PH, EU clinch ‘breakthrough’ in free trade talks

MANILA, Philippines — PLDT Inc.’s wireless arm Smart Communications Inc. expects its newly launched artificial intelligence (AI) platform to become a new revenue stream as it explores embedding the technology into e-commerce and other digital transactions. On Tuesday, Smart first vice president Lloyd Manaloto said AI.Smart had already attracted paying users following its soft launch,

MANILA, Philippines — Already the world’s largest free trade agreement, the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) is widening its ambitions as it prepares rules that could pave the way for five more economies to join the existing trade bloc. At the Asean meetings in Manila on Monday, RCEP ministers agreed to establish an ad hoc

MANILA, Philippines — A startup backed by Aboitiz Power Corp. is bullish about expanding its footprint outside the National Capital Region as new government rules eased the solar rooftop installation process, further triggering growth demand. Solviva Energy, a residential solar firm, seeks to also build its presence in Cebu and Davao as the market continues

MANILA, Philippines — A company that earns billions of pesos every year is usually considered successful. If its profits remain positive and return on equity (ROE) is respectable, we may assume that management is creating value for shareholders. But ROE can sometimes be misleading. Two companies may generate similar ROEs, yet shareholders may demand different

China’s edge in fast, cost-effective early clinical trials has propelled its emergence as a global biopharmaceutical powerhouse, but there is a risk that the United States could take steps to curb that advantage, according to analysts. US lawmakers and officials at the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) have raised the alarm about American pharmaceutical companies’ growing reliance on conducting early clinical trials in China, flagging the opaqueness of the process and the need to keep medical...

MANILA, Philippines — What’s hotter than the unnerving foreign exchange and bond price swings in the dealing room these days? It’s the chatter about this high-ranking treasury veteran who’s about to leave (or lose?) his post at a local bank. On one hand, the guy has told some people that he’s quitting because he will never

In June, Chinese regulators approved the world’s first CAR-T cell therapy for solid tumour cancers, developed by a drug company based in Shanghai. One month later, at a hospital in the city, a New Zealander with advanced cancer of the stomach and small intestine became the first international patient to receive the breakthrough treatment. Chimeric antigen receptor T-cell therapy, to give it its full name, is a cutting-edge treatment that, until then, had only been approved to treat blood...

China’s push for tech self-reliance is opening new investment opportunities in artificial intelligence stocks, but stretched valuations and geopolitical tensions make the sector an increasingly risky bet, according to Bank of America. The country’s tech firms are catching up with overseas rivals while a wave of high-profile listings has broadened investment opportunities, Winnie Wu, head of Asia-Pacific equity strategy research and co-head of China equity research at Bank of America, said in a...

[The content of this article has been produced by our advertising partner.] Hong Kong is asking for more computing power and for the electricity to stay clean and steady while it arrives.  That was the bind put to regional utility executives on September 15 by Joseph Law, president of AESIEAP and managing director of CLP Power. It also aligned with the city’s first five-year development blueprint and the priorities set out in the Chief Executive’s 2026 Policy Address. Construction of the Sandy...

China is betting that patient capital, rather than quick trades, will define its next phase of growth – a wager that has taken on new resonance since Warren Buffett stepped down last week after growing Berkshire Hathaway into a US$1 trillion empire over six decades. And as global investors watch this week’s US-China leadership summit for any sign of easing friction, one question is whether Beijing’s version of Buffett’s value-investing legacy can help Wall Street regain its appetite for Chinese...

Thailand is confronting a renewed energy-security challenge as the crisis around the Strait of Hormuz pushes global LNG prices to about US$28 per million British thermal units, close to levels seen during the Russia-Ukraine energy shock.

MANILA, Philippines — The one-time Abatement Program for Micro Taxpayers of the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) reported 6,234 applications in the first two months of implementation, as of Sept. 18, with 5,000 of them already approved. According to a BIR statement issued on Tuesday, the approved applications covered ₱84.5 million in tax liabilities and