... Philippines Set to Adopt Property Index to Monitor Bubble Risk The Philippine central bank is set to introduce a residential property-price index in the first half of the year as it intensifies monitoring of asset-bubble risks, Deputy Governor Diwa Guinigundo said. The index initially will cover Manila and nearby provinces using data including building permits and wholesale prices of construction materials of new housing units from 2006 to 2012, Guinigundo, 59, said in an interview in his office in Manila late yesterday. “While there’s no evidence of asset bubbles, we need to really monitor what’s going on,” he said. “It will provide us with a solid indicator of price movements of residential units. We want to see not just the big picture but its components.” Increased scrutiny in the Philippines comes after Hong Kong and Singapore adopted measures to cool property prices. President Benigno Aquino said in an interview last month there is no danger of the economy overheating, downplaying the risk of asset bubbles forming. “This strengthens the Philippines’ surveillance and regulatory framework and boosts its ability to spot risks much earlier,” said Jeff Ng, a Singapore-based economist at Standard Chartered Plc. “While most of Asia including the Philippines have manageable exposure in the property sector, rising interest rates pose a key risk.” Philippine developers Ayala Land Inc. (ALI) and Vista Land & Lifescapes, Inc. declined today while the benchmark index was little changed at 10.43 a.m. in Manila. The peso slipped 0.3 percent to 44.837 against the U.S. dollar For rest of story click on link below ...
Posted on: Tue, 04 Mar 2014 04:42:16 +0000
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