MANILA, Philippines — The peso exchange rate stands at P42.48 to the US dollar, the closing rate last Friday at the Philippine Dealing & Exchange Corp. (PDEx). The weighted average rate stands at P42.347.

B.S.P. issues circular on C.C.O.

The central bank has issued Circular No. 747 requiring banks to appoint a chief compliance officer (CCO), part of the revised framework for the compliance program on how banks manage risks.

Based on the circular, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas will only deal with the CCO for all compliance issues and as such, the CCO should be designated as board executive and appointments would have to be approved by the BSP’s Monetary Board since the position of CCO is also subject to existing fit and proper rules.

January C.P.I. up to 0.2%

The month-on-month change of the seasonally adjusted consumer price index (CPI) for all items at the national level went up to 0.2 percent in January from 0.1 percent in December.

The National Statistics Office (NSO) reported that the monthly growth rates of the seasonally adjusted CPI for recreation and culture and education correspondingly grew to 0.8 percent and 0.4 percent from 0.2 percent last month. (EHL)

Sun Cellular launches business package

Sun Cellular, through its corporate solutions arm Sun Business, has vowed to continue supporting the country’s businesses and enterprises with the introduction of new business solutions: Message Cast and Mobiserve. Sun Cellular’s Frontline Training Manager Martin Navarro said these solutions are Ideal for advisories.

Message Cast helps a business update clients and employees with company developments via text messages to individual or multiple recipients in just one click. Mobiserve, on the other hand, features SMS-based ticket creation and tracking; online customer database; and SMS customer registration and hotline. (BCM)

Worldwide silicon wafer revenues up

Worldwide silicon wafer revenues improved by two percent in 2011 compared to 2010 according to the SEMI Silicon Manufacturers Group (SMG) in its year-end analysis of the silicon wafer industry.

Worldwide silicon wafer area shipments decreased by three percent in 2011 when compared to 2010 area shipments.

Silicon wafer area shipments in 2011 totaled 9,043 million square inches (MSI), down from the 9,370 million square inches shipped during 2010. (EHL)