필리핀한인상공회의소뉴스 KOREAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE PHILIPPINES NEWSLETTER

July 2020 Issue | Vol. 44

Special points of interest: Metro stays under GCQ until July 31

July 15, 2020 | Darryl John Esguerra | Philippine Daily Inquirer  stays under GCQ until July 31—page 1 MANILA, Philippines — With the continuous increase in confirmed COVID-19 cases in the country, President  NEDA sees PH trade has opted to once again extend the general recovery— page 2 community quarantine (GCQ) over Metro Manila until July  BOI investment pledges 31. surge 112% as of June— Duterte’s spokesman, , announced on Wednesday night that the President “agreed” page 2-3 to keep Metro Manila under GCQ after a “lengthy discussion” with members of the Inter-Agency  Inflation remains Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF) and experts from the manageable-DoF— University of the Philippines. page3-4 According to Roque, Duterte initially agreed to return Metro Manila to the more stringent modi-  Sales of imported cars fied enhanced community quarantine (MECQ) as proposed by UP to curtail the further spread of down 55% in h1—page 4 the respiratory disease.

However, Roque said Duterte changed his mind after COVID-19 response Chief Implementer Carlito Galvez and Interior Secretary Eduardo Año appealed to keep Metro Manila under GCQ, which has been its status for six weeks now, citing the promise of the region’s mayors to implement stricter enforcement of health protocols and quarantine restrictions.

“So the President agreed not to put Metro Manila again under MECQ for the next two weeks,” Roque said in Filipino. “But it was clear from the discussion that the spread of COVID in Metro Manila has not slowed down. It’s possible that it would return to MECQ after two weeks.”

According to Health Secretary Francisco Duque III, the country’s case doubling time — or the time it takes for new cases to increase two-fold — is now between 8 to 12 days, way better from the 2.5 days during the initial phase of the pandemic.

Duque also cited the improved mortality doubling time, which he said was now under the “moderate risk” classification.

However, there has been a continued rise in COVID-19 cases nationwide — which health authorities attributed largely to the country’s improved testing capacity and the increased contact among the population as a result of the relaxation of quarantine measures to reopen the pandemic-battered economy.

The Philippines has had 10 consecutive days of over 1,000 newly reported cases, a significant number of which were recorded in Metro Manila, which remains as the epicenter of the contagion in the country.

Source: https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1307429/metro-manila-stays-under-gcq-until-july-31 필리핀한인상공회의소뉴스 Page 2

NEDA sees PH trade recovery

July 14, 2020 | Philippine News Agency

MANILA – Trade growth is expected to gain momentum in the coming months as quarantine measures ease, the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) said Tuesday.

The Philippine Statistics Authority reported last July 10 that the country’s total merchandise trade registered a slower decline of 38.7 percent in May 2020, after a steep 59.5-percent decline in April 2020. Merchandise exports declined by 35.6 percent but with notable improvements in agro- based, forest and manufactured products.

Photo Courtesy: Philippine Port Authority Imports, meanwhile, fell by 40.6 percent but showed slower contractions in major commodity groupings, particularly capital goods, raw materials including chemicals and manufactured goods, and consumer goods.

“The slower decline in trade performance is a welcome indication that economic activity has started to pick up. This is due to the relaxation of quarantine measures in certain areas, the gradual reopening of business, and the restarting of production within the country and its trading partners,” acting Socioeconomic Planning Secretary said in a statement.

Manufactured goods, which accounts for almost 80 percent of total exports, is seen to gradually recover as the latest results of the Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) for the Philippines rose from 40.1 in May to 49.7 in June 2020.

Notwithstanding the ongoing lockdown in Cebu where some of the electronics firms are located, the Semiconductors and Electronics Industries in the Philippines, Inc. (SEIPI) also indicated a gradual pick-up in semiconductors exports in the coming months and projected a flat growth in 2020.

The NEDA chief said that given significant downside risks to global trade, the country needs to ramp up efforts to build a more competitive trade sector.

“We have made some notable improvements in the past decade. However, we need to capitalize on this and further improve infrastructure, logistics, productivity, and the whole manufacturing value chain in order (to) bring down the cost of production and remain internationally competitive. In addition, we can attract more new technology and innovation through the passage of the Public Service Act, and provide performance-based, time-bound, and targeted incentives through the proposed CREATE (Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises Act) bill. These can all help improve the enabling environment for foreign investments and external demand,” Chua said.

The NEDA is leading the updating of the Philippine Development Plan (PDP) 2017-2022, which aims for a healthy and resilient Philippines.

The updated PDP will highlight government efforts to re-calibrate and re-focus its strategies to address the economic impact of the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic. These strategies include building consumer and business confidence in the near term and enhancing economic resilience over the medium term. (PR)

Source https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1108892

BOI investment pledges surge 112% as of June

July 14, 2020 | Roy Stephen C. Canivel | Philippine Daily Inquirer

Investment pledges under the Board of Investments (BOI) more than doubled this June to P645 billion, largely because San Miguel Corp. (SMC) registered its big-ticket airport project in Bulacan province for tax breaks. BOI pledges reached P645.3 billion as of end-June, a 112-percent increase from P304.4 billion in the same six-month period in 2019. 필리핀한인상공회의소뉴스 Page 3

[Cont.] BOI investment pledges surge 112% as of June

Out of this, the airport project accounted for more than 80 percent of the pledges, or P530.8 billion. Other than this, there were also other projects that got registered, such as in renewable energy and logistics sectors.

Trade Secretary and BOI Chair Ramon Lopez said in a statement on Monday that the proponents reaffirmed their commitment to their registered projects, despite the COVID-19 pandemic. “It is important to highlight the strategic nature of the projects and their important contribution towards building a more modern Philippines,” Lopez said.

“The project proponents have reaffirmed their commitment to the immediate implementation of these [projects]—towards completion in the medium to long term. Prior to approval of the big-ticket projects, the BOI required them to provide written confir- mation of their commitment,” he added.

SMC’s New Manila International Airport has been promoted as an alternative to the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (Naia), whose modernization remains uncertain because of complications in talks between the government and the private sector.

SMC’s airport complex will have an annual capacity of at least 100 million passengers, whereas Naia