Local News
3RD QUARTER 2018
PHILIPPINE RETAILING
Megaworld starts roll-out of
P28-B township in Bacolod
Urban township developer Megaworld has announced the roll-
out of its P28-billion The Upper East development in Bacolod
starting this year.
The 34-hectare township project will have residential condominiums, shopping
malls and commercial centers, mixed-use buildings, office towers, and hotels
with facilities, including a transport hub, church, green and open parks and a
central plaza.
The Upper East, situated a few blocks from the Bacolod City Government
Center in the eastern side of the city, will be the first masterplanned mixed-
use community in Bacolod that integrates the live-work-play components
of an integrated urban township. To rise within the township beginning this
year is Megaworld’s first condominium development in Bacolod, One Regis, a
nine-storey residential structure, offering 212 exclusive units with first-class
amenities.
Unemployment decline, hefty
remittances buoy consumer
spending
The declining number of unemployed as well as a hefty inflow
of foreign remittances are seen to support local consumer
spending in 2018 until 2019, a Fitch Group unit reported.
A New York-inspired lifestyle mall with several interconnected structures will
also be a feature of the township.
The Upper East is one of Megaworld’s two township developments in Negros
Occidental with a total project cost of P35 million. The first is the P7-billion
Northill Gateway located at the boundary of the cities of Bacolod and Talisay.
(PNA, 7/31/2018)
Fitch Solutions has seen the strengthening of United States dollar against
Philippine peso to back remittances inflows and spending.
“With over 2.5 million Filipinos living and working in the US, Philippine
households will continue to receive a large share of remittances in US dollar
and therefore depend on the strength of the US dollar,” Fitch Solutions said.
“Philippine households receiving remittances denominated in US dollar will see
purchasing power rise with the US dollar appreciating against Philippine peso,
buoying essential spending categories such as food and clothing,” it added.
But it also noted that inflationary
pressures will remain a risk to
consumer spending.
Fitch Solutions’ industry trend analysis
on consumer and retail noted that
spending of Filipino consumers
between 2018 and 2019 remains
optimistic despite rising inflation due
to higher excise taxes, increasing global
oil prices, sustained high credit growth.
But even with a pickup in inflation,
Fitch Solutions said consumer
confidence in the Philippines remains
high.
“Our favorable outlook for the
Philippine consumer is further
underpinned by an improving labor
market,” Fitch Solutions said.
Its MasterCard Consumer Confidence
survey in December 2017 showed
that consumer confidence in the
Philippines stood at 94.5, higher than
the 91.6 index in December 2016.
Filipino consumers’ confidence is also
one of the strongest in Asia, scoring
higher than China’s 92.2, Cambodia’s
92.2, and Myanmar’s 91.7.
Data from the Philippine Statistics
Authority showed the country’s
unemployment rate declined to 5.5
percent in June 2018 from a high of 6.6
percent posted in March 2017.
Fitch Solutions mentioned that wage
growth will also back consumer spending in the domestic market as the
Department of Labor and Employment is set to announce minimum wage hikes
in several more regions. But the think tank said best consumer prospects will
remain concentrated in urban retail areas such as Manila, Quezon City, and
Davao.
Moreover, the strong remittances from overseas Filipinos will continue to
support consumers’ purchasing power in 2018 and 2019.
The Philippine Retailing is the official quarterly newsletter of the
Philippine Retailers Association with office at 2607/2610 Jollibee
Plaza F. Ortigas Jr. Road (formerly Emerald Ave.) Ortigas Center,
Pasig City, Philippines
Telephone Nos.: (632) 687-4985, 687-4180, 687-4181
Fax No.: (632) 636-0825
For questions, comments, suggestions, contributions or
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or [email protected]
“The consumer outlook for the
Philippines remains bright on the
back of a strong economic growth trajectory, high levels of remittance inflows
and falling unemployment,” Fitch Solutions stressed.
“Nonetheless, the Philippines remains one of the strongest consumer growth
markets in Asia and this continues to present significant opportunities for
consumer-facing companies,” it noted.
(PNA, 8/3/2018)
PHILIPPINE RETAILING EDITORIAL TEAM
Evelyn Balmeo-Salire
Editor-in-Chief
BM Miranda
Circulation Manager
Catherine Nanta
Managing Editor
Paul Payongayong
Graphic Designer
Darrell Wisbey | Terry Waterhouse | Chris Dingcong
Contributors
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