January 16, 2007
 “The major value in life is not what you get.
The major value in life is what you become.”
- Jim Rohn

EXCHANGE RATE: $1 –  P 48.86 (PDI)
BANKING AND FINANCE


UNIONBANK TO SELL $100-M STOCKS. Union Bank of the Philippines plans to issue around $100 million worth of equity shares within the first quarter of the year. In a statement, the bank said it had hired Macquarie Securities to become lead manager of the offering. Details of the planned capital raising are yet to be finalized by UnionBank and MacQuarie. BWorld pS2/1 (related Malaya pB12; MBulletin pB-1)

TAN APPOINTMENT TO EPCI OK’d. The central bank has approved the appointment of Banco de Oro Universal Bank (BDO) President Nestor V. Tan as concurrent president of Equitable PCIBank (EPCI), a post vacated by Rene J. Buenaventura who resigned in December. In separate disclosures filed with the stock exchange, BDO and EPCI said they had received a letter from the central bank affirming an earlier decision of the EPCI board that named Mr. Tan bank president. BWorld pS2/1

THREE CHINA BANK BRANCHES RELOCATE TO SERVE CLIENTS BETTER. Three China Bank branches recently transferred to bigger and better locations – Fairview, Blumentritt and Shaw-Pasig branches. These newly relocated branches sport the new China Bank “signature” look that’s stylishly low-key, modern and designed to provide clients with utmost convenience, ease and comfort. BMirror pB5

DEUTSCHE BANK LEADS GOV’T, COMPANY FINANCING IN ASIA, SAYS DEALOGIC. Deutsche Bank last week announced it is the No.1 arranger of major currency debt for Asian governments and corporates in 2006, according to data recently released by Dealogic. In US dollar, Euro and Yen Asia bonds, Deutsche Bank in Asia (excluding Japan) completed a total of 30 deals worth $4.85 billion in 2006. BMirror pB5

OFW INFLOWS HIT $1.14B IN NOV. Money sent home in November by Filipinos working abroad rose 27.8 percent to $1.14 billion, taking accumulated remittances to an annual record and putting the Philippines on course to surpass its 2006 target. From January to November last year, total remittances reached $11.44 billion, up 17.63 percent from a year earlier and topping 2005’s record total of $10.7 billion, the BSP reported yesterday. PStar pB-1 (related PDI pB1; MTimes pB1; MStandard Today pB1)

ADB URGES ASIAN FREE TRADE BLOC. The head of the Asian Development Bank urged East Asian countries yesterday to create a regional free trade bloc and to increase financial cooperation to reduce the risk of crises. Haruhiko Kuroda told leaders from the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) as well as the heads of China, Japan, South Korea, India, Australia and New Zealand that they needed to cooperate to pull 750 million of their citizens out of dire poverty. PStar pB-1

ANGARA HAILS RURAL BANKS. The rural banking sector is being encouraged not only to expand in the municipalities in support of the overseas Filipino workers (OFWs). They are also being asked to ensure that the remittance money finds its way to their beneficiaries, as well as the municipalities where they reside. PStar pB-5

MAYBANK NAMED TOP ISLAMIC BANK. Maybank, although not a stand-alone Islamic bank, is the region’s largest Islamic banking service provider, Asian Banker Research found in its inaugural survey of the largest Islamic banking institutions in the Asia Pacific. It currently holds over $6.4-billion Shariah-compliant assets through its Islamic banking window – about 50 percent more than Bank Islam Malaysia, the biggest full-fledged Islamic bank and second largest player in the region. PStar pB-5

BSP RELAXES RULES ON FOREX-DENOMINATED BONDS. The BSP said it will allow banks to reclassify forex-denominated bonds of the NG and the central bank without risk penalties for a short period after the revised reclassification rules take effect in July this year. The BSP announced yesterday that the Monetary Board decided it would give a 30-day exemption to banks wishing to reclassify foreign currency denominated bonds of the NG and the BSP booked under the “held to maturity (HTM)” category. PStar pB-6

 

 ECONOMY


RP BONDS, BROAD MART STEADY. Philippine debt prices were steady yesterday after the country raised its economic growth target for the year and cut its 2006 budget deficit estimates, while the broader market also steadied. Newly sold Philippine bonds maturing in 2032 were traded at 96.875 while the 2031 bonds were bid at 112.625, both unchanged from Friday’s New York levels, when they dipped by three-eights of a point from Asian trade. BWorld pS2/1

MORGAN STANLEY SEES PESO GAIN AS CRISIS PASSES. The peso is seen to gain 1.8 percent by June 30 as a stronger grip on power for President Arroyo enables her to push through policies to spur the economy, according to Morgan Stanley. The peso has risen 0.9 percent in the past month as the government, which thwarted two coup attempts in three years, completed a $1-billion bond sale and raised growth forecasts. By contrast, the Thai baht slumped 2.4 percent as the junta that grabbed power in September blamed bomb blasts on opponents and restricted foreign investment. BMirror pA1

 

 NATIONAL SCENE


JOKER JOCKEYS FOR GOV’T WORKERS’ 10% PAY HIKE. Sen. Joker Arroyo is pushing the implementation of the Salary Standardization Law which would enable all government workers, including those in the uniformed services, to collect their 10-percent salary increase. In a statement, Senator Arroyo noted that due to earlier budgetary constraints, employees on government payroll were unable to avail themselves of the upward adjustments in their salaries “over the years.” BMirror pA5 (related MBulletin p16)

 

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