MANILA, Philippines — Saavedra-led Megawide Construction Corp. is redirecting P1.23 billion in unused bond proceeds from transport-centric developments to housing projects under the government’s Pambansang Pabahay para sa Pilipino (4PH) program. Its board approved the reallocation on Friday, Oct. 9, according to a stock exchange disclosure. READ: Megawide bags P13B in new gov’t housing contracts The

MANILA, Philippines — Local stocks rebounded Friday as investors bought beaten-down shares. Meanwhile, a pause in the peso’s slide offered some relief to market sentiment. The benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange Index (PSEi) climbed 1.61 percent, or 90.60 points, to close at 5,700.99, partially reversing Thursday’s 2.2-percent decline. READ: Peso sinks to fresh record low of

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Budget and Management (DBM) has yet to see any sign of a reenacted budget for 2027, amid concerns that the ongoing impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte could delay legislative deliberations. “We’re working closely with Congress to ensure that the process keeps moving forward. We haven’t seen any signs

MANILA, Philippines — Pangilinan-led Metro Pacific Investments Corp. (MPIC) has strengthened its grip on Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) after completing a P12.4-billion acquisition of an additional stake from tycoon Ramon Ang. In a disclosure on Friday, Ang-led San Miguel Corp. said its energy arm, San Miguel Global Power Holdings Corp. (SMGP), had already completed the sale

The Department of Budget and Management (DBM) continues to work with Congress to ensure the passage of the proposed 2027 budget and avoid a reenacted spending program for next year, a top official said Friday.

Developer K&K Property has announced plans to offer a six-year structural warranty to homeowners at its luxury One Stanley development, as the company seeks to move on from a growing furore over alleged construction defects at the complex. “As the developer of the One Stanley development project, we attach great importance to the recent public attention surrounding one of the detached houses in the project,” the company said in a statement released late on Friday. One Stanley, a collection of...

MANILA, Philippines — Riyadh services operated by flag carrier Philippine Airlines (PAL) will remain suspended until Oct. 11 amid ongoing fighting in the Middle East that has damaged King Khalid International Airport and other Saudi gateways. Earlier, PAL suspended the route, both the Riyadh-bound flight and a return service to Manila, only on Oct. 8. READ:

MANILA, Philippines — With inflation already accelerating this year, an economist warned that the looming strong El Niño could worsen it further by shrinking agricultural production and driving up electricity costs. Sonny Africa, executive director of think tank Ibon Foundation, said the extreme weather phenomenon could not come at a worse time, as the country

MANILA, Philippines — Motorists will continue to enjoy diesel savings for a third consecutive week, while gasoline prices will likely rise again next week. In a Friday advisory, Jetti Petroleum president Leo Bellas said diesel prices may decrease by P1.80 to P2 per liter. READ: Tehran’s wartime billboards mock Trump, boast of victory Gasoline, meanwhile, may

The government is preparing policy revisions to tighten rules on the use of public funds, particularly to curb spending on activities billed as planning sessions but are essentially parties, the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) said Friday.

Hong Kong’s securities watchdog is renewing its push to boost market liquidity, setting out further reforms as emerging markets grapple with capital outflow pressure amid a rally in US equities and a strengthening dollar. Speaking at a conference organised by the Asian Securities & Financial Markets Association (Asifma) on Friday, Julia Leung, CEO of the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC), outlined measures ranging from extended trading hours and shorter settlement cycles to cross-market...

Hotel room rates across mainland China fell short of expectations during the National Day “golden week” holiday despite a tourism boom, as company officials and analysts called for stronger asset and revenue management to ease pricing pressure. Hotel tariffs remained largely unchanged from the previous month between October 1 and 7, even as bookings jumped, according to executives at hotel operators and travel agencies. “The days when hotels and resorts could expect a windfall during the...

The Philippine government, through the Department of Finance (DOF), has secured loan financing worth 212.7-million euro or about P14.98 billion from the World Bank - International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (WB-IBRD) to improve water security, supply, and sanitation in underserved areas in the Philippines.

Hong Kong-headquartered DFI Retail Group, which owns and operates the city’s largest supermarket network, says it will continue to invest in new stores even though consumers remain cautious. Darren Chan, the group’s managing director for food in Hong Kong and Macau, said DFI – whose supermarket chains include Wellcome and Market Place in Hong Kong – was also “looking for opportunities to strengthen” its network where there was “clear customer demand and attractive long-term returns”. “We invest...

Chinese state funds are ramping up support for the country’s second-largest contract chipmaker, pouring billions of yuan into the parent of Hua Hong Grace Semiconductor and a new manufacturing facility to fuel Beijing’s drive for self-reliance in mature-node chips. The capital blitz, spanning Hua Hong’s Shanghai-based parent company and a fabrication plant in Wuxi, highlights how government-coordinated financing is doubling down on domestic foundries, as Washington tightens technology...

Cebu Pacific on Friday announced the cancellation of several flights between Manila and Riyadh amid escalating tensions in the Middle East.

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Friday said it is proposing to raise the minimum capital floor for broker-dealers to update its capitalization rules, making it in line with international market standards.

Hong Kong’s property market showed renewed strength as a Kowloon residential site fetched its highest price in nearly five years, while the city’s pension funds posted solid gains despite a September setback. Meanwhile, global investors returned to Chinese equities after years of caution, as US Treasury yields surged to multi-decade highs. Here are some of the figures that have drawn the most market attention this week. China records 2.14 billion passenger trips over National Day holiday China...

MANILA, Philippines — We have all joked about the handwriting of doctors. Most of us hand our prescription over to the drugstore counter, pay for whatever is handed back to us, and not bother to take a second look at the box as we trust the person behind the counter to read the prescription correctly and

Light Rail Manila Corporation (LRMC), the private operator of Light Rail Transit Line 1 (LRT-1), on Friday said it is addressing crowd flow and passenger congestion at the PITX Station of LRT-1.

MANILA, Philippines — Scams cost Filipino consumers an estimated P121.8 billion over the past year as exposure to fraudulent schemes continued to climb, with more than eight in 10 adults encountering scammers, according to the latest report by the Global Anti-Scam Alliance (Gasa). In its 2026 State of Scams report, Gasa said that 84 percent

Flag carrier Philippine Airlines (PAL) on Friday announced it is extending the suspension of its Riyadh flights due to escalating tensions in the Middle East.

A US lawmaker’s call for a review of Hong Kong’s access to a Federal Reserve facility that provides short-term US dollar funding would have limited impact on the city as it is not a regular source of financing, according to analysts, who said any restriction could instead weaken the US dollar’s global dominance. John Moolenaar, chairman of the House Select Committee on China, has written to US Federal Reserve chairman Kevin Warsh urging a review of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority’s (HKMA)...

The Philippines is eyeing Bulacan as a gateway for artificial intelligence (AI) compute hardware for Asia and the world, as part of a long-term industrial strategy that extends beyond the planned Pax Silica hub in New Clark City.

Senate President Sherwin Gatchalian said that rising living costs, a sharp drop in public works spending, and slowing economic growth continue to drag on property development.

China should seize a window opened by the widening US-China yield gap to strengthen the financing, hedging and asset-absorption systems behind the yuan, turning its cyclical low-interest-rate advantage into lasting global use of the currency, according to a researcher from a Beijing-based governmental think tank. The 10-year US Treasury yield was 5.22 per cent on Thursday, compared with 1.69 per cent for Chinese government bonds on their first trading day after the National Day holiday – a gap...

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine peso fell to a new record low on Thursday as expectations of higher US interest rates strengthened the dollar. The peso weakened 15 centavos to close at 62.90 per dollar, surpassing its previous record-low close of 62.86 set on Sept. 14, according to data from the Bankers Association of the Philippines.

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Transportation (DOTr) is planning three new high-capacity bus corridors spanning more than 100 kilometers (km) across Metro Manila, building on the existing EDSA Busway to improve public transport connectivity in the capital region. Transportation Undersecretary Mark Pastor said the proposed corridors would run along C5, Quezon Avenue and Ortigas-Aurora. READ:

MANILA, Philippines — Economic growth this year is likely to fall short of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s target as weak domestic demand weighs on the economy, Bank of America said, while the central bank is expected to focus more on taming red-hot inflation than supporting growth for now. In a note to clients, BofA forecasts that

MANILA, Philippines — Figaro Culinary Group Inc. is seeking to delist from the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE), with Figaro Coffee Systems Inc. (FCSI) planning to buy out minority shareholders at P0.82 per share. In a disclosure on Thursday, the restaurant operator said it received on Oct. 7 a notice from FCSI regarding the proposed tender