HIGHER oil prices led the growth in
Philippine imports in February, but purchases of electronic
components used in manufacturing the country's key exports
slipped, according to data released by the National
Statistics Office (NSO). The NSO showed that the country's
purchases from abroad rose
4.6% to $3.36 billion in February from the same month
a year ago, as the country's oil import bill jumped
23.9% to $524.83 million. However, electronic components,
which accounted for 48% of imports, declined 1.1% year-on-year
to $1.61 billion.In February, export receipts rose 14.8%
as sales abroad of the country's electronic products
grew 10%. The government set an 8% growth target for
exports this year. The lower import figure for February
allowed the Philippines to enjoy an $88-million trade
surplus, its first since December 2004. Two-month imports
to February were up 4.8% to $7.04 billion while exports
jumped 7.5% to $6.77 billion for a trade deficit of
$266 million. The United States was the country's main
source of imports in February, cornering 17.1% of the
market. However, this is a 9.2% dive during the same
month in 2005. Japan followed with a 15.7% share, and
Singapore with the third biggest share at 8.7%.Meanwhile,
growth in key industries strengthened particularly furniture
and fixtures (41.3%), fabricated metal products (27.3%
), petroleum products (19.2%), and basic metals (16.2.%).
Other sectors that posted positive growth are textiles
(15.2%), rubber products (7.1%), beverages (5.5%), paper
and paper products (1.7%), food (1.1%), and miscellaneous
manufactures (0.2%). Electrical machinery is expected
to contribute positively in the near-term as electronic
exports started to recover (10.3%) during the same period.
Month-on-month growth in electronics production was
also highest among the sectors at 24%.
ANTI-smuggling Task Force Subic (TFS)
seized the other day six imported cars worth more than
P5 million as Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA)
intensifies its drive against smugglers employing a
new modus operandi. The seized vehicles were concealed
inside three 60-footer container vans shipped to Subic
freeport from Japan, South Korea and Hong Kong. The
broker was identified as Acropolis, a registered freeport
locator no longer operational. SBMA authorities ordered
the opening of the containers as soon as the SBMA Seaport
Department declared that the shipments had been abandoned
by the custom brokers and consignees who could no longer
be located. The abandoned containers have been stacked
in the SBMA container yard for several months now. Documents
revealed that the shipment from Hong Kong was declared
as utility vehicles but revealed two sports cars, including
a one-seater 16-valve engine Honda EK4-111177 race car.
The container from South Korea, which had been declared
as used vehicles, yielded a Hyundai Sonata sedan and
a Kia Carnival. The third container van was declared
as used clothing but contained two luxury vehicles.SBMA
said that after suffering a series of setbacks from
law enforcers, the smugglers have shifted their modus
operandi to using the name of a broker no longer operating
in the area. "According to our intelligence networks,
to avoid any possible arrest, these smugglers are still
using the brokers' name as its consignee even after
brokers such as the Acropolis, had already left the
freeport," it said. The vehicles and all other
seized smuggled goods will be auctioned in favor of
the SBMA.
THE Bureau of Customs is open to imposing
stiffer penalties for smuggling, BOC lawyer Roberto
Bauzon said during a meeting of the Senate ways and
means technical working group on proposed anti-smuggling
bills. The bills propose the following stiffer sanctions:
a fine ranging from P300,000 to P500,000 and imprisonment
of six months to six years for goods worth less than
P100,000; and a fine of P500,000 to P800,000 and imprisonment
of six to 12 years for goods worth P100,000 to P1 million.
Other bills propose a fine of P800,000 and imprisonment
of 12 to 20 years for goods worth P1 million to P5 million,
and a fine of P1 million to P2 million and life imprisonment
for goods worth at least P5 million. The bills propose
additional sanctions if the smuggler is an alien or
a government official. Present penalties for smugglers
are: a fine of P50 to P200 and imprisonment of five
to 10 days for goods less than P25; a fine of P800 to
P5,000 and imprisonment of six months to four years
for goods worth P25 to P50,000; a fine of P6,000 to
P8,000 and imprisonment of 5 to 8 years for goods worth
P50,000 to P150,000; and a fine of P8,000 to P10,000
and imprisonment of 8 to 12 years for goods worth more
than P150,000.
PORT operator Asian Terminals, Inc
(ATI) posted a consolidated net income of P663.6 million
in 2005, 79% higher than the P370.9 million it registered
in 2004. The company attributed its positive performance
to increased productivity at its South Harbor operations.
Consolidated revenues climbed 14.1% from P3.57 billion
in 2004 to P4.08 billion last year. At the South Harbor
domestic terminal, containerized cargo volume rose
20.5% and passenger volume 50.7%. These pushed revenues
up by 24%. Revenues from port operations rose 15.8%
from P2.8 billion in 2004 to P3.3 billion in 2005
mainly due to higher contributions from the South
Harbor. International container operations at the
South Harbor improved 17.8% on account of a favorable
container mix, enhancement in ancillary services and
increase in tariff rates. Increasing competition,
however, clipped South Harbor non-containerized cargo
volume by 31.7%.Revenues from non-ports business contributed
to the improvement in results, growing 7.5%. Consolidated
costs and expenses rose 3% from P2.67 billion in 2004
to P2.75 billion in 2005. ATI said the increase came
from running of equipment, up 8% from P384.1 million
in 2004 to P414.9 million in 2005 due to higher fuel
and utility costs. Taxes and licenses expenses rose
16.3% from P105.9 million in 2004 to P123.2 million
in 2005 due to higher local taxes. Consolidated other
expenses grew 23.1% from P543.8 million in 2004 to
P669.4 million in 2005 associated with higher revenues
from greater focus on safety and the environment.Consolidated
long-term debt, net of debt issue costs, inched up
1.8% to P4.06 billion.
Asia's
SMEs worry over lack of innovation, qualified staff
THE lack of innovation, availability
of qualified staff, and limited access to funding
and working capital continue to threaten the long-term
sustainability of the booming intra-Asia market for
small and medium enterprises (SMEs), according to
the second United Parcel Service Asia Business Monitor
(UPS ABM II). Despite these problems, Asia's SMEs,
including those in the Philippines, continue to be
bullish about the region's prospects. "With intra-Asia
trade thriving and major markets such as India and
China becoming the world's greatest economic powers,
SMEs have tremendous opportunities to grow. UPS is
well positioned to help SMEs become more competitive
through a wide range of supply chain solutions from
package delivery to financial solutions," said
Andrew Connelly, UPS senior vice president, South
District, UPS Asia Pacific, who presented the findings.The
study uncovered obstacles affecting the region's ability
to maintain sustainable growth. SME leaders in most
markets believe that "hardware" such as
transportation infrastructure and IT
adoption is available but the biggest obstacle to
SME competitiveness is the lack of "software"
such as qualified staff, innovation, and funding and
capital. Government support is also a concern in many
markets. For Filipino SMEs, qualified staff and IT
adoption are available while supply chain efficiency,
transportation infrastructure, and government support
are lacking. Their top three concerns are government
regulations, rising cost of raw materials and oil
prices; and cash flow and funding. The UPS ABM II
is a survey of more than 1,200 SME leaders in Asia
on competitive issues. The study found that nearly
half of the respondents expect to see improvements
in their business prospects. SMEs also remain bullish
on Asia's economy, with 69% expecting to see growth
in intra-Asia trade and 71% expecting Asia's economic
power to continue growing this year. The responses
of 100 Filipino SME leaders surveyed did not venture
far from the overall regional results. From a regional
viewpoint, while the Philippines and Indonesia received
the lowest expectation for growth from other markets,
a good 25% of Filipino SME leaders are optimistic
that the Philippine economy will experience growth
this year. Filipino SMEs, like other SMEs in the region,
expect their business to improve during the year.
Of those surveyed, 48% of Filipino SMEs expect their
business to improve while 30% think their business
will remain the same, and only 7% expect their business
to become worse. The study also showed that another
indication of their optimism for growth is their expectation
to grow their current workforce, with most SME leaders
across the region expecting to maintain or increase
the size of their current workforce. In the Philippines,
50% of SME leaders said they would increase their
current workforce. The survey revealed 75% of Filipino
SMEs think intra-Asia is expected to lead in trade
volume growth in 2006; 25% are optimistic that the
Philippine economy will grow this year.Consumer goods
remain a strong sector in highly populated countries
such as the Philippines (72%). The automotive sector
also gained more ground in the Philippines since 2004.
Utilities and energy remain important to developing
nations, including the Philippines.
