Category: Business

Business

Sulu Sea Gas Prospect Triples to 8 Tcf as Tetragon Hunts for Global Partners — But the Biggest Test Still Lies Beneath the Seabed

MANILA, Philippines — A little-known gas prospect beneath the Sulu Sea has suddenly become one of the most closely watched exploration plays in the Philippines after its estimated mid-case resource more than tripled to 8 trillion cubic feet. But there is a catch. The company leading the project is now looking for international oil and gas partners willing to help finance the expensive drilling campaign needed to determine whether the enormous gas estimate actually exists underground in commerc

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Business

PH Business Confidence Sinks Back Below Zero as Inflation and Oil Risks Rattle Firms — But One Signal Says Companies Haven’t Given Up

MANILA, Philippines — Philippine businesses have turned pessimistic again, reversing a brief improvement just one month earlier as high inflation, oil-price risks and renewed Middle East tensions cloud the outlook for companies already facing a slower domestic economy. The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ latest Business Expectations Survey showed the overall business confidence index plunging to -20.3 percent in July from 0.0 percent in June. A negative reading means pessimists outnumber optimist

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Business

SM Cares Set to Make Waves With Its Biggest Coastal Cleanup Yet—32 Malls Join Nationwide Drive

MANILA, Philippines — A massive nationwide push to protect the country’s coastlines is about to get even bigger as SM Cares prepares to bring together volunteers from 32 SM malls for this year’s International Coastal Cleanup. The initiative, scheduled for September 19, 2026, is expected to become one of the largest mall-led coastal cleanup efforts in the country, building on SM Cares’ growing environmental campaign and its record participation in the previous year. The 2026 International Coast

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Business

GCash Gets Green Light for Record ₱92.3-Billion IPO — But Most of the Money Won’t Actually Go to GCash

MANILA — The long wait is almost over. GCash is preparing for what could become the biggest initial public offering the Philippines has ever seen, after regulators cleared a share sale worth as much as ₱92.32 billion. The Securities and Exchange Commission has approved the registration statement of Mynt Inc., the company behind GCash, bringing one of the country’s most valuable financial-technology businesses within weeks of a planned Philippine Stock Exchange debut. Under the latest timetable

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Business

ACEN Is Putting ₱9.24 Billion Behind Zambales Solar and Batteries — But the Bigger Bet Begins After Sunset

MANILA — ACEN Corp. is putting another ₱9.24 billion of financing behind two major renewable-energy projects in Zambales, accelerating an emerging solar-and-battery complex that could become one of the Philippines’ most important tests of whether massive amounts of daytime solar power can be made useful when the sun is no longer shining. The Ayala-led energy company has executed loan agreements with two wholly owned subsidiaries: up to ₱6 billion for SanMar Solar Inc. and up to ₱3.24 billion fo

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Business

Ayala Land’s Mall Makeover Is Bringing Shoppers Back — But the Real Payoff May Only Be Starting

MANILA — Ayala Land spent billions of pesos betting that Filipinos would still go to malls if the malls themselves gave them a better reason to stay. Early numbers suggest that bet may be working. The property giant said visitor traffic across its shopping-center portfolio increased 5% in the first half of 2026, while same-mall revenues grew 7% and the lease-out rate reached 90%, up from 87% a year earlier. Mall EBITDA margin remained a robust 61%. Those numbers are beginning to provide evide

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Business

Philippine Stocks Rise as Inflation Eases to 6.1% — But the Peso’s Record Fall Tells a Different Story

MANILA — Philippine stocks finally received a piece of economic news investors could cheer. But underneath Friday’s modest rally was a far more uncomfortable message. The Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) gained 21.18 points, or 0.35%, to close at 6,090.60 on September 4, extending its advance for a second straight session after government data showed inflation easing for a fourth consecutive month. The broader All Shares index increased 0.23% to 3,377.44. Mining and oil led sectoral gai

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Business

Cebu Hog Farmers Get a Major Lifeline—But the Bigger Fight Is Just Beginning

CEBU — Cebu’s hog industry is getting another push toward recovery as the Central Visayas Pork Producers Cooperative (CeViPPco) and its industry partners step up efforts to help small-scale raisers rebuild their operations amid low hog prices, production challenges and continuing African Swine Fever (ASF) concerns. The latest intervention forms part of a broader effort to keep Cebu’s swine sector productive and protect the livelihood of backyard farmers who remain among the most vulnerable play

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Business

DMCI Is Racing to Restore Its Exhausted Palawan Nickel Mine — But What Happens After the Last Tree Is Planted May Matter More

QUEZON, PALAWAN — Mining normally makes headlines when companies discover ore, open new pits or announce record production. DMCI Mining Corp. is now trying to attract attention for the opposite reason: what happens after the ore is gone. The Consunji-led miner says rehabilitation of its depleted Berong nickel mine in Quezon, Palawan, is running ahead of schedule, raising the possibility that major restoration work could be completed earlier than originally planned. But DMCI Mining President a

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Business

Nearly 1,000 MW Vanished From the Visayas Grid and Brownouts Followed — But the Biggest Test Comes on September 11

MANILA — The Philippines’ power problem in the Visayas is no longer looking like a one-day shortage. A cascade of power-plant outages has repeatedly pushed the regional grid into red-alert territory, forced rotational brownouts and exposed just how little room the system has when major generating units suddenly fail. On Friday, September 4, both the Visayas and Mindanao grids were placed under red alert after multiple generating plants went offline or operated below normal capacity. The situat

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