City Manila Financial News

Asian Development Bank (ADB) committed USD 2.6 billion (about Rs 21,500 crore) in sovereign lending to India in 2023 for various projects. The fund is aimed to strengthen urban development, support industrial corridor development, promote power sector reforms, build India's climate resilience, and enhance connectivity. ADB also extended USD 23.53 million in technical assistance and USD 4.1 million in grants under the sovereign portfolio. In addition, ADB committed over USD 1 billion for private sector projects during the past year, the Manila-based multi-lateral development bank said in a statement.

International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) called on Wednesday for a ceasefire and unimpeded humanitarian access to the Gaza Strip, where millions of people face worsening hunger. The war-torn enclave is suffering from a humanitarian catastrophe nearly seven months after Israel launched a devastating offensive in response to the Oct. 7 Hamas-led attacks that killed 1,200 people in Israel.

Quad, Aukus, the US-Philippines-Japan trilateral and the US-Japan-South Korea trilateral. The Philippines, Japan and Australia are not treaty allies; however, each of these countries shares a bilateral treaty alliance with the US. Thus, the idea behind the Squad centres on the desire of all four democracies to deepen their level of integration beyond the hub-and-spokes format at a time when China has been militarizing the South China Sea at the expense of the rules-based order of the Indo-Pacific.

ALSO READ: Mumbai most expensive city for expats in India; see full list here According to the report, Delhi fared better than Mumbai in several parameters, including Economics, Human Capital, and Quality of Life. Delhi was worse in the Environment ranking, while all the Indian cities ranked 380 on Governance.

Adani Enterprises has expressed interest in developing the port of Bataan in the Philippines. This was confirmed by an official statement from the Presidential Communications Office on Friday. During a discussion with Philippine President Ferdinand R.

WZ-7 Soaring Dragon drone of the Chinese People's Liberation Army was spotted flying in close proximity to the Philippines, ahead of preparations by the Southeast Asian country to receive the delivery of Indian BrahMos supersonic cruise missiles, The Eurasian Times reported. According to the report, the distinctive joined-wing shape of the WZ-7 drone caught the attention of Raffy Tima, a correspondent for Philippine news organisation GMA News, as it traversed the skies over the West Philippine Sea, an area within the South China Sea to the northwest of the Philippines. The timing of this sighting is significant amid escalating tensions between China and the Philippines over territorial disputes, notably the Second Thomas Shoal and Scarborough Shoal, in the South China Sea, the report noted. The acquisition of the BrahMos missiles from India is perceived as a strategic move by the Philippines to enhance its defensive capabilities to counter China's assertiveness in the region.

Philippines, the United States and Japan will change the dynamic in the South China Sea and the region, Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said on Friday, while seeking to assure China it was not a target. «I think the trilateral agreement is extremely important,» Marcos told a press conference in Washington a day after meeting President Joe Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida in the nations' first trilateral summit. «It is going to change the dynamic, the dynamic that we see in the region, in ASEAN in Asia, around the South China Sea,» Marcos said, referring to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.

Biden said Thursday that U.S. defense commitment to Pacific allies was «ironclad» as he gathered Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida at the White House in the midst of growing concern about provocative Chinese military action in the Indo-Pacific. The U.S. and the Philippines have had a mutual treaty in place for more than 70 years. Biden's forceful reinforcement of the American commitment comes in the midst of persistent skirmishes between the Philippine and Chinese coast guards in the disputed South China Sea. «The United States defense commitments to Japan and to the Philippines are ironclad. They're ironclad,» Biden said as he began three-way talks at the White House with Kishida and Marcos. «As I said before, any attack on Philippine aircraft, vessels or armed forces in the South China Sea would invoke our mutual defense treaty.»

Philippines crypto users are unable to withdraw their funds after the country’s Securities and Exchange Commission blocked Binance. 

Japan and the Philippines head to Washington this week for a first trilateral summit aimed at boosting defence ties, hot on the heels of four-way military drills in the South China Sea that riled Beijing. A major upgrade of military command structures between the United States and an increasingly self-confident Japan could be announced, as well as joint coast guard patrols with Manila in areas disputed with China. Also on the agenda will be securing access to vital supplies such as semiconductors and rare metals, North Korea's growing belligerence, and the Japanese takeover of US Steel opposed by President Joe Biden.

Ali in his legendary «Thrilla in Manila» boxing match are up for grabs at Sotheby's in New York, part of a growing sports memorabilia market eyed by auction houses. Bids — including the latest for $3.8 million — have been rolling in since late March for the Everlast-brand shorts, which are white with black stripes and are signed by Ali. The auction is open until April 12.

Philippines warned of "high tsunami waves" and called for the evacuation of coastal areas across the country Wednesday after a 7.4-magnitude quake in neighbouring Taiwan. «The people in the coastal areas of the following provinces are strongly advised to immediately evacuate to higher grounds or move farther inland,» the state seismology institute said in an advisory.

Philippine troops were injured in the latest China Coast Guard water cannon attack on a Filipino supply vessel near a South China Sea reef, Manila's national security adviser said Sunday. The Philippine government said Saturday's confrontation caused severe damage to the Unaizah May 4 vessel while it was on its way to deliver troops and provisions to a Philippine navy ship grounded atop the Second Thomas Shoal. China claims almost the entire South China Sea, brushing off rival claims from other countries, including the Philippines, and an international ruling that its assertion has no legal basis.

By Jonathan Landay

Knight Frank's latest report, released on March 20. The Prime Global Cities Index, which tracks the movement of prime residential prices across 45 cities worldwide, saw Mumbai leapfrog five places from its 8th position in Q4 2022 to claim the third spot. This remarkable surge highlights the city's growing appeal among high-net-worth individuals and the resilience of its luxury housing segment.

AIADMK party on Wednesday released its first list of 16 candidates for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls 2024. While releasing the list, party general secretary, Edappadi K Palaniswami said that five constituencies have been allocated to the DMDK; and one each to Puthiya Tamilagam and SDPI. «In the AIADMK alliance, DMDMK is to contest in 5 seats, SDPI in 1 seat and Puthiya Tamilagam in 1 seat, from Tenkasi constituency,» said Palaniswami.

NDA partners in Tamil Nadu, has added more than half a dozen partners in the southern state with the latest entrant being PMK. In a state where politics is dominated by the Dravidian parties, BJP has stitched up alliances with Tamil Manila Congress led by GK Vasan, TTV Dinakaran's Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam (AMMK), TR Pachamuthu's Indhiya Jananayaga Katchi (IJK), AC Shanmugam's New Justice Party (NJP) and John Pandian's Tamizhaga Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam (TMMK). Veteran Tamil actor R Sarath Kumar has merged his Akila Indiya Samathuva Makkal Katchi (AISMK) with BJP. Now, the Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK), which enjoys influence among the Vanniyar caste and is concentrated in northern Tamil Nadu, has announced that it will join BJP-led NDA. BJP is also in talks with the late Captain Vijayakanth's DMDK. At present, BJP has no MP from Tamil Nadu. The last time the party won a seat in the state was in 2014, when Pon Radhakrishnan won the Kanyakumari seat in a four-cornered contest. The politics of Tamil Nadu is mainly dominated by the two Dravidian parties — AIADMK and DMK.

AirAsia chief Tony Fernandes plans to seek fresh funding in Southeast Asia’s equities markets after a much-touted SPAC listing in the U.S. later this year. Options for fundraising include revisiting plans for an initial public offering of aviation assets in the Philippines, doing a share placement in Indonesia, and eventually listing a host of nonaviation units, Fernandes said in an interview.

export controls to stop China from acquiring advanced computer chips and manufacturing equipment that could be used to boost its military, US commerce secretary Gina Raimondo said Monday. «Technology is changing faster than ever, which means we have to wake up every day and ask ourselves, 'are we doing enough?' My job is to protect the American people and to make sure there are no sophisticated technology that we have, that China doesn't have, that they can't access it and use it to enable the Chinese military,» Raimondo said. The U.S. would continue to sell semiconductors worth billions of dollars to China, Raimondo said.

By Neil Jerome Morales and Mikhail Flores

India's super rich have allocated 32 per cent of their wealth in residential properties in the country and overseas, Knight Frank said in a report on Wednesday. As per real estate consultant Knight Frank's The Wealth Report 2024, 32 per cent of India's Ultra-High-Net-Worth Individuals' (UHNWIs) wealth is allocated towards residential real estate asset class. Nearly 14 per cent of their residential portfolio is allocated outside India. UHNWIs are individuals with a net worth of USD 30 million and above.