Economy

Canadian organizations partnered with local stakeholders in Manila for a week of entrepreneurship activities, highlighting growing collaboration between APF Canada and Kickstart Ventures, the corporate venture capital arm of a leading Southeast Asian telecom company. The events aimed to connect Philippine startups with international investors and partners while promoting sustainable business solutions.

The Philippines is set to ink 11 new loan agreements with Japan under Japanese fiscal year 2026, totaling JPY371.31 billion, roughly USD2.41 billion, strengthening the decades-long development partnership between the two nations.

Independent Commission for Infrastructure chairman Andres Reyes Jr., the former Court of Appeals presiding justice once known for slicing through case backlogs with quiet efficiency, is now helping build a new kind of remedy for bureaucratic gridlock. 

A private sector-led push to review the nearly two-decade-old Japan-Philippines Economic Partnership Agreement (JPEPA) is gaining momentum, as business leaders argue that evolving regional dynamics demand a refreshed approach to Philippine-Japan trade ties.

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) cut its key policy rate by 25 basis points on Thursday, signaling a shift toward supporting economic growth as inflation remains under control.