APEC Philippines 2015 organizers host welcome
dinner for delegates, finance deputies
(TAGAYTAY CITY, Cavite) The Asia-Pacific Economic
Cooperation (APEC) Philippines 2015’s National Organizing Committee, in
cooperation with the Department of Finance, hosted a welcome dinner in honor of
participating delegates and finance deputies at the Taal Vista Hotel here
Thursday.
The guests were invited to the pre-dinner cocktail
reception at the hotel's covered terrace, where they were met by a marching
brass band and treated to a musical fanfare.
Young musicians played classical and light music
while members of the Centro Escolar University folk dance troupe performed for
the entertainment of the APEC delegates.
Finance Undersecretary Gil Beltran said APEC
delegates were amazed by Tagaytay's beauty and some of them have hinted at
returning for a vacation or for possible investment.
In a previous interview, Marciano Paynor,
Secretary General of the APEC Philippines 2015’s National Organizing Committee,
said holding the forum’s initial meetings in different locations in the country
aims to promote these places for tourism and investment.
These meetings run up to the APEC Leaders' Meeting
in November.
Tagaytay City, dubbed as the country's second
summer capital because of its cool climate, is a favorite getaway and tourist
destination in the country.
It provides a spectacular view of the Taal Volcano
nestled in Taal Lake. The city offers an array of places to visit as well as
local dishes for visitors to enjoy.
Tagaytay City is part of Cavite province and has a
total land area of 6,500 hectares. It is approximately 60 kilometers away from
Metro Manila and it takes about one hour to travel from the metropolis. PND
(as)
Private sector spells out initiatives that would
help small businesses in Asia Pacific
(TAGAYTAY CITY, Cavite) The private sector has
identified 12 initiatives that could be included in the Cebu Action Plan (CAP)
to help small businesses, a private sector representative to the Asia-Pacific
Economic Cooperation (APEC) Business Advisory Council (ABAC) has said.
In a press conference at the Summit Ridge Hotel
here on Thursday, Dr. Caesar Parrenas said that these initiatives include the
creation of a credit information system, the use of movable collaterals, and
fixing trade and supply chain financing.
Parrenas, who is a member of ABAC, said one of the
problems of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the Asia-Pacific region,
especially the medium enterprises, is that many of them do not have real state
collaterals.
In many cases, if an enterprise does not have any
real state collateral, it cannot get loans from banks, he said.
The ABAC, he noted, is collating experiences from
countries that have successfully initiated legal reforms that allow the use of
movables as collaterals, which are very important to SMEs.
But doing this is not simple, he said, adding that
when policymakers make laws, they need to create a whole operational
infrastructure that would allow the use of movables as collaterals.
A searchable collateral registry must also be set
up, as what Australia did for its small and medium businesses, he said.
Parrenas explained that under this set up,
borrowers could register their collaterals in the Internet and lenders could
check them online.
The system must be consistent, he said, adding
that even in advanced economies like Japan, they have a system called
“perfection system” to address issues when a company goes bankrupt.
"We are looking at the best practices that
are already there and share these experiences with Asians, especially with the
developing Asian economies which have expressed their interest in initiating
reforms," he said.
Citing an example, he said Vietnam is carrying out
reforms in this area and the ABAC is providing advice. Aside from the private
sector, experts from multilateral institutions such as the International
Finance Corp., have been working on these issues for many years.
Another issue that is important to SMEs is trade
and supply chain financing, Parrenas explained, pointing out that there are two
sets of issues in this area: regulatory issues that raise the cost and limit
the availability of trade financing for SMEs, and innovations coming into the
market.
These market innovations are being done by some
banks, suppliers and buyers but there is very little awareness on these issues,
hence the need to raise awareness, he said.
Another important thing for small businesses is an
e-commerce platform, Parrenas said, noting that the issue on e-commerce
platform is how to develop the regulatory structure that would make it safe and
function efficiently.
The APEC Finance and Central Bank Deputies'
Meeting opened on Thursday to address the concerns of businesses in the region,
as well as spur economic growth. PND (as)
APEC member economies push for adoption of
structural reforms to boost growth
(TAGAYTAY CITY, Cavite) Member economies of the
Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) are pushing for the adoption of more
structural reforms, including those that improve access to financing for small
and medium enterprises (SMEs), in an effort to regain their pre-crisis growth
levels.
In a press briefing on the sidelines of the APEC
Finance and Central Bank Deputies’ Meeting here Thursday, Finance
Undersecretary Gil S. Beltran said the 21 Pacific Rim economies grouped in the
APEC are concerned with making their respective economies grow as fast as
before the global financial crisis.
Beltran said APEC economies were growing four to
five percent before the crisis.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) forecasts
growth in the Asia-Pacific region to accelerate to 4.3 percent this year from
3.9 percent in 2014.
“But they noted there was a slowdown in
investments, which explains why there is a need for some efforts on the part of
the member economies to do more structural reforms, improve on their policies
so their economies will strengthen and so that investors’ confidence will be
restored,” he said.
The APEC believes that structural reforms can
address volatility, Beltran said, noting that adopting measures can make the
economy grow faster, enhance market efficiency, and enable some sectors to
access financing to fund their businesses.
“Structural reforms are really measures that
countries can adopt to make their economies efficient, that will generate more
economic activities,” he added.
Beltran said among the planned measures is the setting
up of credit information bureaus in all APEC member economies.
“It will allow the lenders to know more about
potential borrowers who are still excluded from the system. For instance, an
SME in a faraway province can’t get financing because he has no credit rating.
With a credit information bureau, possible lenders just look into the sites to
find out whether this potential borrower is a good one,” he said.
Beltran said alternative data to enable the
lenders to identify the borrowers include their utility payments.
“And if these small entrepreneurs are able to get
some funds to expand their business, then that will create a lot of employment
that will generate economic activity in the communities where they are
located,” he added. PNA (ldv)
Asia-Pacific countries could tap their savings to
spur growth, development, says finance official
(TAGAYTAY CITY, Cavite) Many member economies of
the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) could tap their savings to revive
regional growth by using their investable funds for infrastructure and wider
financial inclusion, a finance official said on Thursday.
Infrastructure development is very important to
the growth of an economy, Finance Undersecretary Gil Beltran told a press
conference.
He said that growth could further be enhanced if
previously untapped businesses, such as micro, small and medium enterprises
(MSMEs) of low-income households are covered.
Beltran told reporters that the contradicting
monetary stances of Europe, Japan and the United States after the financial
crisis could result in some volatility in the financial market.
Some countries are still in the low growth level,
such as Europe and Japan, and they are loosening up their monetary policies to
revive growth, he said.
The US, on the other hand, has divergent monetary
policies as it tries to normalize its monetary policy, adjusting interest rates
to higher levels, according to Beltran.
These two contradicting monetary stances could
result in some volatility in the financial market, he noted, adding that what
worries APEC member economies is how to adjust their policies so they could
avoid or emerge from a more volatile financial situatio
During Thursday's meeting between finance and
central bank deputies, Beltran said the general consensus is that the best
antidote to volatility would be structural reforms.
These initiatives include adopting measures that
will make the economy grow faster, enhancing efficiency in the markets and in
the production process, and getting some sectors that are unable to get
financing so they would be able to finance their businesses, he said.
These, he said, are the things that will make
investors think twice before leaving a country.
"If your economy is growing, your private
sector is showing some resiliency and good growth, then the funds will stay.
Because basically, the Asia-Pacific region is the fastest growing region in the
world," Beltran added. PND (as)
Benefits from President’s Social Fund already
released to slain troopers’ families
The Palace said on Friday that the assistance from
the President’s Social Fund has already been released to the families of the 44
police commandos who died during a law enforcement operation in Mamasapano,
Maguindanao last January.
“As far as the assistance from the Presidential
Social Fund, all that has been already given to the recipients and to the
families. The others, the PNP (Philippine National Police) is already
expediting the processing of some of the benefits,” Deputy Presidential
Spokesperson Abigail Valte said during a press briefing in Malacañang.
Valte noted that 61 relatives of the slain
troopers have been given employment and enlistment assistance while other
requests are being processed by the Department of Labor and Employment.
Educational assistance, she said, will be provided
by the National Police Commission (NAPOLCOM) and the Commission on Higher
Education (CHED) for the legitimate children of the fallen troopers.
“Kapag hindi po sila nag-qualify sa NAPOLCOM scholarship
or sa CHED assistance, nagbigay po ng instructions ang Pangulo sa Executive
Secretary na aralin kung ano pa ang ibang mga pondong puwedeng i-tap para naman
po sa kanilang educational assistance. So, hindi po ito limited sa anak, sa
naiwang magulang, kasama din po ang mga kapatid na madalas na nabibigyan po
natin ng assistance,” she said.
Asked if extended family members of the troopers
had also sought help, Valte said some of them did ask for some help.
“Noong nagkausap sila ng Pangulo, siyempre,
humingi na rin ng kaunti pang tulong. We do not begrudge them that and we will
also go the extra mile to accommodate these requests, of course, so long as
they are within our capacity to give,” she said. PND (ag)
Women’s Commission Chief vows to continue to press
for gender equality, promote women’s rights
The Philippine Commission on Women (PCW) has
reaffirmed its commitment to campaign for gender equality, women’s rights and
women empowerment.
“On this year’s observance of Women’s Month, we
reiterate our resolve to remain steadfast in our work. We count on the women
and girls from all sectors at the local to national levels to lead the advocacy
and to participate in politics and decision-making. We urge women to have a say
on how our efforts towards gender equality are directed and implemented, and
for them to make the critical interventions in terms of programming and
resource allocation,” PCW Executive Director Emelyn Verzosa said during a press
briefing in Malacañang on Friday.
Verzosa said that while the Philippines is now
considered as one of the gender-friendly countries in the world, “it remains a
work in progress.”
“Challenges to the attainment of gender equality
are ever present. Key areas of concern for women and girls then still hold true
now. It appears our work to empower women and provide equal opportunities for
women and men will never end. But we carry with us decades of hard work and
experiences that will help us face these challenges. More can be done, more
should be done,” she added.
Verzosa said the PCW is celebrating its 40th
anniversary this year, which is also the 20th year since the country adapted
the Beijing Platform for Action, the agenda to uphold gender equality,
development and peace during the United Nations Fourth World Conference on
Women.
“Since then, we have come a long way, and although
our country remains to be a work in progress, the collective and convergent
efforts of the government, civil society organizations, academe, private
sector, media and the general public have started to bring results and meaning
to women and girls,” she said.
“We have overcome the gender gap in educational
attainment and health and survival where we ranked first in Asia,” Verzosa
noted, citing the 2014 Global Gender Gap Index Report made by the World
Economic Forum where the Philippines was ranked ninth in the world, the only
Asian country in the Top 10.
She also mentioned the Magna Carta of Women which
was passed in 2009 and other laws that cover various aspects of women’s lives
and human rights, her entitlement to various programs and services in
education, health, access to resources, decent jobs, safety and security,
representation and participation, among others.
Verzosa said women have contributed significantly
to family income as employees, entrepreneurs, or even migrant workers. She said
a survey of 42 countries by the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor a few years ago
showed that the Philippines was second among active female entrepreneurs, next
to Peru.
She further said that the Department of Trade and
Industry has reported that 54 percent of enterprises are female-owned, and more
recently, a survey by the Asian Institute of Management in 2014 showed that 63
percent of managers who are owners of micro, small and medium enterprises are
women, most of whom are in the micro level. PND (jm)
Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation members agree to
develop insurance market for agriculture sector, small businesses
(TAGAYTAY CITY, Cavite) Member economies of the
Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) have reached a consensus to develop
the region's insurance market for the agriculture sector, small households, and
micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) to shield them from the effects of
natural calamities, a finance official said on Friday.
Finance Undersecretary Gil Beltran, who chaired
the day’s session on financial resiliency which is part of the APEC Finance and
Central Bank Deputies' Meeting, said there is broad support towards deepening
insurance markets to ensure that these sectors are protected.
Beltran said that during the meeting, it was
mentioned that losses from disasters in the Asia-Pacific region are estimated
at $200 billion each year, hence the need for regional insurance coverage.
"And only less than a half of this is
insured. So, there is a big market out there that needs some protection from
natural disasters and we need to develop the markets that will allow them to be
protected," he told reporters during a press conference after wrapping up
the meeting here in Tagaytay City.
For his part, Bangko Sentral Ng Pilipinas Deputy
Governor Diwa Guinigundo discussed the Cebu Action Plan (CAP) that will be
launched in Cebu this September.
The Cebu Action Plan has four pillars: financial
integration, fiscal transparency and policy reform, financial resiliency, and
infrastructure development and financing.
When asked by reporters regarding the timetable to
implement the CAP, Guingundo said the first two could be done over the short
term.
He further said that urban development is a whole
process of urbanization and thus, the corresponding infrastructure component
will have to be prepared in terms of sharing knowledge of innovative financing
for sustainable urban development.
The APEC Finance and Central Bank Deputies'
Meeting tackled financial resiliency and infrastructure development and
financing on Friday, the last day of the meeting. PND (as)
