January 25, 2021 12:00 am
Mainly driven by the economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic, global foreign direct investment (FDI) in 2020 slipped by 42 percent year-on-year to USD859 billion, according to the UN’s trade and development body. Last year’s figure was down from USD1.5 trillion in 2019, more than 30 percent below the investment trough that followed the 2008-2009 global financial crisis, the UN Conference on Trade and Development said on Sunday. The largest decline in FDI was seen in developed countries, plummeting by 69 percent to USD229 billion during the same period. The US posted a 49-percent annual decrease in FDI to USD134 billion last year. The decline took place in wholesale trade, financial services and manufacturing. Noting that investment to Europe dried up, the report said FDI flows fell by two-thirds to minus USD4 billion in the continent. Although FDI collapsed in major European economies such as the UK –FDI fell to zero– last year, overall performance masks a few regional bright spots, it underlined. “Sweden, for example, saw flows double from USD12 billion to USD29 billion. FDI to Spain also rose 52 percent, thanks to several acquisitions, such as private equities from the United States Cinven, KKR and Providence acquiring 86 percent of Masmovil,” it added. Developing economies attracted 72 percent of global FDI with USD616 billion in 2020, the highest share on record, despite seeing 12-percent decrease year-on-year. “The fall was highly uneven across developing regions: -37 percent in Latin America and the Caribbean, -18 percent in Africa and -4 percent in developing countries in Asia,” it said. China was the world’s largest FDI recipient last year, with flows rising by 4 percent to USD163 billion, thanks to a return to positive GDP growth (+2.3 percent) and the government’s targeted investment facilitation program. Weak outlook expected in 2021 Despite projections for the global economy to recover in 2021, FDI flows are expected to remain weak due to uncertainty over Covid-19’s evolution and the global investment policy environment, it said. The report forecast that any increases in global FDI flows in 2021 would come not from new investment in productive assets but from cross-border mergers and acquisitions, especially in technology and health care. “India and Turkey are attracting record numbers of deals in IT consulting and digital sectors, including e-commerce platforms, data processing services and digital payments,” it said. Source: Philippines News agency
January 25, 2021 12:00 am
The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) in Region 12 (Soccsksargen) has increased its funding for emergency assistance this year to nearly PHP240 million to further expand its coverage. Cezario Joel Espejo, DSWD-Region 12 director, said Monday the move is aimed to cater to more people in need, especially those affected by the continuing coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic. He said such allocation is three times higher than the program’s initial budget of PHP78 million last year. “The funding was already approved by our central office,” he told reporters. Dubbed as Assistance to Individuals in Crisis Situation (AICS), the agency released a total of PHP272.1 million in emergency assistance grants in 2020 and served around 1.1 million residents. AICS is a continuing emergency government initiative that serves as a social safety net or a stop-gap measure to support the recovery of individuals and families suffering from unexpected life events or crises. The beneficiaries are residents belonging to the informal sector and those classified as poor, marginalized, vulnerable, and disadvantaged. Nanig Sanoy, head of the DSWD-12’s crisis intervention unit, said qualified residents may avail of the AICS in the form of medical assistance, funeral support, and other related emergency grants. She said residents who lost their homes and were directly affected by calamities like fire incidents may qualify for its financial assistance. Nanig said the increase in this year’s allocation was intended to help cover the medical needs of residents affected by Covid-19. “Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, many of our residents needed medical support so we sought additional funding for that,” she said. Espejo assured that necessary measures are in place to ensure that only qualified individuals and households or those really in need will be covered by the assistance program. He said the prospective beneficiaries will undergo a stringent evaluation process in coordination with the local government units and concerned stakeholders. “As what we have been telling before, there will be no room for corruption inside the agency,” he added. Source: Philippines News agency
January 25, 2021 12:00 am
Department of Justice (DOJ) Secretary Menardo Guevarra on Monday said the department will await a formal request for adjudication if any is forthcoming from any of the concerned parties before it may rule on the contentious abrogation of a 31-year agreement between the University of the Philippines and the Department of National Defense (DND). “Considering that there is an apparent dispute between the state university and the DND with respect to the validity of the unilateral cancellation of their long-standing agreement, the DOJ will view any request for legal opinion as a request for administrative adjudication or settlement under the revised administrative code, which provides that all such disputes between government entities should be brought before the DOJ, OSG (Office of the Solicitor General), or OGCC (Office of the Government Corporate Counsel), as the case may be,” Guevarra told reporters. Guevarra also said the SOJ, as attorney general, does not issue legal opinions or commence administrative adjudication proceedings “unless requested by heads of government agencies or other state instrumentalities”. The so-called DND-UP accord was a violation of the equal protection clause under the 1987 Constitution, Armed Forces of the Philippines chief-of-staff, Gen. Gilbert Gapay, said earlier. In a statement, Gapay said it was only UP that enjoyed privileges under the recently-terminated agreement. “There is no substantial distinction between UP and other schools, state colleges, and universities. To give to UP such entitlement places it an unfairly advantaged status over the academic institutions and defies that Constitutional guarantee of equality of rights and protection under our laws,” Gapay said. Gapay expressed support to DND’s move to terminate the 1989 accord, saying it was “unfair to the Filipino people and runs contrary to the public interest”. “Thus, the termination of the said accord does not violate the Constitution or any substantive laws of the land. On the contrary, the termination rectifies what we believe was in fact infringement of our Constitution,” he said. He said that it is high time to put an end to a deal which has been taken advantage of by the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army (CPP-NPA) “in perpetuating their deceptive recruitment.” Critics of the accord’s termination said the move was an infringement of academic freedom, but Gapay clarified that the military would not interfere in the state university’s “liberty to choose who may teach, what can be taught, the manner with which it will be taught or who may study in UP”. “That academic freedom is guaranteed by the Constitution, it does not require enabling laws or any other agreements — certainly not from the voided agreement,” Gapay said. The AFP records show that at least 18 UP students who were recruited by the NPA have perished in skirmishes with government security forces. “And this deadly recruitment has to stop. The CTGs (Communist Terrorist Groups) can no longer lurk in the university as they did before knowing that the AFP cannot enter the campuses without the prior consent of the school administrators,” Gapay said. The military, he said, cannot remain bound by an agreement that dictates they have to seek permission before they can enter UP campuses. “As a way forward, we will pursue a more collaborative relationship between UP —and other universities for that matter— to usher the rebirth of schools and state universities that are bastions of genuine patriotism and not of misguided activism,” Gapay said. The CPP-NPA is listed as a terrorist organization by the United States, European Union, the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the Philippines Source: Philippines News agency
January 25, 2021 12:00 am
The local stock barometer ended Monday higher while the peso continued its sideways close against the US dollar as investors stayed at the sidelines partly due to developments in the US and the pandemic. The Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) rose by 0.36 percent, or 25.67 points, to 7,071.50 points. All Shares increased by 0.21 percent, or 8.96 points, to 4,250.65 points. It was a balance among the sectoral gauges, with Financials rising by 1.50 percent, Property by 1.15 percent, and Services by 0.31 percent. On the other hand, the Mining and Oil index declined by 1.17 percent, Industrial by 0.80 percent, and Holding Firms by 0.16 percent. Volume totaled 79.86 billion shares amounting to PHP9.11 billion. Losers led gainers at 129 to 92, while 39 shares were unchanged. “Investors resorted to bargain hunting as they weighed the outlook for (US) President (Joe) Biden’s nearly USD2 trillion stimulus bill and grew concerned amid reports that the new coronavirus variant may be deadlier,” Luis Limlingan, Regina Capital Development Corporation head of sales, said. Meanwhile, the peso kept its footing and finished the day at 48.079 from 48.085 last Friday. It opened the day flat relative to the previous session at 48.07. It traded between 48.085 and 48.05, resulting in an average level of 48.067. Volume totaled USD763.05 million, lower than the previous session’s USD1.09 billion. Source: Philippines News agency