PHILIPPINE NEWSPAPER HIGHLIGHTS - OCT 1, 2003.

MANILA, Oct 1 Asia Pulse - Highlights of today's newspapers:

THE MANILA TIMES:

- Marked improvements in its fiscal deficit and progress in financial reforms are seen to boost the Philippines economic growth to 4 per cent this year, and 4.5 per cent next year, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) said on Tuesday.

- The Asian Development Bank is willing to provide as much as $25 million in equity or loans for local efforts aimed at ridding the banking industry of its nonperforming assets.

- International credit rating firm Moody's Investors Service changed the rating outlook to negative for six local banks, following a similar revision in the outlook for the Philippines' foreign-denominated long-term debt papers.

- The mothballed National Steel Corp. (NSC) could end up in the hands of LNM Holdings, the world's second largest steel producer, after the latter beat the deadline on Tuesday for submission of bids to rehabilitate the Iligan steel plant.

- An extraordinary thing is happening in economies around Asia: currencies are rising and governments are letting it happen.