You Should Be Investing in the Philippines!

Reasons Why You Should Invest in the Philippines

Philippines has been showcasing strong economic growth and many foreign investors think of the country as a place to invest in long term.  (Check related posts: Invest in Breakout Nations, Invest in Philippines and Investors Choose Philippines).

The video clip from Bloomberg below explores several other reasons why you should be investing in the Philippines.

Insurance Policies - Are They Really Essential?

What Does it Feel to Insured?

You might have been debating and weighing the pros and cons of having an insurance policy at some point. 

Today, when I opened a savings account at POSB Singapore, I was offered an personal accident plan which would allow me to live my life to the fullest and still have this peace of mind because I know I've got a policy that will protect me. I have been a bit skeptic since I've previously been lured into an insurance policy by a company whose name was quite compromised but anyway, I chose to sign up for this personal accident insurance plan because for as low as $19.50 monthly (automatically deducted from my savings account with POSB), I can be assured of the following benefits:

1. Accidental Death ($65,000) *Classic

2. Accidental Death whilst Overseas or Traveling in a Public Conveyance

3. Total or Permanent Disablement

4. Weekly Benefit - Temporary total or partial disablement from engaging or attending to the usual employment or occupation certified by Physician

5. Recuperation Benefit

6. Loan Protector

7. Income Protector

8. Outpatient Treatment (Including TCM Treatment) 

9. Lifestyle Aids

10. Transport Allowance

11. Special Daily Hospitalization Benefit

12. Personal Effects

I know it feels really weird to be talking about insurance..but really, it's good to know that whatever, whenever unfortunate things might happen (which I definitely I hope not for!), something's got your back covered. 

Both individuals and businesses should consider getting insured. There are various types of insurance policies out there, others are even tailored for your needs like CIA Insurance, personal protection, health insurance, etc. You just never know. 

Highlight of the Week: GMA-7 stock sizzles amid talk of sale

Highlights of the Week: News, events and updates that are likely to affect your investments and trades in the Philippines stock market.

GMA-7 stock sizzles amid talk of sale

MANILA, Philippines - Persistent rumors that the group of TV5 chair Manuel V. Pangilinan and the GMA Network Inc. controlling owners are in talks for a deal have helped boost the stock price of the 2nd biggest television network in the country.

GMA-7's stock was only trading at P6.50 a share on December 27, 2011 when the newest set of deal talks commenced and picked up by social media users, making it one of the top trending topics on Twitter in the Philippines.

Peza approves P104 billion fresh investments in H1

Fresh investments approved by the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (Peza) in the first half of the year reached P104.745 billion, or 12 percent higher compared to new projects registered in the same period last year amounting to P90.135 billion.

Elmer San Pascual, head of Peza’s promotions group, said the agency is on track of meeting its full-year target of generating P300 billion in fresh investments as more big-ticket projects are expected to register this second semester.


5 foreign banks shut down Philippine offices

Manila (Philippine Daily Inquirer/ANN) - American Express Bank and four other foreign institutions have shut down their offices in the Philippines as the financial woes in the United States and Europe prompted them to sell off their offshore assets.

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP or Central Bank of the Philippines) said the asset sale was meant to help the financially troubled parent firms generate liquidity.

In a circular notifying the local banking industry, the BSP said the five foreign banks have already packed up and left. Apart from American Express Bank, the others were Societe General, Union Bank of California N.A., First International Bank and Fortis Bank.

Societe Generale is based in Paris, while First International Bank is based in North Dakota. Fortis Bank is a subsidiary of BNP Paribas, which operates mainly out of Belgium.

Highlight of the Week: Peso Rises to Highest Level in 4 Years

Highlights of the Week: News, events and updates that are likely to affect your investments and trades in the Philippines stock market.

Peso rises to highest level in 4 years

Manila (Philippine Daily Inquirer/ANN) - The peso strengthened further to its highest level in about four years, ending yesterday's trading day in the 41-to-a-dollar territory.

PSEi climbs to new peak on easing hopes

STOCKS hit a fresh peak yesterday on market hopes of easing by European and US central banks after fresh data showed the global economy hitting a new bump

The Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) rallied by 1.23% or 65.46 points to close at 5,365.70, piercing the 5,360 resistance, while the broader all-share index gained 0.89% or 30.81 points to 3,506.34.

PLDT to pay out dividends on preferred stock

INDEX HEAVYWEIGHT Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT) has moved to distribute cash dividends for holders of its preferred stock, a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange showed yesterday.

“We disclose that at the meeting of the board of directors of PLDT held on July 3, the board declared a final dividend of P0.0027 per day per outstanding share of Series GG 10% Cumulative Convertible Preferred Stock covering the period March 1 to Aug. 30,” the disclosure read.

BSP watching peso’s surge

THE BANGKO Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) yesterday said the peso’s appreciation was not yet worrisome but it was watchful of its impact on inflation.

The country’s exporters, meanwhile, said the peso’s appreciation to the P41-per-dollar level has started to hurt, dashing hopes of a recovery from the slump last year.

How to Open a CitisecOnline Account

How to Open an Account with CitsecOnline

So you want to learn and earn from the Philippines stock market? You may want to start with the things every newbie should know about the stock market. It highlights the most basic questions about the stock market, how to get started in investing, where to invest, what are some of the best blogs and online resources  when investing in the stock market. 

Steps on How to Open an Account with CitisecOnline:

1. Choose a trading/investing account 

Options available are Personal Accounts which is divided in Regular Account and the EIP (Easy Investment Program) and Corporate Accounts. 

a. Regular Account 

- Minimum deposit of P 25,000). 

- It is a personal trading account that be owned by a single person or jointly.

b. EIP (Easy Investment Program) 

- Minimum deposit - P 5,000

- Uses a calendared Cost Averaging Strategy. It means that you will have to follow a schedule and regular investment on the account (for example: P5,000 monthly)

2. Download and fill up the Personal Account or Corporate Account Forms

a. Personal Account Forms:

The forms contain the Individual Customer Account Information Form (CAIF), Online Securities Trading Agreement and Signature Cards. You may download all of three here. 

b. Corporate Account Forms:

Customer Account Information Form (Download here)

Online Securities Trading Agreement (Download here)

Signature Cards (Download here) 

For detailed instructions on how to fill out the Personal Account: EIP & REGULAR Account forms, click here. 

What are the Requirements?

3. Prepare two (2) copies of any valid ID and one (1) latest copy of your utility bill, bank statement or credit card statement.

a. Personal Account

(1) Photocopy or Scan copy of a Government Issued Valid ID

(ex. Driver's License, Passport, SSS ID, Senior Citizen ID, Voter's ID)

Important note: Photo and Signature on the ID should be clear

(2) Billing Statement - waived with a personal appearance

(ex. Utility Bill, Credit Card Bill)

Important note: Name, Address and Date should be present in the statement

b. For Corporate Account

a. Photocopy of each of the following documents duly Certified by the corporate secretary:

SEC Registration

Articles of Incorporation, Partnership or equivalent

By-Laws of the Corporation

Latest General Information Sheet (GIS) filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)

Latest Audited Financial Statements

Notarized Board Resolution authorizing the corporation to open an account with

b. CitisecOnline and the designated officer(s) authorized to transact and trade in behalf of the corporation

c. Sworn Statement as to the existence or non-existence of beneficial owners certified by the corporate secretary

d. Photocopy of one (1) identity document issued by the Philippine Government of the authorized officer(s)

4. Submit the documents to CitisecOnline

CitisecOnline.com, Inc.

Address: 2403B East Tower, Philippine Stock Exchange Centre,

Exchange Road, Ortigas Center, Pasig City, 1605 Philippines

Note: Hard Copies of the documents are needed as the company cannot approve scanned or faxed copies of the application forms.

How to Fund the Account?

5. Fund the Account

Once your application has been approved, we will send you your 8-digit CitisecOnline account number to be used for your funding.

You can now fund your CitisecOnline Account through any of the following options:

FUNDING OPTIONS	BANKS AVAILABLE
Online Banking via Merchant Payment	Bank of the Philippine Islands - www.bpiexpressonline.com Banco de Oro - www.mybdo.com.ph Metrobank - www.metrobank.com.ph
Over-the-Counter via Merchant Payment	Bank of the Philippine Islands Banco de Oro Metrobank
Over-the-Counter via CitisecOnline Business Center	CitisecOnline Business Center 2403B East Tower, Philippine Stock Exchange Centre, Exchange Road, Ortigas Center, Philippines

*It is IMPORTANT to indicate the CITISECONLINE ACCOUNT HOLDER'S NAME and

COL ACCOUNT NUMBER when making payments to ensure proper and timely credit to your account.

Minimum Initial Deposit for EIP Account: P5,000

Minimum Initial Deposit for Regular and Corporate Account: P25,000

6. Login to your CitisecOnline Account

Once your account has been approved and funded, your log-in details will be sent to you via email.

7. Have fun investing and trading!

Should you have any investing and finance-related questions, feel free to ask me and I will try to answer them in the next Reader Asks section of this blog. 

Highlight of the Week: PH is World’s 5th Most Improved Country, According to A Study

Stock Market News - Philippines

Highlights of the Week: News, events and updates that are likely to affect your investments and trades in the Philippines stock market.

PH is world’s 5th most improved country, says study

The Philippines was cited as the fifth most improved country in the world, rising two notches to rank 133 from 135th last year, in the 2012 Global Peace Index (GPI).

Pilipinas Shell plans to build LNG facility in Philippines

PILIPINAS Shell Petroleum Corp., the local arm of Royal Dutch Shell Plc., is planning to set up a liquefied natural gas (LNG) import facility in the Philippines, the first in Southeast Asia.

San Miguel power subsidiary strengthens hold on Meralco

DIVERSIFIED CONGLOMERATE San Miguel Corp. has strengthened its hold over Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) after its subsidiary finalized an earlier purchase of P56.67 billion worth of shares previously held by the Social Security System (SSS).

San Miguel, through SMC Global Power Holdings Corp., has thus hiked its stake in the utility to 32.39% from a previous 21.46% as of end-March, keeping the conglomerate as the second largest shareholder after Pangilinan-led Beacon Electric Asset Holdings, Inc. which holds 42.25%, based on data from the local bourse.

Good News and Bad News for the Philippines This Week

Highlights of the Week: News, events and updates that are likely to affect your investments and trades in the Philippines stock market.

Good News and Bad News for the Philippines This Week

There had been a mix of good news and bad news for the Philippine economy and politics this week. For the good news, the UK government assures Philippines of more investments. British Prime Minister David Cameron yesterday assured Philippine President Benigno Aquino of his government's continued support for the Philippines' public-private partnership program (PPP) and said he looked forward to more British companies investing in the country.

Another good news is that Moody's unit raises Philippines growth forecast. The research arm of Moody's Investors Services has raised its economic growth forecast for the Philippines this year to 4.7 per cent from 4 per cent, citing the government's ant-corruption drive and big push for infrastructure development that will aid efforts to attract investors.

However, the bad news is that the Philippines risks joining money-laundering blacklist. The Philippines faces the risk of joining a global money-laundering blacklist after it failed to approve all required amendments to legislation on illegal movement of money, threatening its ability to attract foreign investment.

Ending up on the Financial Action Task Force blacklist would also make it difficult for Filipinos abroad to send money home and for local banks to transact business overseas.

Thoughts About the News

It's a good thing that our government and our country in general is getting more investments, better forecasts and good ratings. It means more investors would be encouraged to invest in our country. However, it bothers me that our current administration has focused too much on putting its now former Chief Justice Renato Corona on an exhausting and somewhat politically vindictive trial.

Our policy makers could have spent more time, effort and our nation's resources on much more pressing and rather important issues such as trying as much as we can not to be at risk of joining the money-laundering blacklist.

Or maybe passing necessary bills to improve our educational system or maybe focus on making it easier for local entrepreneurs to setup businesses which could eventually help in pumping more investments on our local market thus would result into creating more jobs. It's not that I feel the issue about Corona shouldn't have been resolved or be avoided, I just felt that there are many other pressing issues that could have been given more focus and attention to.