P50-B ‘Ortigas East’ master plan unveiled

By: DORIS DUMLAO-ABADILLA
Philippine Daily Inquirer
05:22 AM February 08, 2018
http://business.inquirer.net/245539/p50-b-ortigas-east-master-plan-unveiled

Ortigas president and chief executive Jaime Ysmael said the redevelopment would be executed in three phases and would make Ortigas East the new residential, retail and business hub in the east of the metropolis.

The estate is also being groomed to be a “natural extension” of the Ortigas central business district.

In a text message, Ysmael said the P50-billion Ortigas East redevelopment would be implemented in the next 15 to 20 years.

“Tiendesitas will remain in Ortigas East but we will eventually redevelop it as we execute the master plan for the redevelopment of the state, which will be done in phases,” Ysmael said.

Tiendesitas, the anchor locator in this estate, has developed a niche for people looking for native food, handicrafts, fashion, antiques and pets.

“Ortigas East moves us another step closer to our goal of fully realizing the potential of our 52-hectare landbank. We started with Greenhills last year, and now, it’s Ortigas East. We are building this as an ecoefficient, connected community filled with the comforts that will allow people to live and move better inside a well-planned estate,” Ysmael said in a statement on Wednesday.

The first phase of the redevelopment will bring new residential, retail and office developments to Ortigas East.

Other locators in Ortigas East are SM Hypermarket, Fun Ranch, Ark Avilon, Transcom Center, Silver City and Shell Gas Station.

Ysmael said Ortigas East was poised to redefine mixed-use developments through the advanced planning and design done for the property. To achieve its vision of an ecoefficient, connected community, Ortigas & Co. partnered with world-renowned firms such as CallisonRTKL, which worked on the master planning; WSP Parsons Brinckerhoff for traffic analysis; AIT Wind Solutions for wind analysis on the buildings; and Langan for seismic analysis.

Ortigas & Co. also included plans for an improved road network inside Ortigas East to provide more space for people to walk and bike in. About 40 percent of space will be allotted for open parks and areas to provide balance amid the tall structures. A transport terminal will be put up to help people get in and around the property, as well as the surrounding areas.

A new office tower will be launched in the estate next month. This will be the company’s first office tower where units will be for sale. Called The Glaston Tower, the 34-story structure is being pitched as a prime business address for local and multinational businesses.

Last year, Ortigas & Co. also announced the redevelopment of its Greenhills estate in San Juan. The ongoing redevelopment will also be done in three phases, with the first phase marked by the introduction of residential tower Connor and the building of new mall and a business process outsourcing office facility.

Now on its 86th year, Ortigas is also the developer behind Capitol Commons, Circulo Verde, Greenmeadows, Valle Verde and Greenhills Subdivisions.

By: Roy Stephen C. Canivel
Philippine Daily Inquirer
05:12 AM February 08, 2018
http://business.inquirer.net/245531/torre-lorenzo-dusit-thani-unit-earmark-p9-4b-hotel-residential-ventures

TLDC chief executive officer and president Tomas Lorenzo said in a briefing that the company was diversifying to hotels and leisure projects, after making a name for itself in the area of university residences.

Officials said P4.5 billion had been earmarked for the Dusit Thani Residence Davao and dusitD2 Hotel, the first five-star luxury complex in Davao and also Dusit International’s first residence in the Asia Pacific region.

Hotel facilities will be opened by the end of the year and the turnover of residences will follow in the first quarter of 2019.

Some P1.9 billion was allocated for Dusit Thani Hotel at Lubi Plantation, a five-star luxury resort in a 36-hectare leisure development in the Davao Gulf.

In total, Davao would host three projects, accounting for P6.4 billion of the investments.

Dusit Princess Lipa Hotel in Batangas, scheduled for completion in 2021, has an estimated cost of P3 billion.

The move is in line with the company’s aim of opening new revenue sources, said chief finance officer and senior vice president for support services Emmanuel Rapadas.

“In five years, the objective is to generate 40 percent of our revenue from recurring income, hotel operations, and 60 percent from development revenue, or sale of condominium units,” he said.

By 2020, he said about 25 percent of revenue was expected to come from hotel operations.

Rapadas also said the company had posted P1.8 billion in reservation sales in 2017, up 35 percent from year-ago level.

For this year, the company is aiming for reservation sales of P2.4 billion to P2.5 billion worth of reservation sales, a growth of more than 38 percent. He said the company also has an inventory of university residences worth P6.2 billion.

By: Doris Dumlao-Abadilla
Philippine Daily Inquirer
05:40 PM February 07, 2018
http://business.inquirer.net/245523/filinvest-expands-mass-housing-gen-trias

The new project called Meridian Place, under FLI’s Futura Homes brand, offers 1,310 residential units and lots priced for as low as P900,000 to as high as P1.3 million.

Turnover is ongoing for the first phase of the project while the second phase has recently broken ground and is due for turnover to homebuyers on 2019.

Meridian Place, which targets home-seeking families, also recently launched its amenity area.

“We are humbled that phase 1 is selling faster than we expected. The ground breaking for phase 2 is an affirmation of our clients’ support for this project. We are also proud that we are able to serve the increasing demand for quality homes that are easy on the pocket,” said Rey Ascaño, Filinvest senior vice president for South West North Luzon cluster said in a press statement on Tuesday.

Ascaño noted the timely development of Meridian Place now that a growing number of housing projects were moving further away from Metro Manila to the suburbs such as in Cavite.

“In Meridian Place you can escape the heavily congested city life and enjoy fresh air and clean surroundings in a community like this,” he said.

Meridian Place pitches a “safe neighborhood, gated community, quality residential units, recreational amenities, and facilities to help families live in comfort every day.”

This development offers three model units – namely Bernice, Caroline and Danessa – with floor sizes ranging from 27 to 37 square meters and lot sizes between 60 and 75 square meters.

“It is also important to stress that what sets Filinvest apart from other affordable housing projects is its variety of fine amenities, like what we have here at Meridian Place. Family bonding activities are made easy without having the need to travel far. Families can take a dip at the well-appointed swimming pool or play a game of basketball at the court. Children can enjoy the playground and park lane, while momentous occasions and milestones can be celebrated at outdoor events lawn or the clubhouse. These amenities ensure a complete living experience for our client,” Ascaño said.

Based on industry estimates, the Philippines needs 345,941 new housing units per year from 2012 to 2030.

Ascaño added: “We are optimistic that Phase 2 will continue to cater to more Filipino families looking for a start-up home that will not break the bank. We also hope to cater to OFWs (overseas Filipino workers); they remain as one of the main driving forces of the property industry with more than 60 percent of remittances go to real-estate investments.”

By: Daxim L. Lucas
Philippine Daily Inquirer
05:03 PM February 07, 2018
http://business.inquirer.net/245518/pagcor-shuts-doors-new-casino-applicants-duterte-orders-moratorium

In an interview with reporters, Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. chair Andrea Domingo said only firms which submitted their applications before the President’s order to her last month — including a new casino in Clark, Pampanga owned by Davao-based businessman Dennis Uy — would be considered for approval.

“The President told me last January 11 to freeze the entry of new casinos because there are already many of them, and there are more wanting to apply,” the Pagcor chief said during the ICE Totally Gaming 2018 convention in London, the United Kingdom.

“But we’re just processing now the applications we received before the President ordered the moratorium,” she said, explaining that Mr. Duterte was concerned primarily about the “proliferation” of casinos in the country. “After that, as of January 13, we’ve stopped accepting applications.”

At present, there are four Pagcor-approved casino licenses for firms located in the regulator’s Entertainment City complex in Parañaque City, three of which — Solaire Resort and Casino, City of Dreams Manila, and Okada Manila — are already operating. A fourth one by Resorts World Manila has yet to break ground for construction.

Domingo said there are also three new casino licensees in Cebu, namely Uy’s Emerald casino, Millennium casino of the Hong Kong-based Asian Gaming Group, and the recently approved Universal casino of the Gokongwei group.

There is another Pagcor-approved licensee setting up operations on Boracay Island, and eight operations in Clark, Pampanga namely Mimosa, Midori, Donggwang, Widus, Clark Global and two others which are not operating.

“If those two open, there will be eight operators in Clark,” the Pagcor chief said. “I really think Clark can be like Las Vegas with the airport there and the planned high speed train to Manila.”

Domingo said Pagcor’s board is now drafting a memo to detail the moratorium order by Mr. Duterte.

“We’re stopping [license issuances] and we’ll let the market mature first,” she said.

City of Dreams Manila — the smallest gaming complex in Entertainment City and partly owned by Macau gaming magnate Lawrence Ho — previously filed an application to expand its physical footprint in the reclaimed development on the edge of Manila Bay, and Domingo said the Pagcor board is still evaluating the proposal.  /muf

By Danessa Rivera (The Philippine Star)
Updated February 8, 2018 – 12:00am
http://www.philstar.com/business/2018/02/08/1785552/alsons-build-more-power-plants-mindanao

Alsons Consolidated Resources Inc. (ACR) chairman and president Tomas Alcantara said the company would support the government’s Build Build Build program, an ambitious infrastructure development plan.

This especially after the Philippines signed a $380-million loan agreement with Manila-based multilateral lender Asian Development Bank (ADB).

Dubbed “Improving Growth Corridors in Mindanao Road Sector Project” (IGCMRSP), the loan will finance 11 big-ticket infrastructure projects to improve road networks in Western Mindanao, particularly in the Zamboanga Peninsula.

The package will bankroll the construction of approximately 280 kilometers of national, primary, secondary and tertiary roads and bridges in the Zamboanga Peninsula and Tawi-Tawi, to be implemented from 2018 to 2023.

Alcantara said the rollout of vital infrastructure projects would help maximize the growth potential and speed up the economic development not only of the Zamboanga Peninsula, but also the entire Mindanao.

“A critical component to sustain economic progress is the availability of a stable, reliable and affordable supply of energy to meet the growing demands of development. As a significant power provider in the Zamboanga Peninsula and Mindanao, we know that we have a major role to play in fueling the economic growth in the region by investing in the energy sector and building power plants,” said Alcantara, who also chairs the Philippines’ Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Business Advisory Council (ABAC).

The company official said Alsons Power would be ready with two power generating plants in the Zamboanga Peninsula, which would be the Mindanao contact point in the planned interconnection of the Mindanao and Visayas power grids.

“The National Grid Corp. of the Philippines’ prospective Visayas-Mindanao interconnection project will link the electrical grids of the two island groups with the linking points in Cebu in the Visayas and Dipolog in Mindanao,” he said.

“By the time of completion of the interconnection project, we will have two operating power plants strategically located in the Zamboanga Peninsula ready to provide power to the Visayas as well,” Alcantara said.

Alsons Power is the primary supplier of electricity to the Zamboanga Peninsula’s largest population center, Zamboanga City, through the its 100-megawatt (MW) Western Mindanao Power Corp. (WMPC) diesel plant.

This year, Alsons Power targets to start construction of the 105-MW San Ramon Power Inc. (SRPI) baseload coal-fired power plant in Talisayan, Zamboanga City. The plant, the biggest power project in Zamboanga Peninsula, is expected to begin operating in 2021 to provide baseload power to Zamboanga City and nearby areas.

Currently, the group operates four power facilities in Mindanao that have helped end the power shortage in the island.

Aside from the WMPC plant in Zamboanga City, the other power plants are: the 103-MW Mapalad Power Corp. diesel plant in Iligan City; the 55-MW Southern Philippines Power Corp. diesel facility in Alabel, Sarangani; and the first 105-MW section of the 210-MW Sarangani Energy Corp. (SEC) baseload coal-fired power plant in Maasim, Sarangani.

SEC’s second 105-MW section is in the advanced stages of construction and is on track to commence in 2019.

Alcantara added that the company has begun preliminary work on a 15-MW run-of-river hydropower project at the Siguil River basin in Maasim, Sarangani, the company’s initial foray in the renewable energy business. The Siguil River Hydro power plant is expected to be commercially operational in 2020.

“We are fully committed to the development of Mindanao, and we will continue supporting government efforts to improve infrastructure in order to propel economic growth. Over the years, we have been investing in the energy business to help lay the groundwork for power security in the region, and we will continue to do our part to help Mindanao achieve its fullest economic potential,” he said.

(The Philippine Star)
Updated February 8, 2018 – 12:00am
http://www.philstar.com/business/2018/02/08/1785558/ac-energy-expand-solar-farm-development-vietnam

On the sidelines of the Asia CEO forum yesterday, AC Energy chief executive officer Eric Francia said the company and its Vietnamese partner BIM Group of Vietnam have the potential to develop 300 megawatts (MW) of solar farms in the country.

This after  the Vietnamese government came out with feed-in tariff (FIT) incentives for solar, which shall be valid from June 1, 2017 to June 30, 2019.

“In Vietnam, we’re hopeful that we will break ground on much more than 30 MW,” he said.

Francia said one MW of solar project is estimated to cost $1 million.

BIM Group is a diversified corporation that has successfully established its mark in four main business fields namely: tourism development and real estate investment, agriculture – food, commercial services and renewable energy.

So far, the partners have broken ground on an initial 30 MW solar project in Ninh Thuan province, which is estimated to have an investment cost of VND 800 billion, equivalent to roughly P1.8 billion.

AC Energy earlier  said Vietnam would be its second regional investment in Asia since it has a similar macro-economic picture with Indonesia and the Philippines.

The Ayala Group also has a presence in Vietnam through Manila Water Co. Inc. under local units Thu Duc Water and Kenh Dong Water as well as through infrastructure firm Ho Chi Minh City Infrastructure Investment Joint Stock Co. (CII).

By: DORIS DUMLAO-ABADILLA
Philippine Daily Inquirer
05:14 AM February 08, 2018
http://business.inquirer.net/245533/smc-capex-22-seen-hit-p700b

In an interview at the sidelines of SMC’s recent investors briefing for its P30-billion fresh bond offering, SMC chief finance officer Ferdinand Constantino said that the capital outlays started in 2015-2016, which included the upgrading and modernization of Petron’s refinery in Bataan.

Since then, Constantino said more expansion plans were underway. Two breweries will be constructed—one in Mindanao and another will rise south of Luzon—each with new capacity of two million hectoliters. He said this would boost the production capacity of San Miguel Brewery by about 15 percent.

For the food business, he said the allotment for capital outlays would be P60 billion in the next three years.

In power generation, he said SMC would soon complete the second 300-megawatt plant in Limay, Bataan.

In infrastructure, Constantino said SMC was working to complete the Boracay airport upgrade, the South-North Luzon Expressway connector road, the SLEx extension, C6 tollroad, MRT7 and a bulk water project alongside a new airport project in Bulacan that is now being evaluated by the government.

Constantino added that SMC’s goal of hitting P1 trillion in revenue would be achieved soon, but not necessarily within this year.

By: Roy Stephen C. Canivel
05:32 AM February 08, 2018
http://business.inquirer.net/245548/group-taps-changi-operator-airport-plan

“The consortium has agreed that Changi would be our technical partner,” said Jose Ma. K. Lim, president and CEO of Metro Pacific Investments Corp. (MPIC).

MPIC is one of seven of the country’s biggest conglomerates that have decided to work together in submitting an unsolicited proposal to rehabilitate Naia, which is suffering from worsening congestion. The other companies that make up the consortium are Andrew Tan’s Alliance Globe Group Inc., Ayala Corp., Aboitiz Equity Ventures Inc., Gokongwei-led JG Summit Holdings Inc., Gotianun’s Filinvest Development Corp., and Lucio Tan’s LT Group.

According to its company website, CAI is a leading airport consultant, manager and investor in the global aviation market. It has an extensive portfolio in more than 20 countries and 50 airports globally, including the world-famous Singapore Changi Airport.

Lim said they only had “initial meetings” with CAI, noting that “we probably would have more to report after our next meeting.” He said he didn’t know of the tentative schedule yet.

The super consortium plans to submit its unsolicited proposal to the Department of Transportation. The project could upgrade the airport to accommodate an additional 11 million passengers annually from the current 39.5 million passengers.

Apart from the seven conglomerates, there is a separately proposed “mega-consortium” that also wants to rehabilitate and operate the highly congested main gateway to Metro Manila.

This group, in turn, is made up of construction and infrastructure conglomerate Megawide Corp. and the state-owned firm Social Security System (SSS).

The SM group, the country’s largest conglomerate, is not part of the super consortium. Instead, it is pushing for a separate proposal to build a new airport at Sangley Point in Cavite.

Meanwhile, San Miguel Corp., also not a member of the Naia group, earlier obtained an original proponent status to develop a new airport in Bulacan.

Chrisee Dela Paz
Published 3:05 PM, February 07, 2018
Updated 3:06 PM, February 07, 2018
https://www.rappler.com/business/195472-dpwh-quezon-bicol-expressway-ppp

Alex Bote, public-private partnership (PPP) director at DPWH, said in a report that the agency will undertake a feasibility study on the proposed Quezon-Bicol Expressway (QBEX), a project aimed at signifcantly reducing travel time between Manila and the Bicol region.

“By the 4th quarter of this year, we plan to begin the tender process of QBEX,” Bote said in a statement on Wednesday, February 7.

Implemented under the PPP scheme, the expressway project covers an estimated length of about 180 kilometers from Pagbilao, Quezon to San Fernando, Camarines Sur.

Bote said the project cost will be determined upon completion of the feasibility study,

“By 4th quarter of 2019, the detailed engineering design [of QBEX is expected to be done]. [This will be] followed by right-of-way acquisition starting the 4th quarter of 2020, so we will be able to proceed with the construction by 1st quarter of 2022,” Bote said.

The DPWH targets to finish the construction of the proposed expressway PPP deal by 2026.

Once completed, DPWH said QBEX will be a faster alternative to the congested Maharlika Highway – which is also more than 200 kilometers – for travelers between southern Luzon and Bicol.

“For the longest time, Daang Maharlika Highway also known as Pan-Philippine Highway is the only route of motorists heading and coming from Bicol region to Manila,” the DPWH PPP director said.

“With QBEX, traveling will not only be faster but also safer since motorists can avoid traversing through mountainside and other fragmentary roads of Maharlika Highway,” he added. – Rappler.com

Rappler.com
Published 2:26 PM, February 07, 2018
Updated 2:27 PM, February 07, 2018
https://www.rappler.com/nation/195466-additional-southbound-lanes-open-katipunan-quezon-city

The project, which covers the widening of a 672-lineal meter portion of Katipunan from Shuster Street to CP Garcia (fronting University of the Philippines), was completed after exactly a year.

It included “geometric improvement works, installation of reinforced concrete pipes for flood-control, retaining wall, and restoration of perimeter fence and gates of UP Diliman,” said DPWH Secretary Mark Villar, who led the opening.

“Sidewalk was also integrated in the project for the safety of pedestrian using the road,” he added.

The road widening was integrated with the existing proposal for a viaduct project that aims to decongest traffic in the UP-Miriam-Ateneo area, at the intersection of CP Garcia and Katipunan, the secretary said. – Rappler.com

By: Doris Dumlao-Abadilla
Philippine Daily Inquirer
05:34 AM February 08, 2018
http://business.inquirer.net/245550/ayala-corp-eyes-kia-distributorship-deal

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange yesterday, Ayala said a unit of wholly owned subsidiary AC Industrial Technology Holdings Inc. had received a notice from Kia Motors’ Asia regional headquarters saying that it deemed the Ayala group “the preferred bidder” for the Kia distributorship in the Philippines. Negotiations are expected to start soon.

“No definitive terms have been reached and we will make the appropriate disclosure of any agreement reached,” the conglomerate said.

For the Philippine market, Kia sells sedan cars such as Picanto, Rio 5-door and sports utility vehicles and mini vans such as Soul, Sportage and Sorento and Grand Carnival.

In 2016, Ayala consolidated its car dealership and industrial operations into AC Industrials, a wholly owned subsidiary that seeks to play a bigger role in manufacturing and contribute to the country’s rise into a Southeast Asian industrial hub.

To date, AC Industrials’ car dealership businesses include Honda, Isuzu and Volkswagen brands. AC Industrials also holds the existing and future assets of global electronics manufacturing service provider Integrated Micro-Electronics Inc.

AC Industrials holds distributorship interests such as the 13-percent stake in Honda Cars Philippines Inc., the 15-percent stake in Isuzu Philippines Corp. and a 100-percent interest in Automobile Central Enterprise Inc., the official Philippine importer and distributor of Volkswagen, and in Adventure Cycle Philippines Inc., the official motorcycle distributor of KTM in the Philippines.

Manufacturing operations of KTM AG, the group’s new motorcycle partnership under KTM Asia Motorcycle Manufacturing Inc., are also under AC Industrials.

The Ayala group has also been in discussions with some potential foreign partners for the setting up of car manufacturing operations in the country in the years ahead.

By: Ronnel W. Domingo
Philippine Daily Inquirer
05:24 AM February 08, 2018
http://business.inquirer.net/245541/ngcp-offers-facilities-push-govt-telco-plan

In an open letter to Mr. Duterte sent out on Wednesday, the NGCP management emphasized that it was “willing and eager” to help out in the government’s efforts to develop an NBN, which would bring high-speed internet services, at least to government offices and maybe to the general public.

“We are willing to let the government use these (power transmission) facilities at no cost,” NGCP said.

NGCP has maintained that its concession agreement with the government through National Transmission Corp. allowed the company to engage in related businesses such as the fiber optic business.

NGCP officials earlier said the country’s transmission network was a ready facility that could support a third telecommunications service provider, which would be spared spending billions of dollars to build its own network from the ground up.

“We are ready to sit down and sign a bilateral agreement with the DICT for the use by government of NGCP’s fiber optic network,” NGCP wrote to Mr. Duterte.

The company said its representatives had met in May 2017 with their counterparts from the DICT, discussing NGCP’s fiber network and how this could potentially be used to support the broadband program.

“NGCP drafted and sent to the DICT, a memorandum of understanding (MOU) that will provide the protocol for the inspection and use of our facilities,” NGCP said.

“Since this is a priority project of the government, it was our understanding that the same would be considered, signed and reported to you in time for the 2017 State of the Nation Address,” it added.

The company said DICT representatives had, in fact, visited NGCP’s Dasmariñas Substation in Cavite to inspect the fiber optic cables embedded in the transmission system as well as the Araneta Substation and the National Control Center, both in Quezon City.

“Since then, we have not been invited to proceed with the signing of the MOU,” NGCP said.

By Louella Desiderio (The Philippine Star)
Updated February 8, 2018 – 12:00am
http://www.philstar.com/business/2018/02/08/1785555/dict-selection-3rd-telco-player-may-be-extended-april

“It would be extended to make up for non-working days in February and March,” DICT officer-in-charge Eliseo Rio Jr. said in a telephone interview.

“Most likely, early April,” he said.

Feb. 16 is a non-working day due to the Chinese New Year. There are also non-working days in March particularly, March 29, or Maundy Thursday, and March 30, or Good Friday.

“President Duterte would like the deadline to be end of March. But how can we have a bidding if last week of March is Holy Week? The holidays may cause the extension in April,” Rio said.

He said the government would announce the exact date for the deadline of submission of bids in due time.

Duterte earlier said the third telco player must enter the market and compete with existing players by the end of the first quarter.

Based on the timeline for the entry of a new major player, the government would be accepting bidding documents from participants on March 27, and by April 2, the new telco player should be entering the market.

The DICT has earlier asked the President to extend the March deadline for the submission of bids for the selection of a third telco player up to May, amid concerns raised by stakeholders on the schedule seen as too tight.

Presidential spokesman Harry Roque said on Tuesday the request was rejected.

“So we stick it out with the original timeframe of a third telecoms player by March of this year,” Roque said.

Rio said three groups led by the Philippine Telegraph and Telephone Corp., NOW Corp. and Converge ICT Solutions Inc. are expected to take part in the selection process.

According to guidelines from the DICT for the selection of the new telco player, the group with the highest committed investment for the first five years will be chosen and given frequencies to compete with existing players.

Rio said the third telco player would need to invest at least $3 billion to $4 billion in the next five years.

The final memorandum circular for the terms of reference for the assignment of new frequencies to the new telco player is expected to be released by Feb. 19. – With Rainier Allan Ronda

By Richmond Mercurio (The Philippine Star)
Updated February 8, 2018 – 12:00am
http://www.philstar.com/business/2018/02/08/1785551/psei-bounces-back-dow-recovers

The Philippine Stock Exchange index rallied 117.14 points, or 1.37 percent, to finish at 8,667.56.

The strong showing was also mirrored by the broader All Shares index, which gained 58.17 points to settle at 5,086.08.

“The PSEi regained composure with US equity markets bouncing back on Tuesday. Markets are also looking for some comfort with some FOMC (Federal Open Market Committee) speakers later,” Regina Capital Development Corp. business development head Luis Limlingan said.

In the US, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 2.3 percent to close at 24.912.77, recovering half of the losses the previous day, while the S&P 500 index and the Nasdaq Composite increased 1.7 percent and 2.1 percent, respectively.

“There is growing anticipation that our own BSP will hike rates earlier as the CPI (consumer price index) reached the upper limit of their range. The effects of TRAIN have manifested as many have begun to feel the pinch, headline CPI came in at  four percent, while core CPI followed closely at 3.9 percent. Should the next month see no signs of cooling off, we inclined to expect the BSP to begin hiking rates in March, not even ruling out the possibility of one this Thursday,” Limlingan said.