PH, Japan reaffirm close economic cooperation

The Philippines and Japan have reaffirmed their joint commitment to step by step put in force the authorities's flagship infrastructure initiatives and other initiatives to further strengthen economic cooperation between the two countries amid and past the extended coronavirus-caused worldwide crisis.

In a statement over the weekend, the Finance branch said that during the digital assembly of the Philippines-Japan Joint Committee on Infrastructure Development and Economic Cooperation, Japan also dedicated to enhance bilateral ties with the Philippines beneath the management of recent Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga.


The Philippines, for its part, welcomed the appointment of Suga, and expressed its appreciation of the significant strides made in the direction of the ongoing financial cooperation and friendship between the two international locations below former high minister Shinzo Abe.

"Our dedication to this long-standing partnership has proved beneficial amidst these attempting instances. Our cooperation in accelerating infrastructure improvement may be most critical inside the united states of america's recuperation from the negative consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic," Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez 3rd said, relating to the coronavirus disorder pandemic 2019.
Dominguez said the 2 facets additionally mentioned packages on accelerating Mindanao's monetary development and peace-constructing projects with a brand new Bangsamoro self reliant government in area and amid the continuing rehabilitation and reconstruction efforts in Marawi City.

Acting Secretary Karl Kendrick Chua of the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) co-chaired the Philippine panel, while Hiroto Izumi, the Special Advisor to the Japan Prime Minister, led the Japanese aspect.

Izumi assured that Japan will preserve to extend assistance to the government's Build, Build, Build software and the Mindanao peace process, similarly noting that they may hold to reveal and aid the Philippines' efforts in preventing the pandemic.

So far, Japan has already authorised JPY3.1 billion in technical assistance for the Cebu-Mactan Bridge (4th Bridge) and Coastal Road Construction Project, the Master Plan for Subic Bay, the Parañaque Spillway, and the Cagayan de Oro-Malaybay Section of the Central Mindanao Highway task.


The Philippines and Japan also dedicated to paintings in the direction of the signing of the settlement on the second tranche loan for the Metro Manila Subway Project (Phase 1) within the first zone of 2021.

The Japanese aspect additionally committed to continuously provide technical assistance and technical help-related offers to the Philippines with exceptionally concessional price phrases, possibly under its Special Terms of Economic Partnership for eligible nations, earlier than the Philippines elevates its classification to an Upper-Middle Income Country on or before 2022.

Loan agreements

The  facets additionally mentioned the 5 mortgage agreements signed and three trade of notes this 12 months. These include the Metro Manila Priority Bridges Seismic Improvement Project (II); Davao City Bypass Construction Project (II); Cebu-Mactan Bridge (4th Bridge) and Coastal Road Construction Project; Covid-19 Crisis Response Emergency Support Loan; Post Disaster Stand-by means of Loan (Phase 2); Non-Project Grant Aid for the Economic and Social Development Programme for the Provision of Medical Equipment; Non-Project Grant Aid for the Economic and Social Development Program for the Provision of Agricultural Machineries; and the Project for Human Resource Development Scholarship.

The Department of Finance (DoF) stated each aspects also mentioned the feasible effect of the pandemic on the continued and pipeline infrastructure initiatives, specially on the safety of the employees, the indicative growth in the general undertaking fees, immigration worries, and effects at the original timeline of the respective tasks.

The Philippines dedicated to hold consultations with the affected stakeholders and to formulate a not unusual framework to address these concerns, the DoF said.

Both aspects also welcomed the progress of the railway projects below the Build, Build, Build program, together with the Metro Manila Subway Project, and devoted to preserve consultations on the technical level to deal with the challenges to their rapid implementation.

On the Mindanao peace manner, the Japanese side reaffirmed its dedication to beautify its assistance to the development of Mindanao, including the brand new Bangsamoro independent location and the rehabilitation of Marawi town, upon the Philippines' request.

The  facets also mentioned trends at the Regional Development (Master Plan on High Standard Highway Network Development, Master Plan Surveys of Subic, Cebu and Davao City, amongst others); Information and Communications Technology (National Broadband Plan, Digital Terrestrial Television Broadcasting); Energy (Cooperation within the LNG Sector and Power Sector); Environment (Waste-to-Energy Project in Davao City); Public Safety (Illegal Drug Control Measures, Maritime Safety); and Disaster Risk Reduction and Management (Project for Flood Control in Davao City, Pasig-Marikina River Channel Improvement Project).

PSE eyes short selling, new indices

The Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) is eyeing the implementation of brief selling and the addition of recent sectors and indices early next yr, PSE President and Chief Executive Officer Ramon Monzon stated.

In a virtual briefing after its annual stockholders' meeting on Monday, Monzon told the newshounds that they are consistently following up with the Securities and Exchange Commission and Bureau of Internal Revenues the ultimate necessities for short promoting.


He introduced they desire to get the approvals of regulators with the aid of yr stop so one can launch short promoting within the first quarter of subsequent 12 months.

Monzon stated the launching of brief promoting is vital, especially for foreign investors, as it'd permit them to hedge their investments.
Monzon brought that they're also seeking to growth the variety of sectors from six to eight with the aid of the first zone of subsequent 12 months.

The PSE index (PSEi) currently has six sectors specifically, financials, industrial, keeping companies, services, mining and oil, and assets.

PSE seems to feature a consumer sector, and a technology, media and telecommunications quarter to the list.

Meanwhile, two new indices are also being taken into consideration, which Monzon stated could probable be a mid-capital index and a dividend paying index.


Monzon referred to that capital raising activities for October reached P85.2 billion, an eight.Four-percentage year-on-year growth from P78.58 billion in the equal period closing yr.

"We have a completely robust capital raising activity even in light of the pandemic," the PSE president and chief said.

The benchmark PSEi climbed 1.19 percentage or 74.61 factors to finish at 6,324 on Friday.
AboitizLand Inc. Said its common monthly income already exceeded pre-pandemic ranges on the again of shifting market needs and its innovative selling techniques.

The real estate arm of listed Aboitiz Equity Ventures Inc. In a assertion on Monday said reservation income for the months following the community quarantine averaged above 80 percentage of authentic objectives despite regulations.

It delivered that it is well on its way to exceed its performance last 12 months.

AboitizLand said the quarantine shifted residential real estate preferences as homes in suburban places became extra appealing to assets seekers, in line with enterprise watchers.

Create to help RE sector

The Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises (Create), the second one package deal of the authorities's comprehensive tax reform pending in Congress, will help spur investments in renewable electricity (RE), a Cabinet official stated.


"The Philippines seeks to decrease reliance on carbon-primarily based energy thru various coverage actions geared closer to promoting investments in the direction of greener sources of strength. The DoE (Department of Energy) recently imposed a moratorium on new coal-fired strength vegetation," Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez third instructed newshounds on Monday.

The DoE recently announced that it will now not be given new endorsement programs for the construction of greenfield coal energy vegetation.
Dominguez said this, "along with Create's overall performance-primarily based financial incentives, will steer personal capital closer to new investments in renewable energy."

According to Dominguez, the DoF's dedication to strong weather action is supported with the aid of the Create provisions together with the generous, performance-primarily based incentives to investments underneath the Strategic Investment Priorities Plan, which is ready to encompass the RE sector.

Dominguez stated the arena's incentives below Republic Act 9513, or "An Act Promoting the Development, Utilization and Commercialization of Renewable Energy Resources," will also be retained.

Aside from this, Dominguez stated Create may also have an more advantageous income tax deduction for research and development.


"Renewable energy corporations stand to gain from this as they increase new technology and improvements. The improved deduction is designed to enhance improvements, consisting of green strength technology and advanced battery technology," stated Dominguez.

According to Dominguez, Create may also have an superior income tax deduction for education, with a purpose to incentivize growing quite professional employees mainly in the course of this transition in the direction of the "Fourth Industrial Revolution," which always consists of green jobs.

In his speech all through the current 7th Asia Pacific Adaptation Network Webinar, Dominguez said the Philippines is aiming to shift investments to smooth power resources and inexperienced technology.

"The Philippines is ranked 9th out of 181 countries within the 2020 World Risk Index of maximum disaster-susceptible international locations inside the international. We are extremely liable to rising sea ranges, excessive climate situations, and other calamities related to the warming of the earth's climate," he stated.

Dominguez also said that because of the threats of world warming, the government put together a National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Plan; and Disaster Risk Financing and Insurance Strategy.

China’s MOK optimistic on PH operations, market

China Tobacco Hubei's MOK hopes to faucet hundreds of thousands of Filipinos trying to veer away from smoking cigarettes and to replace to "heat no longer burn" devices.

A 12 months after introducing its "warmth no longer burn" devices and the cartridge logo COO — heat sticks that go along with them — within the local market, MOK Philippines Assistant Brand Manager Jozen Bajita stated operations have been "precise" in spite of the coronavirus ailment 2019 pandemic.


"We wish that the growth can be increasing as we invite extra adults to transition to the better opportunity," Bajita added.

Since the release in 2019, MOK has been aggressively boosting its footprint in Metro Manila, opening kiosks in select SM department stores and tapping selling channels like 7/11, Family Mart and Lawson.

It additionally marked its presence within the digital area with reputable stores in e-commerce giants Lazada and Shopee.

MOK Philippines brand head Edward Cruz claimed the organization's electronic devices are "much less harmful" as they handiest heat up tobacco sticks to produce flavorful vapor.


"There has been no actual look at on how much much less dangerous it's miles … due to the fact we aren't burning tobacco, our pollutants are 90- to ninety five-percentage much less as opposed to cigarettes," he stated.
Let me begin this column by honoring the memory of William A. O'Neil, secretary-widespread of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) from 1990 to 2003, who passed away on October 29 on the age of ninety three.

IMO Secretary-General Kitack Lim expressed terrific sadness upon receiving the information and offered his condolences and people of the IMO club and team of workers to the Canadian Government and Mr. O'Neil's family.

"Mr. O'Neil become a top notch pal and mentor who made a large personal contribution to securing globally relevant safety, safety and environmental standards," Mr. Lim stated.

Let us additionally honor the memory of seafarers who died at sea, many of the most latest of whom became Joel Canete Linao, who died when Gulf Livestock 1 sank during a hurricane on September 3, 2020. May angels lead them in, and can they discover peace in God's include.
We Filipinos have just experienced an unusual All Saints' Day. We have been used to remembering our lifeless through going to the cemeteries, bringing now not handiest foods and drinks but even tents, ovens and utensils, tables and chairs, mats and pillows, toys and devices. The festive atmosphere frequently distracts us from the reality that we are there to hope for our dearly departed.

But COVID-19 has changed all that, because it modified a lot of our habits and way of life. To stem the unfold of the virus, the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF) had ordered the closure of all cemeteries from Oct. 29 to Nov. Four, forcing us to stay home in the course of the long weekend.

Just as we discovered to live with "the better ordinary" which changed the "vintage normal" and even the "new regular," we came to accept the better way of honoring the dead. In his homily on All Saints' Day, Archdiocese of Manila apostolic administrator Auxiliary Bishop Broderick Pabillo stated that even as we are not able to go to our departed cherished ones in cemeteries, nothing should stop us from gazing the event in a meaningful manner. "Our incapacity to go to the cemeteries presently deepens the which means of our subculture for All Saints' Day and All Souls' Day," he said. "This is a time whilst we take into account our lifeless, who preserve to unite us as one circle of relatives, thru our prayers to the Lord, in line with our goal to be saint-like and be together again in heaven."

We are pressured to mirror at the importance of our customs and specific our ideals in different approaches. We can nonetheless percentage a simple repast with circle of relatives as we used to, even as staring at safety protocols, and mild candles for our beloved useless. Not handiest does this give a boost to our belief inside the communion of saints; it also deepens our reference to family.


Lastly, allow us to pray for the souls of Typhoon Rolly's fatalities, and those who had been left homeless and grief-afflicted within the Bicol region; and say a prayer of thanks that regardless of the harm, the typhoon had turned out to be less negative than we feared.

Extreme weather conditions in recent years caused by the weather disaster have made us extra privy to disaster preparedness. Among the reminders we encountered on social media as we monitored the technique of Typhoon Rolly showed greater recognition of each the quick- and lengthy-term effects of the storm:

Because power outages are inevitable, arrangements need to encompass cooking and eating meals stored within the fridge; stocking on canned food and drinking water; having LPGs prepared and refilling spare tanks; putting new batteries in flashlights, and having candles equipped.
To prepare in opposition to strong winds, dismantle all transient systems; make stronger your vegetation; relaxed all unstable gadgets for your open garage and garden; check your roof, and reinforce unsteady roofing with hole blocks or sandbags on pinnacle.

Since verbal exchange is important, update batteries of transistor radio (your high-quality supply of news in the course of brownouts) and maintain spare ones; rate cell phones, strength banks, tablets, laptops, and other devices vital to verbal exchange; reload prepaid credit; reveal the climate from respectable and reliable resources; keep documents to the cloud; deploy apps for disaster preparedness.

A common reminder when a typhoon is coming is "Batten down the hatches!" It's one of these nautical expressions which have found their way into everyday use. It way "prepare for trouble." It is extensive enough to cowl all the precautionary measures we have enumerated above.

This idiom is thought to have come from the exercise of securing a ship's hatches or hatchways to put together for horrific climate. These hatches have been normally left open or protected with a grill to permit sparkling air to circulate. When horrific climate become expected, the team would cover these openings with tarpaulins and attach them in location with timber battens.
And as we're once more bracing ourselves for the onslaught of any other typhoon, this nauticalexpression bears repeating: "Batten down the hatches!"

Minimum wage in Poland

The government has decided to Raise The Minimum Wage In 2019. Next year, it should be 2250 zlotys gross, and the minimum hourly rate is set at 14.7 zlotys gross. What could be the consequences of this decision? Is the minimum wage growing at an appropriate Pace? The increase was announced by Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki himself. Although the increase in the minimum wage is not a surprise in itself, the scale of the increase (+150 zlotys gross compared to the current year) is already there. We decided at the Council of Ministers to recommend a higher minimum wage than originally planned .

The schedule of wage increases

This is also a symbol of the fact that we want the Polish economy to rely on development not on low wages, but on wage growth, " the Prime Minister explained. Since the economy fell during the quarantine,it is worth noting that online platforms have risen a step higher.Those who are interested in the IT field know that you can raise your income, and thanks to deltamarket.net it is easy and affordable to do so .The minimum monthly wage rate of 2250 zlotys gross means an increase of more than 7% compared to the current lowest wage (2100 zlotys gross). The minimum hourly rate will also increase from 13.7 zlotys to 14.7 zlotys gross.

The unions wanted more

The rationale for raising the minimum wage can be found in the report of the Government Information Center (CIR). we read there: the current economic situation does not allow us to balance the increase in the minimum wage, commensurate with the dynamics of economic growth and productivity growth and a decrease in unemployment. back in june, the government was inclined to set the minimum wage at 2,200 rubles. why the changes?

It is known that trade unions demanded a significant increase. solidarity wanted a minimum of 2,278 rubles, then lowered its expectations slightly (to 2,255 rubles). Much further went OPZZ, which offered 2383 rubles. The final decision of the government was called by the head of Solidarity, Petr Duda,"a compromise that does not suit us, but is acceptable." At the same time, he added that in the end, the minimum wage should be formed at the level of 50% of the average wage (now it is 47.3%).

Consequences of the increase

Quite quickly after the announcement of the increase, there were voices that this could mean problems for some people receiving the 500 plus allowance. In the case of establishing rights to the first child benefit, the income criterion is taken into account. Imagine a situation where a single parent raises one child and earns 2250 zlotys gross, or just over 1600 zlotys net. in this case, the net income per person slightly exceeds 800 zlotys, that is, the threshold for the right to receive benefits for the first child. In theory, parents may face such a problem in 2020, when they will have to demonstrate income for 2019-of course, provided that the government does not raise the mentioned income threshold by then.

The natural consequence of raising the minimum wage is a simultaneous increase in the amount of benefits that are associated with it by law, m.in. sickness benefit or night work allowance. The income limit that entrepreneurs using the so-called small ZUS will be able to reach will also increase by almost 400 zlotys. According to the draft law, individuals engaged in individual business activities, whose monthly income does not exceed 2.5 times the minimum wage, pay lower contributions.

Employers traditionally opposed to

It is not surprising that the announced increase in the minimum wage have met opposition from employers. The government's decision was criticized by Jeremy Mordasewicz of the Confederation of Leviathan. In his opinion, although the current situation will allow employers to cope with the increase, in the event of an economic downturn, they may have problems with increasing the minimum wage at this rate. In addition, there is a fairly obvious argument about the risk of losing their jobs to the least skilled workers.

Moreover, constant increases do not go hand in hand with increased productivity and productivity. as rzeczpospolita recently reported, citing an analysis by the civil development forum foundation, 26% of polish workers earn half of our gdp. this means that only 5.6 million poles work effectively. the result of insufficient wages to labor productivity may be a decrease in the competitiveness of polish products.

Another disadvantage of the predetermined minimum wage is that it operates throughout the country, without taking into account the specifics of the labor market in its individual regions.