International Container Terminal Services, Inc. (ICTSI) is venturing into the overseas bond market. The port operator will be seen in the next few days offering as much as $250 million worth of 10-year bonds. ICTSI would be the first non-bank Philippine corporate issuer to offer the overseas bond market.

Local banks have agreed to help raise and lend the Panay Energy Development Corp. (PEDC) P14-billion for its construction of a 164-megawatt coal-fired power plant in La Paz, Iloilo City. The Panay Energy is owned by George Ty’s Metrobank group, and the loans were arranged by First Metro Investment Corp. (FMIC), the investment banking arm [...]

Philip Morris International, Inc. (PMPI) joined forces with Philippine a cigarette company forming one big corporation that will control about 90 percent of the country’s lucrative cigarette market. The US-based tobacco giant formed a new company with local rival Fortune Tobacco Corp. (FTC), which is owned by Chinese-Filipino tycoon Lucio Tan.

The Metropolitan Bank and Trust Company (Metrobank) has awarded the Asian Terminals Inc. (ATI) credit line worth P250 million. The ATI said the proceeds of the funds would be used to fund its projects in the next five years.
ATI, in its disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE), said it signed an agreement with Metrobank [...]

UST Global inaugurated recently its new offshore development center in McKinley Hills, Taguig City. The new center is part of the company’s aggressive expansion plans in Asia, and is targeting to haul in $32 million revenues in its first year and catering to 2,000 clients in North America and Europe.

The Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) has entered into a conditional sale agreement with the Hong Kong-based First Pacific Company (FPC), which is represented by its local affiliate Two Rivers Pacific Holdings Corporation. The deal will see First Pacific buying approximately 5.9 percent interests of GSIS in Philex Mining Corporation for P6.02 billion.

The Philippine National Bank (PNB) and Allied Banking Corporation, both controlled by tycoon Lucio Tan, will continue with its scheduled merger which will happen in the second half of 2010, said PNB president Omar Byron Mier.
The merging of the two banks will create the fourth largest privately owned bank in the Philippines, behind the three [...]

A Singaporean firm is planning to invest $7.5 million in a local gaming company. Straitwey, a Singapore-registered company who is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Japan Gaming Development Organization (JGDO) and is the investment entity used by JGDO to invest into projects within the gaming industry, is investing the $7.6 million in the primary [...]

Filinvest Land Inc. plans to increase its stake in two property firms. The property unit of business tycoon Andrew Gotianun, in its disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange, said that its board approved the purchase of the 40% stake of Africa-Israel Properties Philippines Inc.  in Cyberzone Properties Inc.  (CPI) and the 40% interest of Africa-Israel [...]

The Terminator will visit the Philippines next year, but he won’t be here to promote nor shoot any film. Instead, the California Governor will be leading a group of US business delegation who will visit the country in February as part of the government’s marketing efforts to expand the market of Philippine exports and industries.

Kodak, the name that is almost synonymous with pictures and images, has amassed more than 1,000 digital-imaging patents, being one of the pioneers in this industry. Almost all of today’s digital cameras rely on that technology.

It could have been the biggest fight of the new millennium, but because of some disagreements, it was called off. The Pacquiao-Mayweather dream fight will no longer push through as Bob Arum effectively closed the door on Floyd Mayweather Jr. on Christmas Eve.
The move opens the door for Paul Malignaggi, Shane Mosley and practically anyone [...]

The Kepco SPC Power Corp. (KSPC), a joint venture between Korea Electric Power Corp. and SPC Power Corp, acquired a loan from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) for the construction of a major power plant in the Visayas.
The ADB has approved the grant of $120-million 12-year term loan for the construction of a 200-megawatt (MW) [...]

The Tutuban area is located right beside the heart of Manila’s principal trading district which is Divisoria. It is a strategic center for business and commerce because of its proximity to important districts and landmarks such as Divisoria market, Ongpin, Binondo, Escolta, North and South Harbors and Quiapo, among others.

MoneyGram International and Smart Communications, Inc. tied up to provide families of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) the convenience of wireless “wallet” service. OFWs may now send their remittances to their families in the Philippines faster through the facility which is likened to a “cross border wallet service.”

Easycall Communicates Philippines Inc., the former paging leader in the Philippines, gets a boost from local technology firm Global E-Business Solutions Inc. as the company hiked its stake in Easycall to push it to pursue ventures in the wireless broadband Internet sector.
In their disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE), Easycall said that its board [...]

The Department of Energy (DOE) has started accepting proposals for the bidding of the nine geothermal areas offered under the latest Philippine Energy Contracting Round (PECR). At least 10 local and foreign groups have already been pre-qualified.
According to Mario Marasigan, DOE assistant secretary, they are evaluating the submitted proposals at present to verify if they [...]

The San Miguel Corp. (SMC), the country with most diversified conglomerate, has been extended a P2 billion loan by the state-owned Land Bank of the Philippines (Landbank). The loan would be used by SMC to finance its expansion program.

The country’s oldest mining company, Benguet Corp., gets a new leash of life as it entered into a financing agreement with a Chinese company. The listed Benguet Corp. has signed a memorandum of agreement (MOA) with MinMetals International (HK) Ltd. which would allow them to resume the exploration activity at its King-king project in Pantukan, [...]

Because of the continuing growth of technology-based industries in the Philippines, and the support that they get from the government, computing giant IBM plans to pour more investments in the country. IBM developer relations general manager James Corgel said the Philippines, particularly Quezon City, was one of the only 40 locations worldwide which was chosen [...]