MANILA PHONE LOAN MARKS MAJOR CREDITOR INITIATIVE.

MANILA, March 15, Reuters – A 288 million dollar syndicated loan for the Philippines Long Distance Telephone Co marks a major initiative by Manila’s commercial bank creditors to recycle existing debt, bankers said.  BOT International (HK) Ltd, Citicorp International Ltd and the Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corp are lead­ managing the loan. Syndication started…

PROF. C.N. VAKIL 

The Government Is Helping Create A Privileged Class!’   Professor C.N. Vakil, eminent economist, formerly Director, School of Economics and Sociology, University of Bombay, and Director, Central Board, Reserve Bank of India:  “The Janata government was suddenly thrust into power, and there was hardly any coherence between the various constituents of the Party. So decisions were…

Philippine economy needs steady hand to keep recovery from going stagnant 

20 January 1988 The Globe and Mail B24 English All material copyright Thomson Canada Limited or its licensors. All rights reserved.  The Philippines has experienced its best growth in seven years, but it still faces a daunting array of problems. Analysts say President Corazon Aquino must now demonstrate that she can manage the economy.  …

EUROPEAN INVESTORS SHY AWAY FROM PHILIPPINES 

16 February 1988 Reuters News English (c) 1988 Reuters Limited  MANILA, Feb 16 – A stream of unsettling news from the Philippines has held back many potential small and medium-sized European investors, European Chamber of Commerce secretary-general Christian Roehr told Reuters.  Roehr said several large European multi-nationals had long been in the Philippines and “are…

FEWER SIESTAS, LEANER STAFF BOOST MANILA TAX REVENUES

9 March 1988 Reuters News English (c) 1988 Reuters Limited  MANILA, March 9, Reuter – Fewer staff members taking fewer siestas may help the Philippines boost South-East Asia’s poorest tax-collection effort, Bureau of Internal Revenue Commissioner Bienvenido Tan said on Wednesday.  Tan told Reuters the country’s tax revenues as a ratio of gross national product…

Aquino Again on Defensive After Honasan Escape

3 April 1988  Reuters News  English  (c) 1988 Reuters Limited  MANILA, April 3, Reuter – Coup leader Colonel Gregorio Honasan’s escape from captivity on Saturday has dramatically revived threats to Philippine President Corazon Aquino’s power, analysts said.  “Honasan’s escape couldn’t have occurred at a less convenient moment for Aquino,” an Asian diplomat said.  Aquino is…

BUSINESSMEN LASH OUT AT MANILA DEBT/EQUITY PROGRAM

18 April 1988 Reuters News English (c) 1988 Reuters Limited  MANILA, April 18, Reuter – Filipino and foreign businessmen have launched a sharp attack on the Philippines’ 20-month-old debt/equity swap program, charging it is too restrictive and arbitrary and actually deters investors.  “Disillusioned investors are the worst possible advertisement for the Philippines,” said a statement…

Japanese says Indian bureaucracy very “inflexible” 

24 July 1997 Reuters News English  (c) 1997 Reuters Limited  NEW DELHI, July 24 (Reuters) – Japan is keen on expanding investment in India but finds its bureaucracy extremely inflexible, a senior Japanese official said on Thursday.  Nobuaki Tanaka, deputy director-general in Japan’s Foreign Ministry, said India accounts for a minuscule 0.25 percent of Japan’s…

PHILIPPINE BANKS SEEN LOSING OUT ON CURRENCY DEALS 

18 May 1988 Reuters News English (c) 1988 Reuters Limited  MANILA, May 18, Reuter – Philippine banks are missing opportunities by restricting foreign exchange trading to U.S. dollars and not dealing in stronger currencies like the yen, Central Bank Governor Jose Fernandez said.  He told Reuters in an interview that technically, commercial banks could buy or…

INDIA’S POLITICAL INSTABILITY SEEN SLOWING GROWTH

22 November 1989  Reuters News English  (c) 1989 Reuters Limited  NEW DELHI, NOV 22, Reuter – Political instability likely to result from this week’s elections could dangerously slow India’s economic growth, economic analysts said.  They said the new government could also face a resource crisis brought on by plunging foreign exchange reserves, unbridled domestic demand…

INSTABILITY SEEN SLOWING GROWTH IN RESOURCE-STRAPPED INDIA

22 November 1989  Reuters News  English  (c) 1989 Reuters Limited  NEW DELHI, Reuter – Political instability likely to result from this week’s elections could slow India’s growth dangerously, analysts said on Wednesday.  They said the new government would also face a resource crisis brought on by plunging foreign exchange reserves, unbridled domestic demand and a…

INDIA WILL ASK IMF FOR MORE FUNDS – MINISTER

13 April 1992 Reuters News English (c) 1992 Reuters Limited  TOKYO, Reuters – India intends to ask the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for more contingency funds, although foreign reserves are at a very comfortable level, Finance Minister Manmohan Singh said.  Singh, who has spearheaded a series of sweeping reforms that have turned India’s socialist economic…

JAPAN APPROVES $87 MILLION SPENDING PLAN 

29 August 1992 Los Angeles Daily News Valley  The Japanese government Friday approved an $87 billion spending package – the nation’s largest since World War II – in a bid to jolt the dormant economy back to life.  During a late-evening meeting, government ministers rubber-stamped the growth-boosting package totaling 10.7 trillion yen.  The massive package was in line…

Japan’s economy sinks deeper into mire

14 September 1993 Reuters News English (c) 1993 Reuters Limited  TOKYO, Sept 14 (Reuter) – Japan’s sickly economy has been contracting as its stubborn trade surplus balloons, government figures showed on Tuesday.  Gross national product (GNP) shrank 0.5 percent in the April/June quarter from the previous quarter after adjustment for inflation, the government’s Economic Planning…

Keep Your Expectations Low

In a spirited panel discussion moderated by Business Today editor Chaitanya Kalbag, Yashwant Sinha, MP and former finance minister, M. Damodaran, former SEBI chairman, Satya Poddar, Partner, Ernst & Young, Samiran Chakraborty, Regional Head of Research, Standard Chartered Bank and Nilesh Shah, President, Corporate Finance, Axis Bank, shared their views. Edited excerpts Chaitanya Kalbag: All…

Pressure to Act Soon/Land Reform Issue Splits Aquino Aides 

21 May 1987  The San Francisco Chronicle  Manila  President Corazon Aquino’s ambitious plan to distribute land to more than half the country’s peasants is in danger of falling victim to the Philippines’ return to full legislative democracy.  Pressure has been mounting on Aquino to use her sweeping legislative powers and sign the Accelerated Land Reform…