Stock News 2013: PH gets P23-B loan from Japan for LRT, airport

Edmonton LRT (Photo credit: Pommie)

The Japanese government has provided the Philippines with a fresh P23.19 billion in loans for critical transport infrastructure, including the upgrading of two metro railways and the construction of a higher-capacity airport in Bohol.

Japanese Ambassador Toshinao Urabe and Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario on Monday signed loan agreements on the P18.56-billion extension of Light Rail Transit (LRT) lines 1 and 2 and the construction of a P4.63-billion airport in Panglao.

The signing formalized an announcement of the loans by Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida during his visit to Manila in January. The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said the Department of Transportation and Communication will implement the projects.

“As you know, Japanese development aid emphasizes the importance of infrastructure. Better infrastructure creates business opportunities for private investment and more jobs. More income means more consumption and more tax input,” said Urabe on Monday afternoon.

“Improved government finance will lead to more public investment in better welfare programs. In short, economic growth becomes sustainable,” he said at the signing rites at DFA headquarters in Pasay City.

Details of the projects have yet to be released, but the DFA said the Panglao airport project would upgrade the existing Bohol airport to international standards.

Urabe said he himself experienced less than ideal conditions at the Bohol airport during a trip in November, when his flights coming in and out of the province were each delayed an hour. He noted that a delay had a ripple effect on other flights.

Apart from the loans, the Philippine and Japanese sides announced the awarding of a grant in aid totaling P443.33 million for the construction of hydropower projects in Ifugao and Isabela.

The DFA said the two “mini hydropower projects” were part of the Department of Energy’s program “to develop renewable energy resources for energy sustainability, stability and security.”

Urabe said the projects would apply Japanese technology that “use small amounts of water to generate cheap and clean electricity.” The hydropower system will also have minimal negative effect on agriculture, he said.

Japan is the Philippines’ largest donor of loans and grants with $593.3 million (P24 billion) in aid disbursements in 2011, according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. This accounts for 40 percent of the total official development aid disbursements that year, ahead of aid from the United States at $541.3 million (P22 billion).

http://business.inquirer.net/114361/ph-gets-p23-b-loan-from-japan-for-lrt-airport

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Stock News 2012: 50 new McDonald's branche

English: The mdonalds logo from the late 90s (Photo credit: Wikipedia)The master franchise holder of McDonald’s in the Philippines expects as much as 50 new branches this year to take advantage of robust economic growth.

The rapid pace of growth will continue for the next three to five years, an executive said.

“We are very excited, we continue to grow. This year we can grow 40 to 50 stores all over the country,” Kenneth S. Yang, president and CEO of master franchise holder Golden Arches Development Corp., said in a chance interview.

This will allow the company to end the year with a record 370 stores nationwide.

Yang said the expansion is 50 percent more than the company did last year, on top of the store renovations.

“Definitely the economy is very strong and I think the growth of the business process outsourcing industry is helping a lot and the overseas remittances continue to be there,” Yang said. “Consumer spending is still very strong so I think,” he added.

The local economy surged 6.4 percent in the first quarter due to government and private sector spending while January to May remittances climbed 5.5 percent to $9.26 billion from a year ago.

Given the strong fundamentals, Yang said the company is maintaining its bullishness and the rapid expansion pace in the next three to five years.

New branches will be driven by a mix of company-owned stores and by franchising. “Our thrust for franchising is outside Manila, on provincial areas,” Yang said.

McDonald’s is also tapping tourist destinations like Palawan, Bohol and Boracay, Yang said.

Benchmark investment for a new branch is around P40 million, with McDonald’s targeting businessmen, professionals and retirees as its franchising partners.

The first branch of the quick service restaurant chain opened in Morayta, Manila back in 1981.

Meanwhile, profitability of McDonald’s is cut by higher operating costs.

“The challenge is really the cost of operating the business. Costs are increasing like commodity and electricity. It is very hard to keep our profitability at the same level so we try to be more efficient,” Yang said.

http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=835037&publicationSubCategoryId=66

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Stock News 2011: San Miguel to bid for 3 airport projects

Image via Wikipedia
Diversifying conglomerate San Miguel Corp. is investing about $300 million to modernize and set up new tourism amenities at the Godofredo P. Ramos airport here, the main gateway to the world-famous Boracay Island.

The conglomerate also plans to participate in the public bidding for the public-private partnership airport contracts for Palawan, Bohol and Caraga (Agusan).

The three airport projects were cited by President Aquino on Saturday during the inauguration of the SMC-backed Caticlan airport rehabilitation.

“When we join the bidding, the price becomes reasonable, so we’ll participate in all of them,” SMC president Ramon S. Ang told reporters at the sidelines of the inauguration of the airport project. It was earlier reported that SMC was likewise interested in the Naia 3 airport terminal privatization.

By the time the Caticlan modernization project is completed by December 2013, it will accommodate three million tourists a year from only 500,000 at present. “We invested here because we saw the potential that we can contribute to [boost] tourist arrivals,” Ang said.

Over the last seven months, SMC has spruced up the Caticlan airport but it would take at least two more years to complete the major upgrading, Ang said.

The $300-million investment will include not only the upgrading of the airport itself but the construction of new amenities like a 5,000-room budget hotel, a world-class convention center and a retail complex that will showcase local souvenirs and a row of seafood restaurants. The tourism amenities, Ang said, would be managed by local operators.

http://business.inquirer.net/5291/san-miguel-to-bid-for-3-airport-projects

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