Wednesday, 04 February 2026, 6:54 am

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    Top News

    2025 growth slows, keeping rate cuts on the table

    The economy rounded 2025 on a weak footing, raising the likelihood of another policy rate adjustment by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP).

    News Dispatch

    Agriculture

    Meat importers sound alarm on forex losses, port congestion

    Meat importers say foreign exchange losses and ongoing port congestion are major challenges this year, prompting calls for government action to prevent supply disruptions and price pressures.

    DA looks to replicate banana export gains across more high-value crops

    The Department of Agriculture (DA) is stepping up efforts to boost exports of other high-value food crops by replicating the strategies that helped revive the country’s banana industry, which posted strong export growth last year.

    Philippine farm trade gap shrinks in December

    The Philippines’ agricultural trade deficit narrowed sharply in December, buoyed by a strong rebound in farm exports and a pullback in imports, offering a late-year boost to the country’s external trade position.

    Carabao and goat milk drive 27% growth in PH dairy value

    The National Dairy Authority (NDA) reported a significant increase in the value and output of the country’s dairy sector in 2025. The total value of dairy production rose 27.7 percent to P1.667 billion, up from P1.305 billion in 2024, while milk production grew 12 percent, reaching 43.3 million liters.

    Corporate

    ING Philippines turns 35

    ING Philippines marked 35 years in the country with a celebration at the Dutch Ambassador’s residence, honoring its long-standing role in the Philippine financial sector.

    Disaster relief tops San Miguel Foundation work in 2025

    Disaster response made up the largest part of San Miguel Foundation’s activities in 2025 as the country faced a series of major calamities, the foundation said.

    Villar defends corporate actions, stresses compliance amid SEC case

    Businessman Manuel B. Villar Jr. said his company followed all rules and regulations and rejected allegations of market manipulation, stressing that transparency and regulatory compliance are central to its operations.

    SM Group trains first  on GeoRiskPH

    SM Investments Corporation has become the first Philippine conglomerate to complete enterprise-wide training on GeoRiskPH, a suite of science-based digital tools designed to pinpoint location-specific vulnerabilities and strengthen resilience against disasters and climate change.

    Banking & Insurance

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    Corporate Bulletins

    ING Philippines turns 35

    ING Philippines marked 35 years in the country with a celebration at the Dutch Ambassador’s residence, honoring its long-standing role in the Philippine financial sector.

    Shang Grand Tower shift to geothermal power with First Gen

    Makati luxury condominium The Shang Grand Tower is now fully powered by renewable geothermal energy after partnering with First Gen Corporation.

    InLife elects Gemilo J. San Pedro as new trustee

    InLife has named Gemilo J. San Pedro as its new Independent Trustee.

    BDO wins Gold Anvil for influencer-led campaign

    BDO Unibank won a Gold Anvil Award for its “Kabayan Connections” campaign at the 61st Anvil Awards, recognized under the Best Use of Influencer Marketing category. The campaign stood out among entries from more than 170 companies in the annual awards organized by the Public Relations Society of the Philippines (PRSP).

    Social Responsibility & Sustainability

    Disaster relief tops San Miguel Foundation work in 2025

    Disaster response made up the largest part of San Miguel Foundation’s activities in 2025 as the country faced a series of major calamities, the foundation said.

    SM Group trains first  on GeoRiskPH

    SM Investments Corporation has become the first Philippine conglomerate to complete enterprise-wide training on GeoRiskPH, a suite of science-based digital tools designed to pinpoint location-specific vulnerabilities and strengthen resilience against disasters and climate change.

    Converge conducts tree-planting, health outreach in Pampanga Aeta community

    Converge ICT Solutions Inc. carried out an environmental and health outreach activity for an Aeta community in Angeles City, Pampanga, combining watershed reforestation with medical services.

    Hanabishi Karinderya: Small kitchens, big impact

    In a country where some of the best business ideas are cooked over a single gas stove, Hanabishi Appliances is betting on the power of the humble karinderya. 

    Markets

    Asian Terminals plans PSE exit in April

    Asian Terminals Inc. (ATI) has filed a petition with the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) to voluntarily delist its shares, setting April 3 as the target exit date, following a strategic investment by the country’s sovereign wealth fund.

    Oracle financing plan stokes AI investment concerns

    Shares of Oracle Corp. ended lower Monday after the company unveiled plans to raise up to USD50 billion in debt and equity to expand its cloud infrastructure, reviving market concerns that returns from its artificial intelligence investments may take years to materialize.

    Villar Land urges respect for due process amid SEC raps

    Villar Land Holdings Group, under fire from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) over alleged stock price manipulation, said it has yet to receive a copy of the criminal complaint filed with the Department of Justice and cannot comment further until it does.

    PSEi steady above 6,000 amid mixed signals

    Philippine equities held their footing above the 6,000 level as caution continued to dominate trading, with analysts balancing global headwinds against pockets of domestic resilience.

    Travel

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    Energy

    Green Lane certifies 233 high-impact projects

    The government’s Green Lane initiative has certified 233 high-impact projects worth P6.14 trillion as of January 31, 2026, underscoring an aggressive push to fast-track large, job-generating investments, according to Board of Investments data.

    Alternergy unit starts commercial operations of Balsik solar farm

    Alternergy Holdings Corp., a listed renewable energy pioneer, said that its unit Solana Solar Alpha, Inc. has it has started the commercial operations of its 28 megaWatt-peak Balsik solar farm in Hermosa, Bataan. 

    Spotlight Power fast-tracks 49.9MW Mabini solar project

    Spotlight Power Inc. has broken ground on its P1.95-billion, 49.9-megawatt Mabini solar project in Barangay San Pedro, Mabini, Pangasinan, citing the government’s Green Lane initiative for significantly accelerating development.

    AG&P Industrial powers India modular energy boom

    AG&P Industrial is taking its world-class modular engineering expertise to India through a USD100-million joint venture with Pragati Infra Solutions Pvt. Ltd. (PISL), aiming to reshape the country’s energy infrastructure landscape.

    Transport & Communications

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    Property

    ABG expands into modular construction business

    Asiabest Group International, Inc. (ABG) is making a bold move to reshape the Philippines’ construction landscape.

    Colliers sees decline in office space vacancies in 2026

    The Philippine office market is poised for gradual recovery in 2026, following a stronger-than-expected performance in 2025, according to Colliers Philippines.

    SM Prime’s FiveE-com Center earns LEED Gold certification

    SM Prime Holdings Inc. said Monday that its FiveE-com Center at the Mall of Asia complex in Pasay City has earned LEED Gold certification for Operations and Maintenance, adding to the company’s portfolio of sustainable office buildings.

    DHSUD fast-tracks revival of Caloocan housing

    The Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development has ordered the fast-tracking of three long-stalled socialized housing projects in Caloocan City, signaling a tougher stance on project delays and construction quality under the Marcos administration’s housing drive.

    Environment

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    Technology

    Oracle financing plan stokes AI investment concerns

    Shares of Oracle Corp. ended lower Monday after the company unveiled plans to raise up to USD50 billion in debt and equity to expand its cloud infrastructure, reviving market concerns that returns from its artificial intelligence investments may take years to materialize.

    AI love scams go corporate, targeted

    Love scams in the Philippines are no longer clumsy, one-off hustles.

    Lenovo bets on Agentic AI to close the enterprise AI maturity gap

    Lenovo has announced a major expansion of its enterprise AI offerings with the launch of Lenovo Agentic AI and a new suite of platforms called Lenovo xIQ, aimed at helping businesses deploy and manage AI at scale more quickly and responsibly.

    DICT taps UP to help craft ICT policies

    The Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) has partnered with the University of the Philippines (UP) to tap academic expertise in crafting policies on the use and governance of information and communications technology (ICT).

    Health & Science

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    Opinion

    Airport knife shooting thrusts security governance into spotlight

    A knife-related shooting at Iloilo International Airport has forced an uncomfortable reckoning inside aviation security circles: what happens when systems meant to stop danger at the door allow it to fester into a crowded terminal.

    Regulatory stress test for PH aviation: The PR113 lavatory fiasco

    The reported handling of a lavatory system failure on Philippine Airlines Flight PR113 should not be treated as a one-off operational lapse.

    Demeter meets CRISPR: Self-replicating rice takes on the seed economy

    For decades, hybrid rice has been the most frustrating agricultural miracle: spectacular yields, structurally expensive. Farmers get abundance—then a bill. Because hybrids don’t reliably reproduce, the system forces growers onto an annual seed treadmill. Productivity, yes. Ownership, no.

    124 million dreams, limited elbow room

    The Philippines is not running out of people. It is running out of excuses.

    Sports & Entertainment

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    Exclusive

    Tariffs rattle, AI thrives: EMS builds ahead 

    Amid escalating US-China trade tensions and renewed tariff uncertainty from Washington, EMS Group of Companies is expanding production, accelerating its push into artificial intelligence hardware, and positioning the Philippines as an increasingly strategic alternative manufacturing base for global electronics firms.

    Aboitiz focus on industry, townships follow jobs

    For three decades, the Aboitiz Group has been quietly building a real estate portfolio that spans homes, offices, and commercial spaces. But in recent years, it has made a deliberate pivot away from crowded residential battlegrounds toward a less glamorous, far more strategic corner of the market: industrial development. The bet is simple but bold—build where factories, logistics, and infrastructure go first, and let communities grow organically around them.

    SteelAsia bets big on green steel

    In an exclusive interview with Context.PH, SteelAsia chairman and chief executive officer Benjamin Yao laid out a vision that goes beyond growth targets and capacity figures. At stake, he said, is nothing less than the country’s industrial future.

    Boeing deepens strategy cuts as operations take center-stage – sources

    Boeing Co has embarked on deeper-than-expected cuts in its strategy ranks, halving the number of planners working within key divisions as it refocuses energies on tackling industrial pressures, people familiar with the matter said.