Cosco Capital settles P4-B corporate notes
June 4, 2021 | 12:05 am
LUCIO L. Co’s Cosco Capital, Inc. said that it had paid its P4-billion seven-year corporate notes to its creditors.
In a regulatory filing on Thursday, Cosco Capital said it had settled its loan with the following: Land Bank of the Philippines, Rizal Commercial Banking Corp., Maybank Philippines, Inc., Robinsons Bank Corp., Security Bank Corp., and United Coconut Planters Bank.
The company said the loan was used for its investment in liquefied petroleum gas distributor Liquigaz Philippines Corp. in 2014. It acquired Liquigaz from SHV Energy of the Netherlands.
Cosco Capital said it sold Liquigaz in 2019 “at over three times the acquisition cost,” without disclosing figures.
Groups of coconut farmers fear another scam might happen in the process of the Philippine government’s implementation of the Coco Levy Act, the law that should pave the way for the release of the P100 billion worth of funds and assets collected through the infamous coco levy fund scam more than 40 y
State-run United Coconut Planters Bank (UCPB) on Tuesday clarified that vaccination of its employees against COVID-19 is part of the medical benefits, and that salary deductions are only for their dependents.
Published April 13, 2021, 5:14 PM
Moody’s Investors Services has returned its “stable” outlook for Philippine banks with the economy’s gradual but “mild” improvement this year and despite that banks’ asset risks are still on high side.
“We have changed the Philippines’ banking system outlook to ‘stable’ from ‘negative’ to reflect our expectations that a mild economic recovery will support the operating environment for banks. However, asset risks remain high because of a prolonged curtailment of business activity, a high unemployment rate and weak consumer sentiment,” according to the credit rating agency’s “Banking System Outlook Update – The Philippines” released Tuesday.
Published April 11, 2021, 12:12 AM
The recent enactment of Republic Act 11524, also known as the Coconut Famers and Industry Trust Fund Act (or Coco Levy Act) brings into sharp focus the significance of the coconut industry. “Can we call the coconut industry a sleeping giant?” inquired Agriculture Secretary William Dar in an essay he wrote in late 2019. His answer: “It is the third most dominant crop, after rice and corn. While the productivity of rice and corn has been steadily increasing, the country’s coconut farms need a shot in the arm.”
Secretary Dar’s shot in the arm analogy assumes greater realism amid the economic doldrums brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic.