Foreign investors need sector-specific approvals, licenses, and certifications based on activities, sector regulations, and product or facility requirements.

China's economy grew faster than expected in Q3, and September home prices declined at a slower rate.

Chinese stocks extended their sell-off on Friday, pushing the benchmark CSI 300 Index deeper into bear-market territory, as waning hopes for fresh stimulus from Beijing and a global retreat from artificial intelligence-related trades rattled investor sentiment. The CSI 300 fell by as much as 2 per cent before trimming losses to trade 0.5 per cent lower at 4,014.60 by the midday break. Trading volumes in several major exchange-traded funds tracking the benchmark soared, implying possible...

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Budget and Management (DBM) has moved up the deadline for agencies to seek additional budget authorities by nearly two weeks as it races to assess remaining funding requests, with nearly all of the 2026 national budget already released. Under Circular Letter No. 2026-13, the DBM said government agencies have

MANILA, Philippines — Expanding the country’s hydropower capability with an additional 25 gigawatts will require about P5 trillion in new investments, an energy official said Thursday. According to Ariel Fronda, division chief of the DOE’s Hydropower & Ocean Energy Management Division, activating one megawatt from hydropower would cost about P200 million. READ: The inverse relationship between

MANILA, Philippines — Lopez-led First Gen Corp. has clinched a new pact to energize a tertiary hospital in Pampanga with renewable energy. On Thursday, the company announced it closed the agreement with Mother Teresa of Calcutta Medical Center (MTCMC) under the government’s retail aggregation program (RAP), allowing local households to consolidate demand to meet the 100-kilowatt

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Agriculture (DA) and the Bureau of Customs (BOC) have partnered to simplify the handling and inspection of shipments entering the country, including the disposal of confiscated farm goods. Both agencies signed a memorandum on the inspection and disposal of confiscated agricultural and fishery products. READ: Department of Agriculture opposes sale of

MANILA, Philippines — The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) raised its policy rate by half a percentage point to 5.5 percent on Thursday, delivering a bigger-than-expected increase as it stepped up its fight against stubbornly high inflation. The decision by the Monetary Board, the central bank’s top policymaking body, brought the overnight borrowing rate to

MANILA, Philippines — Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) saw its nine-month net income fall 3.2 percent to P48.9 billion as higher provisions and operating expenses outpaced revenue growth. January to September earnings declined from P50.5 billion a year earlier, despite increases in lending and fee income. READ: BPI’s H1 profit slipped on higher expenses

MANILA, Philippines — Philippine merchandise exports could breach the $100-billion mark for the first time this year, as booming global demand for semiconductors and electronics continues to drive the country’s shipments to record highs. Trade Undersecretary Ceferino Rodolfo expressed confidence that exports would sustain their momentum through the remaining months of 2026, and potentially push

MANILA, Philippines — A joint circular from the Department of Energy (DOE) and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) might undermine the government’s efforts to make the Philippine mining industry a major driver of economic growth, according to industry players. The Chamber of Mines of the Philippines and the Philippine Nickel Industry Association warned

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine peso sank to another record low on Thursday, extending its slide despite a larger-than-expected interest rate increase by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), as broad US dollar strength continued to weigh on the currency. The local currency weakened by 15.9 centavos to close at 63.52 per dollar, surpassing the

MANILA, Philippines — Investments at economic zones drew closer to reaching a record high in 2026 after the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (Peza) approved new projects that brought its year-to-date pipeline to P309.63 billion, surpassing the agency’s full-year target. According to Peza, the investment tally as of October marked a 76.56-percent increase from P175.365 billion

MANILA, Philippines — The Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp. (Psalm) failed to realize at least P11.09 billion from the planned sale of a portion of its Diliman property, after prospective buyers were no-shows on the bidding deadline. Psalm President and CEO Edward Dela Serna said the state-run company declared a “failed bidding” on

Authors’ Note: This is Step 2 of the six-step Strategy Logic Chain within the PILA Reasoning Stack (Problem, Insight, Logic, and Assumptions). Step 1, the Value Proposition, defines the value a company intends to create. This article asks whether customers will change their behavior to realize that value. MANILA, Philippines — Every year, companies launch products

MANILA, Philippines — Global payments firm Visa is exploring stablecoin use cases with Philippine banks and fintechs as it seeks to reduce the cost and friction of cross-border payments, amid still limited awareness and trust in the emerging digital currency among Filipino consumers. This comes as Visa’s Money Travels 2026 study found that roughly four

MANILA, Philippines — Customer expectations are shifting faster than ever, and delivering a superior customer service experience has become a significant differentiator in business. A number of these companies that have set a high standard for service excellence in the Philippines were recognized in an exclusive awarding ceremony held last Oct. 9 at the Edades

[The content of this article has been produced by our advertising partner.] As Formula One moves from Singapore to Austin, Richard Mille and Ferrari show how innovation, performance and talent development can become powerful drivers of brand value. With the Formula One season entering a decisive phase following the Singapore Grand Prix, Ferrari remains one of the sport’s most closely watched teams. Whether through the performances of Ferrari drivers Charles Leclerc, a long-time Richard Mille...

Motorists are set to see another round of mixed movements in pump prices next week, according to an oil industry source.

Chinese households are increasingly shifting assets from real estate and bank deposits into more lucrative investments at home and abroad, despite growing oversight, Moody’s Ratings said. A multi-year downturn in the Chinese property market and low interest rates are fuelling the demand for alternative investments, the ratings agency said in a report published this week. Chinese investors are looking for investments that “offer higher returns than deposits while maintaining relatively low risk,”...

Hong Kong’s offshore yuan bond market is becoming an increasingly important funding source for global banks, with US lenders driving a surge in issuance even as the currency’s traditional funding advantage over the dollar narrows. The shift offers a glimpse of how financial ties between Wall Street and China are evolving despite geopolitical tensions. For US banks, the attraction increasingly lies in access to Chinese capital rather than lower borrowing costs. Offshore yuan-denominated bonds,...

HSBC will launch its Hong Kong dollar-backed stablecoin in stages from Friday for more than 3.3 million users of its PayMe app, as the bank pushes to bring digital currencies into the city’s mainstream retail and investment markets. HSBC RedCoin, available only through PayMe and the bank’s Hong Kong mobile banking app, would initially support peer-to-peer transfers and peer-to-merchant payments on PayMe, according to head of PayMe Lawrence Li. Users can activate their HSBC RedCoin wallet, with...

Updated at 9:30 p.m. on October 22, 2026 MANILA, Philippines — The national government’s budget deficit exceeded its nine-month program by more than P97 billion, even as the fiscal gap stayed nearly flat in September, because higher spending continued to outpace revenue collections for the year. Latest data from the Bureau of the Treasury showed the

When Abel Zhao thinks about the future of travel and live experience, he begins with a memory. As a high school student during the 1998 FIFA World Cup, Zhao was too young to enter the stadium. Instead, he stood outside with friends, listening to the roar of the crowd and absorbing the energy of thousands of people gathered from around the world. “We could only stand outside and hear the cheering, but that was already exciting enough,” he recalls. Decades later, that experience has become part of...

ASEAN's renewable energy transition will depend not only on the availability of financing but also on the region's ability to convert opportunities into investment-ready projects that can attract private capital at scale.

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Finance (DOF) is hoping to file the long-delayed general tax amnesty program in Congress by the end of the year, according to Finance Undersecretary Rolando Ligon. “We are fine-tuning the draft. We still need more information to ensure the amnesty is successful. We need to address the additional taxes

MANILA, Philippines — Local stocks retreated on Thursday as investors locked in gains after a five-day rally and awaited the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ (BSP) policy decision. The benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange Index (PSEi) fell 0.72 percent, or 41.78 points, to close at 5,779.73, as a weaker peso and higher global oil prices fueled market jitters.

MANILA, Philippines — The influential Management Association of the Philippines (MAP) has formally asked the Senate to restore the P1.756-billion budget for the EDSA Busway, which received zero funding in the proposed 2027 national budget. In an Oct. 15 letter to Sen. Mark Villar, who chairs the Senate Committee on Public Works, the business group argued

MANILA, Philippines — Embattled Information and Communications Technology Undersecretary David Almirol Jr. has denied allegations of conflict of interest involving government contracts worth more than P1.5 billion, which were awarded to a company he founded. Almirol broke his silence a day after the Office of the Ombudsman ordered his preventive suspension for six months without pay

The days of having to take out the trash or wash the dishes before leaving an Airbnb are numbered as the short-term rental platform is tightening rules on what conditions hosts may impose on guests.