Rating Upgrade on Philippine Shares...

HONG KONG: The Philippines could attract more capital inflows after winning its first-ever investment grade rating, but any boost to local bonds, stocks or the peso currency is likely to be mild for now, investors and analysts say.

Fitch Ratings raised the Philippines' sovereign rating by one notch to BBB, noting that a persistent current account surplus underpinned by remittance inflows has helped the country become a net external creditor.

But while the upgrade is widely seen as positive for Philippine assets, expectations for a ratings upgrade have already been built into markets, limiting the scope for further gains.

Moreover, either Moody's or Standard & Poor's will likely have to upgrade their ratings on the Philippines as well to spur major inflows from overseas investors who are only allowed to hold investment grade assets.

The influential JPMorgan Asia credit index (JACI) requires that for a bond to be classified as investment grade, it should be rated investment grade by either Moody's or S&P. JPMorgan does not take Fitch into account when categorising bonds.

“There is no big impact at the moment since most index providers require upgrades to investment grade from two agencies for inclusion in their investment grade indices,” said Joep Huntjens, a fund manager for ING in Singapore.

“There could be some technical support if another agency upgrades Philippines, but looking at the valuation of the bonds, much of that has been priced in already,” Huntjens said, adding that at least one more rating agency was likely to upgrade the Philippines this year.

“We think there is some room for spread compression in the sovereign linked entities and banks in Philippines, less so in the sovereign,” he added.

Philippine sovereign bond prices rose 25 to 75 cents after the Fitch move on Wednesday while stocks briefly hit a record high. Local markets were closed yesterday for the long Easter holiday and trading will not resume until Monday.

Reflecting how strongly the upgrade expectations have been priced into markets already, long dated Philippine sovereign bonds are trading with a yield spread of just 92 basis points over 30-year US Treasuries, compared to 185 basis points for Indonesian bonds.

The impact on equities could be limited as well, as some market watchers think valuations are already stretched after the benchmark index rallied 18% in the first quarter.

“The Philippines is overrated and overextended and overowned like Indonesia and Thailand... there is serious potential for correction,” said David O'Neil, chief investment office at Asean Investment Management in Hong Kong.

At 16.9 times forward 12 months earnings, it is the priciest market in the Asia-Pacific region. Versus its own past, the MSCI Philippines index is trading at a 42% premium to its 10 years forward median PE.

“All the ducks are in line. You can't expect anything to happen there now,” said Homiyar Vasania, former MD of Morgan Stanley Investment management and founder of River Valley Asset management. “In Philippines, everything looks very good... The actual numbers look very good for the last five years. But whenever they look very good, whenever all the ducks are exactly aligned, you normally have a problem,” Vasania added.

Judging from past episodes of credit rating upgrades to investment grades in the past decade, the impact on Philippine shares could prove short-lived, Michael Wan, an analyst for Credit Suisse in Singapore, said in a research note. Reuters

(Resource: The Star ONLINE)

The Weather Right Now in my Surroundings

 

IT'S SUMMER IN THE PHILIPPINES!

ES IST SOMMER AUF DEN PHILIPPINEN!

Happy Easter! Frohe Ostern!

A Blessed and Happy Easter to all of you my dear readers!

Ein gesegnetes und frohes Osterfest fuer Sie alle, meine lieben Leserinnen und Leser.

I love The Philippines/Ich liebe die Philippinen

I never regretted to come here and to stay for good as an expatriate ...
Ich habe es niemals bereut, hierher zu kommen und fuer immer als Auswanderer zu leben...

German Language a Must for Pinoy Nurses

Filipino nurses who plan to seek work in Germany must learn the German language first.

In an interview on Friday, Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz said Filipino nurses should  familiarize themselves with the German language and German culture first if they plan to work there.

"They (German officials) are the ones who came to us, and the EU knows our concern about brain drain and based on our official statements, we have an oversupply of nurses here and the EU is now preparing for more demand [for health care workers]  so Germany now wants to recruit Filipino nurses," she said.

However, a Filipino nurse must have German "language proficiency and cultural [awareness]"  as these are  among the requirements for employment.

Japan has also imposed the same requirement in hiring Filipino nurses.
Baldoz added that the DOLE and its German counterpart are still finalizing the text of the agreement regarding the hiring of Filipino nurses in Germany and that the agreement is expected to be signed Tuesday, March 19.

Philippine Opera Company

The members of the Philippine Opera Company’s Young Artists group

MANILA, Philippines - After a successful first season, The Philippine Opera Company presents the Young Artists Series Black Box event on March 20, 6:30 p.m., at the Opera Haus with Elite.

In the theater the term Black Box refers to a devoted space where daring experiments and new visions are tested through performance. Performers who choose to go and perform in a black box are usually the ones with most open hearts and sincere desires to hone their talent.

Last January, the Philippine Opera Company hosted a “Black Box” affair for its Young Artists Series (YAS). The YAS started in October 2012, as a soiree every third Wednesday of the month featuring the Young Artists of the Opera Company. After the success of the first two events, artistic director Karla Gutierrez and artist-in-residence, mezzo soprano Clarissa Ocampo, decided to enhance the program by engaging the artists in more creative work and perform scenes from various operas, as well as, musical theater pieces that have crossed over into the classical arena. What makes this event different from the rest is the challenge given to the young artists to hone and develop their artistry by giving them the opportunity to stage their own scenes. To assist and mentor these artists, POC invited several established and well-known directors in the theater industry.

The Philippine Opera Company closes the series by putting the spotlight on their best and strongest Young Artists. An “Elite” YASer is a Young Artist who exemplifies attributes of a world-class artist and musician. They possess exceptional vocal prowess and unmatchable performances throughout the YAS season. These artists will perform Opera scenes from Bellini’s I Capuletti ed I Montecchi, Leoncavallo’s Pagliacci, Gounod’s Faust, Mozart’s Le Nozze di Figaro, Poulenc’s La Voix Humaine, Delibe’s Lakme and Verdi’s La Traviata.

The show features Gabriel Panlilio, Marian Santiago, Twinkle Prietos, Lara Maigue, Ellrica Laguardia, Lena McKenzie, Cris Go, Al Gatmaitan, Lawrence Jatayna, Janine Santos, Joseleo Logdat and Clarissa Ocampo with surprise guests.

For inquiries, call the Philippine Opera Company at 822-9609 or 0917-5272880.

Diving in The Philippines (II)

The Philippines are one of my favorite places to go for diving. You will find everything a diver wants. From steep coral walls in Balicasag and Cabilao to underwater mounds with sharks at Malapascua, muck diving of the best in Negros and a bay full of wrecks in Busuanga. Current swept islands like Apo, Apo Reef and Tubbataha with large fish or gentle slopes around Siquijor - the Philippines has everything to your hearts content!
I have been there seven times for extensive diving. I have compiled many pages of information, tips about dive areas, descriptions and maps of dive sites and liveaboards, photos of the underwater animals you will find there, and much more.- Teresa Zubi.
www.starfish.ch

Valerie Taylor, passionate diver and book author wrote 1982:

"The Philippines is today one of the richest marine areas I have ever seen. I remember clearly my first trip there. Many marine creatures I have seen only once. Some specimens new to science, others uncommon in our waters... . The mother of all living things, nature's ultimate gift, yet we destroy its treasures, pollute its purity, rape its abundance, ignoring the warnings of approaching disasters, for already it is dying and the life it supports it with."

Remember, she wrote this 1982. How looks marine life today? Divers can tell you...

Diving in The Philippines

Angelica Panganiban Named Top Comedy Actress

Angelica Pangaiban won the Outstanding Performance by an Actress award in a Gag or Comedian Program for the show "Banana Split" in the Entertainment Press Society Golden Screen TV Awards. She first received this award in 2011 for thr same show. Angelica also appears in the newly launched "Banana Nite", the nightly serving of the gag show where they feature new gags and talents. "Banana Nite" airs Monday to Thursday after "Bandila" on ABS-CBN.

Compostela Valley Celebrates its 15th Year

by Grace Almedilla

COMPOSTELA VALLEY PROVINCE-----Opened with a Thanksgiving Mass celebrated by Bishop Wilfredo D. Manlapaz, the Comvalenyos are thankful that the province stands still despite of the experienced trials.

In her remarks during the Foundation Day Program, Congresswoman Maria Carmen Zamora pointed out that the significant event is a realization that indeed Comvalenyos draw strength from each other and moving on is not impossible having each other.

Governor Arturo T. Uy with a grateful heart expressed his deep appreciation to everybody, for through thick and thin, they are there in the province’s journey supporting each other.

An USWAG Gawad Kalinga Raffle Draw followed with exciting prizes for the lucky winners (a brand new 4x2 Pick-Up, Yamaha YBRs, Honda Scooters, Samsung Galaxy III Cellular Phones, and Samsung Tab units).

Announcing that the world is also celebrating today the Women’s Day, Governor Uy, Congresswoman Zamora, Congressman Rommel Amatong, and the Province Sports Consultant Tyrone Uy entertained the crowd with their talents in singing and dancing.

A game variety show was also conducted in the afternoon dubbed as “Gov Time, Big Time” actively participated by the Municipal and Barangay Officials of ComVal’s eleven municipalities.

Another highlight of the day’s celebration was the Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) Signing of rehabilitation projects and turn-over of checks as agriculture interventions of the Department of Agriculture (DA) in support to the Tindog ComVal Movement. 

These interventions include: assistance to Cacao Rehabilitation Program in partnership with Kennemer Foods, Inc. amounting to P13,125,000 in the form of seedlings, fertilizers, and cash for work training;   assistance to Coffee Rehabilitation Program worth P3,200,000 also in the form of seedlings, fertilizers, and cash for work training in partnership with Nestle Philippines;  P21,850,000 intervention for Banana Rehabilitation;  P3,000,000 worth of rubber seedlings for Laak;   P4,466,535 farm machineries & equipment for sustainable Rice Recovery Program;  P1.2 Million Farm Tractor for Corn Program;  P1.4 Million for the rehabilitation of Deep Well & Spring Development at Pasian, Monkayo and;  P1,518,307.09 Mini-Warehouse for Rice Program in Mawab.

These interventions from DA under the High Value Commercial Crops Development Program through the Office of Agriculture Secretary Proceso J. Alcala and Director Remelyn R. Recoter of DA-XI Field Unit totalled to P49,709,842.  (grace almedilla, ids-comval)