Ian C Sayson

Super typhoon ‘Saola’ briefly weakened into a typhoon over the Philippine Sea, with the Southeast Asian nation’s weather bureau expecting it to make landfall Wednesday before heading to southern Taiwan.

Philippine equities investors absorbed their worst monthly loss in almost a year with the benchmark index shedding 6.3% in August, marking the steepest decline among Southeast Asia’s benchmarks.

Top Philippine mall operator SM Prime Holdings Inc.’s revenue from its malls in the country may exceed 16.1 billion pesos ($283 million) in the third quarter as school openings boost consumer spending in restaurants and shops, according to Steven Tan, president of the company’s unit SM Supermalls.

A selloff that’s made Philippine stocks the worst across Asia’s emerging markets may have further room to go, as concerns about a hawkish central bank keep foreign investors on the sidelines.

Consumer electronics giant Dyson Ltd. plans to invest 11 billion pesos ($194 million) in the Philippines in the next two years, according to a statement from the office of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.

State-lender Development Bank of the Philippines said it released 25 billion pesos ($440 million) to the government as its share in the initial capital of the nation’s sovereign wealth fund.

The Philippine armed forces said it’s doubling efforts on maritime surveillance after detecting a “resurgence” of Chinese vessels around the West Philippine Sea.

The Philippine armed forces said Japan and Australia “expressed willingness” to take part in joint maritime patrols with it and the US in disputed waters.

Overseas investors continue to shun Philippine equities, unloading more than $370 million in a 24-day selling streak that helped sink the Philippine Stock Exchange Index to a 3.5% slump, the worst in Southeast Asia. Withdrawals in the five-week period through Friday pushed this year’s outflow to more than $552 million.

Pressure is growing from financial markets for Thailand’s premier to change course on his blockbuster spending plan as concerns mount that the government will increase borrowings substantially to fund the stimulus.