News Report 26 March 2019
Local
1. Duterte to discuss trade, security at China forum The Philippine Star, 26 March 2019, p. 5
Presidential Spokesman Salvador Panelo said President Duterte will likely initiate further discussions on trade and security issues at next month’s second Belt and Road Forum for International
Cooperation in China.
President Duterte’s China trip next month will be his fourth as Chief Executive, and his seventh meeting with President Xi Jinping.
Korea -
Economic
2. Eastern Europe seen as new market for agri products The Philippine Star, 26 March 2019, p. B8
The Philippines plans to enter new export markets for various agricultural products, with greater focus on the East European region, particularly Belarus. Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel Piñol said the Philippines started its aggressive marketing campaign in the Eastern European Union, which has a 180-million population, with engagements with the Belarus Agriculture Ministry and officials of a leading supermarket chain.
3. Agri crisis looms due to water lack
Philippine Daily Inquirer, 26 March 2019, p. B1
The Department of Agriculture (DA) has warned that there has been a declining water supply for agriculture over the last few decades and the presence of the El Niño weather phenomenon could lead to an “agriculture crisis.”
More provinces are expected to be hit by the El Niño next month as the weather bureau sees the dry spell worsening and continuing until the end of the year.
4. PHL still an FDI laggard in the region
Business Mirror, 26 March 2019, p. A1, continued on p. A2
The Philippines is still one of the countries with the lowest inflows of foreign direct investments (FDI) in 2018, data from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) showed. The Philippines only outranks Malaysia and Taiwan as the worst performers in terms of FDI inflows in 2018: Malaysia with $8.57 billion, while Taiwan with about $7 billion for 2018.
