Indonesia and Philippine central banks cross the Rubicon

Linda J. Dodson

JAKARTA/HONG KONG — Economic infection from the new coronavirus has pushed some central banks in developing Asia to cross the Rubicon and buy bonds directly from governments. Known as debt monetization, these bond purchases by Indonesia and the Philippines essentially provide free money for governments to spend, unless they are […]

Philippine home services company GoodWork raises $1.6m

Linda J. Dodson

HANOI — Philippine home services e-commerce platform GoodWork has raised $1.6 million in seed funding, led by California-based venture capital fund Chaac Ventures, according to an announcement. The round also saw participation from investors Elysium Venture Capital and Kairos K50, and angel investors from Facebook and Snapchat. GoodWork was founded […]

Philippine TV network that angered Duterte ordered shut

Linda J. Dodson

MANILA (Reuters) — The Philippines’ telecoms body ordered the country’s leading broadcaster ABS-CBN Corp to cease operations on Tuesday, as a parliament dominated by President Rodrigo Duterte’s loyalists dragged its feet over renewing its license. Duterte has repeatedly threatened to block the renewal of ABS-CBN’s franchise, after the channel angered him during the 2016 […]

Coronavirus a threat to vital Philippine call centers

Linda J. Dodson

MANILA — Struggling to comply with strict government lockdown measures introduced to fight the coronavirus isn’t the only problem facing the Philippines’ vital call center industry. Generating around $25 billion a year in revenues, nearly a tenth of the economy, and employing around 1.3 million people, the business process outsourcing […]