Category: Trading

​The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) held a virtual forum earlier this month to promote warehouse receipts financing as an innovation in providing much-needed loans for Filipino farmers and agriculture-based micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs).

 

“Now, more than ever, we need to take a whole-of-society approach toward putting in place necessary and responsive elements that make lending to the agriculture sector viable,” said BSP Governor Felipe M. Medalla at a forum intended to generate support for the passage of legislation aimed at modernizing the Philippine warehouse receipts system last November 08.

 

The proposed updates to the century-old Warehouse Receipts Law of 1912 intends to address the development needs of the agriculture and micro, small and medium enterprise (MSME) sectors, particularly by expanding access to credit, by professionalizing the warehousing activity through the accreditation of warehouses and warehouse operators and establishment of an electronic warehouse receipts registry.

 

International experience suggests that a well-functioning warehouse receipts system can support collateralization of post-harvest produce owned by farmers, traders, and processors, and held in licensed warehouses.

 

Countries that have implemented such a program have seen reduced post-harvest losses, improved stability of market prices, increased food security, and a heightened level of formalization of businesses within the sector.

 

Attended by 200 participants from various financial institutions, the forum also served as an avenue to generate support for the passage of legislation modernizing the country’s warehouse receipts system.

 

The forum featured presentations on the elements of a dynamic warehouse receipts financing market and features of the proposed warehouse receipts bill from the International Finance Corporation and trade consulting firm, TradeAdvisors, respectively. Representatives from CARD Bank, LandBank of the Philippines, and Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation also provided their perspectives on the discussions.

 

The forum participants also expressed their support for the needed reforms to fully realize the potential of warehouse receipts financing for the benefit of the MSMEs and agriculture sectors.

 

While MSMEs and agriculture account for a large part of total employment in the country, they remain among the most vulnerable segments of the population. Households headed by farmers and fisherfolk ranked among the poorest and the least banked, with only three in 10 owning formal transaction accounts.

 

By bringing the Warehouse Receipts Law of 1912 up to the times, it can help promote wider acceptance of warehouse receipts as credible collateral for bank loans.

 

The Financial Inclusion Steering Committee, chaired by the BSP, endorsed in the last Congress the passage of the bill.

 

“But while we fully recognize that enabling laws are necessary, they are not sufficient to develop a thriving warehouse receipts financing market that ultimately benefits MSMEs and the agriculture sector. The concerted effort of all stakeholders is needed to make warehouse receipts finance work,” the Governor concluded.

 

Source: Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP)

TASHKENT– Uzbekistan’s foreign trade turnover, reached 45 billion U.S. dollars as of Dec 1, the Uzbek State Statistics Committee said, yesterday.

 

The country’s exports amounted to 17.4 billion dollars, and imports 27.6 billion dollars, during the period, resulting in a trade deficit of 10.2 billion dollars, data showed.

 

Uzbekistan’s largest foreign trade partners are China, Russia, Kazakhstan and Türkiye.

 

Source: NAM NEWS NETWORK

The Huadian Preah Sihanouk coal-fired power plant in Cambodia, yesterday passed a commissioning test successfully, and was officially put into operation, becoming the largest power generation project in the country.

 

The Huadian Preah Sihanouk 2×350 MW Coal-fired Power Plant (HSPGC Power Plant) under China’s Huadian Overseas Investment Co., Ltd., said in a statement, the plant adopted Chinese standards, technology and equipment, with an installed capacity of 2×350 megawatt (MW).

 

“It is a coal-fired power plant with the largest installed capacity, the most advanced indicators, and the highest environmental protection level in Cambodia,” it said.

 

“The full operation of HSPGC is of great significance for improving Cambodia’s power supply structure, and perfecting Cambodia’s power infrastructure,” it said.

 

The construction of the plant, located in south-west Cambodia’s Preah Sihanouk province, took 27 months, from Aug, 2020 to Nov, 2022, to complete.

 

Energy demand in Cambodia surged to 4,014 MWs in 2021, an increase of one percent from 3,972 MWs in the year before, according to the Electricity Authority of Cambodia (EAC).

 

Some 3,033 MWs were generated locally by hydroelectric dams, coal-fired power plants, diesel-fired power plants, solar power plants and biomass power plants, and 981 MWs were imported from neighbouring Thailand, Laos and Vietnam, the EAC said.

 

 

 

Source: NAM NEWS NETWORK

Vietnam’s tra fish (catfish) exports, are forecast to reach a new record high of 2.4 billion U.S. dollars in 2022, surging 70 percent, year on year.

 

The year 2022 marks a successful year for the production and trading of tra fish in Vietnam’s Mekong Delta region, as domestic tra fish prices are maintained high, after businesses have made efforts to boost exports, according to the Vietnam Tra Fish Association.

 

Vietnamese tra fish is exported to 138 countries and territories around the world, with major markets including China, the United States, the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership member states, and the European Union, Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Phung Duc Tien, said, at a press conference.

 

The tra fish farming area in Vietnam totals 5,500 hectares in 2022, with total output of 1.6 million tonnes, up four percent and 3.5 percent respectively, compared to last year, according to the Vietnam Directorate of Fisheries.

 

Vietnam’s fishery industry has seen impressive export growth, with export turnover expected to reach the record high of 11 billion dollars this year, up 25 percent year on year, it said.

 

Source: NAM NEWS NETWORK

​The Monetary Board, on 15 December 2022, raised the interest rate on the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ (BSP) overnight reverse repurchase facility by 50 basis points to 5.50 percent. Accordingly, the interest rates on the overnight deposit and lending facilities were raised to 5.00 percent and 6.00 percent, respectively.

Effective 19 December 2022, the following are the applicable rates of the BSP’s Peso Rediscount Facility, while the Exporters’ Dollar and Yen Rediscount Facility rates remain the same:

The Peso rediscount rates are based on the latest available BSP Overnight Lending Rate plus spread, while the rates for the Exporters’ Dollar and Yen Rediscount Facility are based on the 90-day London Inter-Bank Offered Rate as of 30 November 2022 plus spread.​

 

 

Source: Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP)

MANILA, PHILIPPINES — Economic growth in the Pacific will rebound in 2022–2023, according to the latest issue of the Asian Development Bank’s (ADB) Pacific Economic Monitor (PEM) launched today.

 

Growth for the subregion is projected to be 5.3% in 2022 and 4.8% in 2023, partly fueled by stronger-than-expected tourism activity in Fiji and a recovery in Papua New Guinea’s minerals sector. The PEM says the positive outlook masks economic challenges in the subregion, including the impact of the volcanic eruption in Tonga in January; slower-than-expected tourism recovery in Palau; and rising inflation due to volatile international prices.

 

“While modest recovery is expected for the subregion, Pacific economies cannot be complacent,” said ADB Director General for the Pacific Leah Gutierrez. “Now is the time to strengthen social protection systems to help build resilience to future economic shocks.”

 

This issue of the PEM explores ways Pacific countries could improve social protection systems despite constrained fiscal resources, to help address long-standing development concerns and boost resilience to further shocks. Country-specific articles cover different aspects of social protection, including food security, social insurance schemes, youth and overseas employment, and protection of vulnerable groups.

 

The PEM’s policy briefs examine key issues on social protection, which has critical implications for the Pacific’s broader economic recovery in the wake of the COVID-19 crisis. An article based on a forthcoming ADB publication, The Social Protection Indicator for the Pacific–Tracking Development in Social Protection, highlights the significant challenges and unique opportunities to channel the impacts of the pandemic into resilience-building strategies. A policy brief contributed by an Australian government initiative, Partnerships for Social Protection, examines the history of social protection in the Pacific and how governments can sustainably finance their social protection systems. A contribution from the International Labour Organization makes the case for universal access to comprehensive, adapted, and sustainable social protection systems.

 

ADB is committed to achieving a prosperous, inclusive, resilient, and sustainable Asia and the Pacific, while sustaining its efforts to eradicate extreme poverty. Established in 1966, it is owned by 68 members—49 from the region.

 

Source: Asian Development Bank