The Bureau of Immigration (BI) announced that as an added incentive, foreign investors visiting the Freeport zones in the country – Clark, Pampanga and Subic, Zambalez, can avail of the government’s “visa-free” program.
An agreement was signed recently by BI Commissioner Marcelino Libanan with Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) administrator Armand Arreza and Clark Development Corp. [...]

The thrift bank subsidiary of the Bank of the Philippine Islands, BPI Family Savings Bank, is going to roll out a credit facility that will cater to the micro and small enterprises. This plan of BPI Family to increase its loan exposure will be done through a customized business packaged which it will roll out [...]

Mediaquest Holdings Inc. is allotting around P700 million for its capital expenditure this year. The media unit of Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. is earmarking the said amount for its satellite TV business year to increase its subscriber base to 200,000.
At the end of 2009, Cignal Digital TV, Mediaquest’s direct-to-home satellite television has 45,000 subscribers [...]

At the Diosdado Macapagal International Airport (DMIA), the construction of the P308-million expansion of the existing terminal is in full blast and it is expected to be operation next month. According to Victor Jose Luciano, president and chief executive officer of Clark International Airport Corp. (CIAC), the newly expanded Terminal 1 will feature two passenger [...]

The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) will be transferring at the new state-of-the-art consular buildings at Aseana Business Park on Macapagal Avenue in Pasay City starting on March 4. It will first transfer the authentication services on the said date, while all other passport operations will be there too starting March 8.
Applicants for Philippine passports [...]

During the Marcos-era, the Home Development Mutual Fund (HDMF), also known Pag-IBIG Fund run a house-and-lot raffle program called the Biglang Bonds. Now, the state-administered funds manager is planning to revive the said scheme after launching its planned P12-billion bond offering last week.
HDMF chief executive officer Jaime Fabiaña said that under the plan, the agency [...]

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 Philippine National Oil Co. (PNOC) was able to bag an exploration contract to develop the Mt. Isarog volcanic chain in Camarines Sur.  The PNOC’s $60-million Mt. Isarog geothermal project is estimated to generate 18 gigawatt-hours of electricity per year from its potential capacity of at least 20 megawatts.  It will be started in the [...]

The Home Development Mutual Fund (HDMF), more popularly recognized as he Pag-IBIG Fund launched a bond offering which will be auctioned to the public on March 9. The state-administered fund manager will be offering P12 billion bonds starting next month.
Jaime Fabiaña, chief executive officer of HDMF said that the proceeds of the funds would be [...]

Ayala Land Inc. (ALI) continues its expansion plan for the year especially in Mindanao. The property giant is constructing an integrated mixed-use complex in Cagayan de Oro, which is estimated to cost at least P2.5 billion.
ALI senior vice president and chief finance officer Jaime E. Ysmael, in a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE), [...]

Infosys BPO Ltd. is planning to put up 3 more call center facilities, expanding its presence in the country. The business process outsourcing firm chief operating officer Ritesh Idnani said, “We are very bullish about the Philippines and we will continue to invest in the next few years.”
Idnani said that while their Philippines operations only [...]

Ayala Land Inc. is looking at developing 32 new projects this year that they have set a capital expenditure budget of P27.17 billion for the projects. These projects include new malls and residential and office towers.
According to company chief finance officer Jaime Ysmael, the funding for the projects would be a combination of internal cash [...]

After long-delayed listing of its share in local stock market, Yehey! Corp. still wants to pursue its plan of getting listed in the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE). Should they get listed, Yehey! would the third firm this to get listed by way of introduction this year.
Edmundo P. Bunyi, Jr., president and chief operating officer of [...]

Philippine online gaming publisher IP E-Game Ventures Inc. (IP E-Games) was finally listed in the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE). The company held its listing ceremony at the PSE last Wednesday. IP E-Games is the first online gaming company to be listed in the PSE.
A subsidiary of technology firm IPVG Corp., IP E-Games was able to [...]

Another opportunity rises for job seekers as another business process outsourcing firm (BPO) gears up for expansion. The Stream Global Services Inc., a BPO company which is partly owned by the Ayala group is looking to fill up 1,500 seats in the 60 days and open one or two more new sites during the first [...]

The country’s largest operator of mall chains, SM Prime Holdings Inc., is yet on another expansion as it announced its plan to start the construction of its new shopping mall located within the 240-hectare South Road Properties (SRP) in Cebu 2010.
According to SM Prime chief financial officer Jeffrey Lim, the proposed shopping center will be [...]

There will not be any price increase on the cement, at least none until the end of March. This was the promise made by Holcim Philippines who said that they will not be increasing their price in Metro Manila in order to help those who were hit by the typhoons which devastated the country late [...]

Bibingkinitan! has embarked on an aggressive campaign to expand its number of outlets this year. The fast-rising Filipino food chain is aiming to open up about 100 new outlets all over the country, to bring its total number of stores to at least 250 by the end of 2010.
Richard V. Sanz, president and chief executive [...]

Many fears the disadvantages that it could bring, such as affecting the trade of vegetable dealers in the town and that it will worsen Benguet’s traffic problem. But Mayor Artemio Galwan is adamant on the plan of building a P268-million commercial complex in the public market area.
“The trend is now to erect malls, it’s a [...]