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The Philippines’ insurance sector has been exhibiting strong growth in recent years. While it did experience a slowdown in 2014, and then again in early 2016 ahead of the election, the trend overall has been positive, and its strong performance looks likely to continue. Although premium growth remained flat in 2016, insurers are forecast to...

In recent years the Philippine capital markets have performed well. The benchmark index has quadrupled since the global financial crisis in 2008 on a combination of good policy, strong economic growth, healthy inflows of foreign investment and low international interest rates. In 2016, however, market performance was mixed as the country held...

While the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) had originally aimed to add 10 initial public offerings (IPOs) over the course of 2016, by year’s end just four had been issued, valued at a combined P49.37bn ($1.04bn) including follow-ons and secondary offerings. Although the IPO market was fairly subdued overall, with many of the sales priced lower...

The Philippine banking system has been performing relatively well in recent years. Given the country’s strong economic growth, the sound regulation of the sector by the central bank and the global push towards increasing capital, the local institutions have been safe, sound and profitable. Major metrics are moving generally in the right...

The Philippines is keen to boost foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows in the wake of robust macroeconomic growth, aiming to catch up to its regional neighbours by enacting legal, economic and tax reforms that should see new investment in the country take off. While some of these reforms have been delayed, revisions to the country’s Foreign...

The heist was audacious, complex and surprisingly successful. In early 2016 an attempt was made to steal almost $1bn of Bangladesh central bank money held at the US Federal Reserve via a Philippine bank, a Philippine remittance company and Philippine casinos. The theft, in which $81m was taken from the account, has significant implications...