hotel in Central, one of the city’s most prestigious addresses, some of the year’s most important guests were arriving after nearly three years of pandemic disruptions. Inside its grand ballroom, more than 200 global financial executives, including some of the biggest names on Wall...

MANILA, Philippines — If you’ve been planning that long-awaited trip to Paris, perhaps now is the time to turn those plans into a booking. Because by the end of January next year, Air France’s Manila-Paris service will once again be put on hold, cutting short one of the few nonstop air connections between the Philippines and