$75.174 Billion - Philippines GIR now Rank 26th World’s highest International Reserves

THE PHILIPPINES' foreign currency reserves continued to grow in October 2011, giving the Philippines more than enough of a defense against a deteriorating global economic situation as it ranks now up to the 26^th highest World Gross International Reserves..

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) reported on Friday that the country's gross international reserves (GIR) came up to $75.8 billion last month, $600 million more than in September.

The latest figure, which was above the central bank's $75 billion full-year forecast, was mainly due to the central bank's foreign exchange operations, income from its overseas investments and higher valuation of its gold holdings.

It was nearly a third higher than the $57.153 billion recorded in October last year and could nearly pay for a year's worth of imports.

"The appreciable build-up in the reserves level at end-October 2011 resulted mainly from the foreign exchange operations and income from investments abroad of the BSP as well as revaluation gains on the BSP's gold holdings," the central bank said.

Reserves from overseas investments increased slightly by 0.32% to $65.92 billion while the value of gold holdings climbed by 6.09% to $7.91 billion.

"These inflows were partially offset, however, by payments by the national government for its maturing foreign exchange obligations," the BSP added.

The GIR, which cushions the country against external shocks, show a country's capability to pay for imports and service foreign debts. It is also the main indicator of the country's liquidity.

The BSP noted that the latest level could cover 11.2 months worth of imports. It was also equivalent to 10.6 times external debt with maturity of up to 12 months, and 6.4 times such liabilities plus principal payments on longer-term loans falling due within 12 months.

Net international reserves -- which include the revaluation of reserve assets -- rose by $600 million to $75.8 billion in end-October from $75.2 billion in the previous month. These reserves are GIR minus total short-term liabilities.

As the Philippines economy continue to bubble, the countries GIR will also grow upward. The country's GIR now higher than the reserves of Canada, Norway, Sweden, Netherlands, Australia, and most countries in Europe.

Japan remains the 2^nd highest followed by Russia & Saudi Arabia. France ranks 13^th lower than South Korea's 8^th notch. United Kingdom is on the 20^th of $114,180 Billion GIR.

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Philippines President Top List of Economies Leader for APEC - CEO Summit 2011

2011 APEC CEO Summit – November 12, 2011 08:00 am to 11:00 pm at the Sheraton Waikiki – 2255 Kalakaua Avenue, Honolulu, Oahu, Hawaii 96815 USA

The APEC CEO Summit is the Asia-Pacific’s premier business event, drawing thousands of economic and business leaders from around the region and beyond.The 2011 CEO Summit will provide unparalleled opportunities for business executives to engage in dialogue with global leaders and ministers of foreign affairs and trade, discover business opportunities through networking with CEOs from hundreds of top Asia-Pacific companies, and to forge connections with economic thought leaders from around the region and the world.

President Barack Obama, President Hu Jintao of China, President Medvedev of Russia, President Yudhoyono of Indonesia, among other APEC Leaders are anticipated to join the world’s top CEO’s and thought leaders in engaging discussions on the issues that matter most to the future of business. Expected participants include:

Leaders/Government:

1.      President Benigno Aquino – The Philippines

2.      President Felipe Calderon – Mexico

3.      Prime Minister Julia Gillard – Australia

4.      Prime Minister Stephen Harper – Canada

5.      President Hu Jintao – People’s Republic of China

6.      Prime Minister H.S. Lee – Singapore

7.      President Dmitry Medvedev – Russian Federation

8.      President Lee Myung-bak – Republic of Korea

9.      President Truong Tan Sang – Vietnam

10. President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono – Indonesia

Chairmen and CEOs:

1.      Shai Agassi, CEO, Better Place

2.      Glenn Britt, CEO, Time Warner Cable

3.      Wes Bush, CEO, Northrop Grumman

4.      Roger Crook, CEO, DHL Express

5.      Ning Gaoning, CEO, COFCO

6.      Carlos Slim Helu, President, Grupo Carso

7.      Jay Johnson, CEO, General Dynamics

8.      John Lechleiter, CEO, Eli Lilly & Co.

9.      Wang Lili, Executive Vice President, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China

10. Ziyavudin Magomedov, Chairman of the Board, Summa Capital Ltd.

11. Alexey Miller, CEO, Gazprom

12. Dennis Nally, CEO, PwC

13. Doug Oberhelman, CEO, Caterpillar

14. John Rice, Vice Chairman, General Electric

15. Eric Schmidt, Executive Chairman, Google

16. Bob Stevens, CEO, Lockheed Martin

17. Hong-Tu Tsai, Chairman, Cathay Financial Holdings & Cathay Life Insurance Co., Ltd.

18. Cher Wang, Chairman, VIA Technologies, Inc., HTC Corp. Chander Electronics Corp

19. William Weldon, CEO, Johnson & Johnson

20. Hiromasa Yonekura, Chairman, Sumitomo Chemical and Chairman, Keidanren

21. John Chen, Chairman and CEO, Sybase

Thought leaders:

1.      Luis Alberto Moreno, President, IDB

2.      Haruhiku Kuroda, President, Asian Development Bank

3.      Pankaj Ghemawat, Author, World 3.0

4.      Fan Gang, Professor of Economics, Beijing University and the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, Director, China’s National Economic Research Institute

Source: http://www.alohaupdate.com/event/honolulu-2011-apec-ceo-summit-2/

Microsoft to host – President Aquino in APEC-CEO Summit

MANILA, Philippines — President Benigno Aquino III will be hosted by Microsoft's Chief Research and Strategy Officer Craig Mundie when the former attends the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Summit to be held in Honolulu, Hawaii from November 10 to 12.

President Aquino is the only head of state to be invited to attend the Asia-Pacific's premier business event, drawing thousands of economic and business leaders from around the region and beyond.

In a press briefing held in Malacañang Friday, newly appointed Foreign Affairs Undersecretary for International Economic Relations Laura del Rosario said the Philippines has been chosen by Microsoft as the only APEC member economy to attend an open forum with top CEOs from other member countries.

The details of Microsoft's interest in the country remain sketchy but it is generally believed that the software giant wants a stake in the Philippines' IT infrastructure.

President Aquino will also lead the Philippine delegation at the APEC Leaders’ Week in Honolulu, Hawaii from November 8 to 13.

Joining him in the Philippine delegation are Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert F. del Rosario, Trade and Industry Secretary Gregory L. Domingo and Finance Secretary Cesar V. Purisima.

Hosted by the United States, APEC 2011 is working towards the achievement of a "seamless regional economy.”

At the Concluding Senior Officials’ Meeting and the Ministerial Meetings leading up to the Leaders’ Meeting, the Philippine delegation will present and push for the Philippine positions in line with the three priorities of APEC 2011.

This includes strengthening regional economic integration and expanding trade by advancing "next-generation" trade and investment issues; promoting green growth and fostering job creation in green industries; and expanding regulatory cooperation and advancing regulatory convergence.

At the 19th APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting (AELM) on November 13, the Leaders are free to engage in the most relevant issues facing them. The issues notionally set for the meeting include growth and jobs, regulatory reform and competitiveness, and energy efficiency and energy security.

President Aquino will also participate in the APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC) Dialogue with leaders, which is a key feature of the AELM.

This dialogue gives ABAC members the opportunity to meet with the APEC Leaders to discuss the entire year’s ABAC work program and to raise issues of pressing concern to the business community.

ABAC Philippines is represented by A. Magsaysay Inc. President and CEO Doris Magsaysay Ho, Jollibee Foods Corporation Chairman and CEO Tony Tan Caktiong, and Ayala Corporation Chairman and CEO Jaime Augusto Zobel de Ayala.

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