PHILIPPINE NEWSPAPER HIGHLIGHTS - JAN 12, 2010.

MANILA, Jan 12 Asia Pulse - Highlights of today's newspapers:

THE MANILA TIMES:

- Telecom companies on Tuesday rejected consumer pleas to drop a plan to put a cap on the volume of data that an Internet broadband subscriber can use.

- The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) will likely tweak its key policy rates by the second half of the year, according to the asset management division of ATR KimEng Financial Corp.

- Two petroleum exploration wells in the country are scheduled for drilling within the first semester. Ramon Oca, Department of Energy (DOE) assistant secretary, said the wells will be drilled to determine the oil and gas potential in northwest Palawan and offshore Northwest Leyte.

- The departure by four members of the Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines Inc. (Campi) would cause vehicle sales to stay flat this year, according to an industry source.

THE PHILIPPINE STAR:

- The Department of Energy (DOE) said it expects oil exploration firms to conduct more drilling activities this year.

- Auto loans extended by universal, commercial, and thrift banks jumped 23 per cent in the first nine months of 2010 as sales of motor vehicles zoomed to a new all-time high last year, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) reported yesterday.

- The Department of Agriculture (DA) is laying the groundwork for the creation of a Philippine Rainfed Agriculture Institute (Philrai) that will institutionalize strategies of government agencies on climate change mitigation and adaptation.

- Investments at the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) are expected to hit P297 billion by 2014 after posting a P204 billion worth of investments in 2010.

- The Department of Finance (DOF) expects to collect P23.5 billion from tobacco excise tax this year, or lower than last years P25.8 billion.

ASIA PULSE nt 12-01 1940