MANILA, Philippines -Conglomerate San Miguel Corp. signed a joint venture agreement with the Batangas provincial government to build a P45-billion expressway that will cut travel time from Metro Manila to locations within the province. In a statement, SMC said the Batangas government granted its infrastructure arm, SMC Infrastructure, a 35-year concession to design, build, operate,…
Eager to move on from the pandemic, Filipino consumers were raring to spend more on retail shopping and “large” items such as cars and appliances on expectations they would earn more over the next year, a new survey showed. Data from the Q1 2022 Consumer Pulse Study by insights company TransUnion revealed a shift in…
Banking giant BDO Unibank Inc. is preparing to raise another P5 billion in debt from a massive P365-billion bond program to partly finance its expansion. BDO, by the Sy family’s SM Group, disclosed plans to issue peso-denominated fixed-rate Asean sustainability bonds. The lender said in a stock exchange filing the proposed offer would run from…
Shareholders of Philippine Airlines’ (PAL) parent firm, PAL Holdings Inc., voted on Thursday to enlarge its capital base and issue more shares to provide financial support to the flag carrier through its Chapter 11 creditor protection plea. Following the company’s stockholders’ meeting, PAL Holdings said shareholders of the company, controlled by billionaire Lucio Tan, approved…
Globe Telecom Inc. has raised from the sale of equity securities abroad $600 million, which it would use to finance network upgrades and to pay off debts. Globe on Wednesday announced its return to the international capital markets after its dual-tranche US dollar-denominated senior notes issuance in 2020. The $600-million fundraising involves five-year dollar-denominated senior…
The Cantilan Bank (CanBank) is expanding its digital footprint through the launch of its app iCAN targeting unbanked Filipinos. CanBank, established in 1980 in Surigao del Sur, said in a statement iCAN would introduce features such as fund transfer, bills payment, prepaid phone reloading and QR code payment to its customers in over 100 communities.…
Philippine Airlines (PAL) will add long-haul flights to London and North America this month as it expects strong demand for air travel during the Christmas holiday season. In a statement on Friday, PAL announced plans , daily fights to San Francisco and three to four weekly flights to Vancouver on the Canadian West Coast. It…
Budget carrier Cebu Pacific is in talks with local government units (LGUs) to do away with RT-PCR testing for vaccinated travelers as it looks to add flights in the coming months. Candice Iyog, vice president for marketing and customer experience, said discussions with LGUs to simplify travel requirements came with the recent easing of lockdown…
The country’s power players are leading the charge into renewable energy (RE), rolling out projects to meet growing demand while keeping an eye on the future with investments in innovation and new technologies. These industry movers include AC Energy Corp., which is looking at proven solutions it can deploy at scale, and Aboitiz Power Corp.,…
Converge ICT Solutions Inc. sealed a P5-billion loan deal with state-owned Land Bank of the Philippines to fund its nationwide fiber internet rollout. Pampanga-based businessman and Converge CEO Dennis Anthony Uy said on Friday this would also allow the company to expand its presence in “unserved and underserved” areas in the Philippines. According to Converge,…