BusinessMirror January 16, 2019

PHL, A TOP CREATIVE GOODS EXPORTER F ILIPINO artists and designers have secured for the Philippines a leading position in the creative industries worldwide, according to the latest report from the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (Unctad).

In the report, “Creative Economy Outlook: Trends in International Trade in Creative Industries,” Unctad said the Philippines belongs to the top 10 developing country exporters of creative goods globally.

As of 2015, the Philippines’s creative goods exports have reached $1.01 million. The list is dominated by Asian countries led by China whose creative exports reached $168.507 million

THE globally acclaimed Filipino craftsmanship is on display in this BusinessMirror file photo of the Manila FAME exhibit at the World Trade Center in Pasay City. NONOY LACZA

DEPT. OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

PHILIPPINE STATISTICS AUTHORITY

2018 BANTOG DATA MEDIA AWARDS CHAMPION

during the period.

“The domination of Asian countries in the top 10 is a clear indication of their important emerging role in stimulating and contributing to the global creative economy,” the report stated.

Based on Unctad data, the Philippines exported $58 million of the world’s visual arts products such as antiques, paintings, sculptures, photography, as well as engravings and carvings and ornaments in 2015.

This has made the country the eighth-largest developing country supplier of these goods. This represented 0.11 percent of the total globally in 2015 and a contraction of 6.23 percent annually between 2003 and 2015.

In terms of design products, the Philippines placed ninth in the top 10 developing countries who export design products. These include interior design, fashion articles, jewelry, glassware, toys and architecture materials.

Data showed the country’s design exports reached $716 million or 0.39 percent of the market in 2015 and an annual average growth rate of 2.33 percent between 2003 and 2015.

The Philippines was also included in the top 10 exporters of publishing and printed media, another subgroup of creative industries. Unctad said this includes all kinds of literary productions translated into books

BusinessMirror A broader look at today’s business

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Wednesday, January 16, 2019 Vol. 14 No. 98

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By Cai U. Ordinario

@caiordinario

HE government should go slow in implementing the Tax Reform for Attracting Better and HighQuality Opportunities (Trabaho) bill, given the possible impact it may have on investments and jobs, according to a local economist.

In an interview on Tuesday, University of Asia and the Pacific (UA&P) economist Victor A. Abola told the BusinessMirror that while he has yet to make his own assumptions on the impact of the Trabaho bill on the economy, he

thinks the government is “too optimistic” about the proposed tax reform.

Abola said the government, in its analysis, merely took into consideration the revenue impact of the tax measure. However, there

is more to the issue than just recouping lost revenues.

“They are too optimistic [that] foreign investment will continue to come and that the ones that are here will not leave. If you are a policy-maker, you should be more

“They are too optimistic [that] foreign investment will continue to come and that the ones that are here will not leave. If you are a policymaker, you should be more conservative. You should always [consider] the worst scenario.”—Abola

conservative. You should always [consider] the worst scenario,” Abola told the BusinessMirror on the sidelines of the First Metro Investment Corp.-UA&P economic briefing on Tuesday.

In order to address revenue concerns and continue the competitiveness of the Philippines as a viable investment destination, Abola said

all the tax incentives should be retained provided a more feasible timetable is put in place.

He said allowing firms to enjoy tax perks for as long as 10 years is better than just five years or no tax incentives at all.

It is difficult for new companies to earn a profit in the first two to three years of operation, he pointed out.

Abola explained that a 10-year tax incentive will also give a company a better horizon in terms of its financial and business planning undertakings.

“I think the five years [duration of tax incentives] is very short because in the first, two, three years, you don’t make money. Ten years is probably a more realistic figure,” Abola said.

Continued on A2

Slowing remittances growth still the trend; Nov figure at $2.33B

HE volume of money sent

by Filipino migrant workers grew at a slower pace in November, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) reported on Tuesday.

Latest data showed that cash remittances sent home by overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) in November alone hit $2.326 billion.

While still 2.8 percent larger compared to the volume of remittances sent in the same month in 2017, the pace of its growth remained below the government’s average estimate for the year or 3.1 percent.

The slower growth of remittances in November 2018 brought the total remittance inflows of the country from January to November last year up to $26.094 billion.

This is 3.1 percent larger than the $25.318 billion seen in the same period in 2017.

Should remittances keep growing at the same pace up to the year’s end, 2018 will be the year where remittances grew slowest for the country in about five years.

Data from the BSP showed that cash remittance growth in 2013 averaged at 7.4 percent for the entire year. This went down to 7.2 percent in 2014; further down to 4 percent in 2015; and back up to 5 percent in 2016 before hitting 4.3 percent

3.1%

Cash remittance growth in Jan-Nov 2018. Data from the BSP showed cash remittance growth in 2013 averaged 7.4 percent for the entire year. This went down to 7.2 percent in 2014; then 4 percent in 2015; and back up to 5 percent in 2016 before hitting 4.3 percent in 2017 in 2017 and 3.1 percent in JanuaryNovember 2018.

With thousands of Filipino workers deployed all over the world, remittance flows are an important driver of the economy, as its spurs consumption in the country. The constant supply of greenbacks from OFWs has for decades been a pillar of the local growth story, pushing private consumption upward and supporting the value of the local currency against the dollar.

It also pumped the economy with about $25 billion of fresh dollars, or about 10 percent of its gross domestic product (GDP) in recent years.

See “Remittances,” A2

PESO EXCHANGE RATES n US 52.1970

BAY REHAB Environment Secretary Roy A. Cimatu shows the draft executive order for the Manila Bay Rehabilitation during the stakeholders’ meeting held at the Department of Environment and Natural Resources office in Quezon City. He is flanked by Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo Puyat and Interior Secretary Eduardo M. Año. See stories on Manila Bay rehabilitation on pages A3 and B1. NONOY LACZA

‘Govt has enough funds for BOL plebiscite’

By Jovee Marie N. dela Cruz @joveemarie

& Bernadette D. Nicolas

M

@BNicolasBM

ALACAÑANG and the Depar tment of Budget and Management (DBM) on Tuesday maintained that there are adequate funds for the Bangsamoro Organic Law (BOL) plebiscite slated on January 21 and February 6.

Presidential Spokesman and Chief Presidential Legal Counsel

Salvador S. Panelo and Budget Secretary Benjamin E. Diokno belied the statement of House Majority Leader Rolando G. Andaya Jr. that there is no budget for the plebiscite. Panelo also said Andaya’s claims were “misplaced” and “without basis.”

“Unang-una, kung walang pondo eh ‘ di sana kinansel na iyon. ‘Di ba?

Sana ni-reset na iyon, pinostpone na.

But obviously tuloy, so may pondo.

[First of all, if there are no funds, it should have been canceled, right? It should have been reset, postponed already. But obviously

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Govt urged to revisit ‘Trabaho’ bill impact on jobs, investment

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See “Creative goods” A2

it will push through, so there are funds],” he said.

As the government has funds for the BOL plebiscite, the DBM made an assurance that it will push through as planned.

“In the 2018 General Appropriations Act [GAA] and the 2019 National Expenditure Program [NEP], P111.8 million and P95.8 million are allocated, respectively, under Maintenance and Other Operating Expenses [MOOE] for the conduct and supervision of

Advent Energy power-supply contract with Hanjin ending

By Lenie Lectura @llectura

A

DVENT Energy Inc., the retail electricity supplier (RES) of Hanjin Heavy Industries and Construction Co.-Philippines Inc. (HHIC-Phil), will cease from supplying power to the shipbuilder after next month.

According to Aboitiz Power Corp.

Chief Operating Officer Emmanuel Rubio, Advent Energy’s power-supply contract with HHIC-Phil is good for one year from February 2018 up to February 2019.

Prior to this, HHIC-Phil sourced power from Subic EnerZone Corp., a 100-percent Aboitiz-owned electricdistribution utility managing the power-distribution system of Subic Bay Freeport Zone, for 10 years from 2008 to 2018.

Rubio said the RES contract between Advent Energy and HHIC-Phil was not renewed because the former decided not to participate in the bidding for the supply contract that was held in September 2018.

“We did not bid,” said Rubio. “They were looking for a very competitive price, which we feel is too low for us.

We are better off offering it somewhere else.”

He did not disclose the pricing details.

The auction for a power-supply contract happened three months before HHIC-Phil filed for corporate rehabilitation at the Olongapo Regional Trial Court.

When Rubio was asked if Advent Energy sensed that HHIC-Phil was already in deep financial trouble prior to the September 2018 bidding, “we already knew it [contract] was not ours.”

Advent Energy noticed how “demand has been going down” from a peak of 65 megawatts during the time when power was sourced from Subic EnerZone to “30 to 35 megawatts.”

A lower demand for power does normally occur from time to time, but this could also be an indicator of HHIC-Phil’s business performance. Ahead of the submission of the rehabilitation proposal in the local courts, its mother company, Hanjin Heavy in South Korea, had disclosed to Korean regulators the filing of the case in the Philippines.

The shipyard operation is known to be struggling to pay at least $412 million in loans to five of the Philippines’s leading banks.

But Rubio said HHIC-Phil has not been remiss when it comes to payment.“Yes, we are getting paid and we are getting security deposit,” recalled Rubio.

HHIC-Phil has chosen another power supplier, which Rubio refused to name.

See “BOL,” A8

n JAPAN 0.4825 n UK 67.1723 n HK 6.6557 n CHINA 7.7135 n SINGAPORE 38.5616 n AUSTRALIA 37.5610 n EU 59.8752 n SAUDI ARABIA 13.9159

Source: BSP (15 January 2019 )

News

BusinessMirror

A2 Wednesday, January 16, 2019

FMIC-UA&P projects growth in GDP of 6.8-7.2% in 2019

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By Cai U. Ordinario

@caiordinario

TRONGER consumption spending fueled by slower inflation will likely boost the country’s economic growth this year, according to the First Metro Investment Corp.-University of Asia and the Pacific (FMIC-UA&P) Capital Market Research.

Possible risks to the forecast include an increase in oil prices caused by unforeseen demand, hiccups in infrastructure spending t hat cou ld cut economic growth, high interest rates that thwart expansion plans of various firms, and “the very tight liquidity situation.”

In its first economic briefing for the year on Tuesday, FMIC-UA&P Capital Market Research projected the country’s GDP growth would average 6.8 percent to 7.2 percent in 2019.

The think tank projects average inflation at 3 to 3.5 percent this year. This, along with a weaker peso-dollar rate of 54 to the greenback, would allow consumption to increase this year.

“Moving forward, the inflation rate is expected to move down sharply to below 4 percent by the first quarter and below 3 percent by the third quarter. So it will be within the target range of the BSP [Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas],” UA&P economist Victor A. Abola said during his presentation.

Abola explained that the spike in inflation in 2018 was largely

Creative goods. . .

due to supply side constraints, which affected food and oil. However, given recent developments, supply concerns have already been resolved.

In terms of food inflation, Abola said food prices have fallen on the back of rice imports that started entering the market in September and high yields after the September to October harvest.

Abola said other factors that would help keep food items affordable this year are the country’s shift from quantitative restriction to a regime of tariffs on rice, as well as the continued normalization of food supply in the coming months.

In terms of crude oil prices, Abola cited international expectations, most notably by the Energy Information Administration (EIA), that oil prices are expected to fall by 15 to 17 percent this year.

Oil prices, Abola said, have already fallen by around 40 percent since October 3. Brent crude is expected to fall 15 percent this year while West Texas Intermediate is expected to decline by 17 percent. “ The main reason...you are

Continued from A1

(novels, poetry, educational, professional, etc.); and the printed media translated into all kinds of news circulated as newspapers, magazine, and others.

The country’s exports of publishing and printed media reached $11 million or 0.15 percent of total market share.

This also represented a contraction, however, of 13.16 percent annually between 2003 and 2015.

“The creative economy has both commercial and cultural worth,” Pamela Coke-Hamilton, who directs Unctad’s trade division, said. “Acknowledging this dual value has led governments worldwide to expand and develop their creative economies as part of economic diversification strategies and efforts to stimulate economic growth, prosperity and well-being.”

The data, which covers the period 2002 to 2015, shows the creative economy’s contribution to world trade. Over this period, the value of the global market for creative goods doubled from $208 billion in 2002 to $509 billion in 2015.

The report also discussed the shift from creative goods production to delivery of creative services as an emerging trend, aligned with a global shift toward services as industrial and agricultural outputs decline.

Marisa Henderson, the chief of Unctad ’s creative economy program, explained how newspapers and published products, which were originally a creative good, have flipped to become a creative service with the expansion of online media driven by digital subscriptions and online advertising.

Available data on creative services exports from 38 developed countries (with a comparable dataset) remained relatively stable between 2011 and 2015, with average annual growth rates at 4 percent.

Of all trade in services for the 38 countries, creative services represented an average portion of 18 percent, growing from 17.3 percent in 2011 to 18.9 percent in 2015.

“Creative services will grow. Although there is limited data on the trade in creative services, more countries are reporting on creative services trade as it becomes a more defining feature of local and regional economies,” Henderson said.

“There is a reason to embrace and support the creative economy’s growth. By offering economic insight into the trade in creative goods and services, governments are better able to understand their creative economies, leverage gaps and amplify areas of performance,” she said.

The creative industries—including architecture, arts and crafts, marketing and advertising, media and publishing, research and development, software, computer games, and other core creative work—are the lifeblood of the creative economy.

Design and visual arts are among the highest performing sectors with fashion, interior design and jewelry accounting for 54 percent of creative goods exports. Cai U. Ordinario

3.0-3.5% Average inflation for 2019 as projected by the FMIC-UA&P think tank. This, along with a weaker peso-dollar rate of 54 to the greenback, would allow consumption to increase this year

seeing oil prices slow down is because there’s so much supply and demand [which] has already weakened because the world economy has slowed down,” Abola said.

While election spending will also boost overall consumption this year, Abola said the impact will be limited to around 0.1 to 0.2 percentage points of the growth.

He explained why: a Presidential election would usually contribute around 0.4 percentage points whereas local elections, as what will take place in May, would tend to have a lower impact on growth since there fewer people are running.

Risks: oil, infra, rates

MEANWHILE, topping the possible risks to the forecast is an increase in oil prices caused by unforeseen demand, Abola said. Any hiccups in infrastructure spending could also cut economic growth this year, he added.

First Metro President Rabboni Francis Arjonillo added another risk: high interest rates which could limit growth by stifling expansion plans of various firms in 2019.

Arjonillo said this could mean

Hanjin. . .

Continued from A8

The think tank forecasts slower economic activity and waning growth momentum in the coming quarters owing to tighter monetary conditions.

Fitch Solutions also said the country’s deteriorating business environment— as evidenced in the Philippines’s slips in its ease of doing business ranking and corruption index—will do no good for the banks this year.

“Combined with rising interest rates both globally and domestically, as well as lower risk appetite, these factors will likely see investment slow over the coming quarters,” Fitch Solutions said.

BSP stand

FITCH Solutions’s stand on the banks’ exposure to the beleaguered Korean shipbuilder’s subsidiary in Subic Freeport echoed the sentiment of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP).

Last week, BSP officials expressed their confidence in the five banks’ ability to handle the corporate restructuring while remaining compliant with their prudential regulations.

Hanjin workers

MEANWHILE, several companies in the energy and construction sector have already expressed interest in hiring the displaced workers of Hanjin Heavy Industries and Construction Co.-Philippines (HHICPhil) Inc., according to the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE).

In a press conference on Tuesday, the DOLE’s Region 3 Director Zenaida A. Campita said firms in the economic zones in Clark, Bataan and Subic contacted them on the possibility of absorbing the remaining 3,812 Hanjin workers.

The employment offers were related to the construction of the New Clark City, as well as the

Budget. . .

Continued from A8

This developed as Senate Minority Leader Franklin M. Drilon also moved for a P24-billion additional allocation in DOH’s 2019 budget to ensure delivery of adequate health services in different parts of the country, including farflung areas.

Sen. Joseph Victor Ejercito, in backing Drilon’s motion to augment funding for DOH services, said the amendment is “very much appreciated.”Ejercito chairs the Senate Committee on Health and Demography.

Taking the floor during Tuesday’s plenary deliberations, Drilon clarified that his

“very expensive borrowing which will eventually be passed on to the end user or it could spell a disaster for the infrastructure growth story of the government simply because they will need to borrow at very expensive levels.”

He added that another “looming headwind” for the economy right now is “the very tight liquidity situation.” Arjonillo said the BSP now has P400 billion saved liquidity relative to P2.4 trillion a couple of years ago.

“There is much less room for the private sector and even the government who is aggressively borrowing now to fill in and to prime the economy further through infrastructure spending to move around it. If liquidity remains very tight, inflation will be affected, the demand for liquidity will translate into a competition among the private sector, the government and the banks themselves will be borrowing just to meet the liquidity cover requirements of the BSP,” Arjonillo said.

Arjonillo added that in this case, the BSP would be forced to release more liquidity into the system.

Some experts, he said, would tend to expect currency depreciation once this occurs.

In the case of the Philippines, however, Arjonillo said any additional cut in the country’s reserves will not go into speculation on the peso. It will be used by banks, primarily when they borrow through bank bonds to comply with the liquidity cover requirements imposed by BSP.

building of power plants.

“We will be coming out with the list [of companies] next week after we conduct the profiling,” Campita told the BusinessMirror in an ambush interview.

The profiling of the remaining skeletal work force of HHIC-Phil will determine if they have the skills sought by potential employers.

Labor Secretary Silvestre H. Bello III had instructed DOLE’s Centrtal Luzon office to finish the profiling next week before he meets with other government agencies on employment opportunities for the displaced workers.

Among these agencies are the Departments of Trade and Industry, Transportation, and Public Works and Highways.

“We prefer they be employed here in the country first as we need their skills in welding, steel shipbuilding, construction and plant services for the ‘Build, Build, Build,‘” Bello said.

The remaining workers, who are employed by the Subic Shipbuilder Corp. (Sushicor), the general shipbuilding contractor of HHIC-Phil, are currently engaged in the construction of two more ships set to be completed by March.

“These workers may apply for retrenchment after their contract with Hanjin is completed,” Bello said.

Bello said Sushicor assured them the 3,812 workers will get a separation pay worth one month of their salary per year of service.

The highly skilled workers have an average pay range of from P800 to P1,000 per day.

Campita said they decided not to profile the 7,000 other workers of HHIC-Phil, who voluntarily agreed to be retrenched last month, since most of them already left for their home provinces in the Visayas and Mindanao.

The labor official, however, said they are still ready to provide employment opportunities to those who will approach DOLE Region 3.

Samuel P. Medenilla and Bianca Cuaresma

proposed P24-billion additional funding for DOH is “intended to boost this government’s Health Facilities Enhancement Program.”

The Senate is expected to step up and fasttrack approval of the 2019 budget bill to cut short the period the Duterte administration would operate on a reenacted 2018 budget.

Upon Senate approval of the money measure, senators and congressmen will still convene a bicameral panel to reconcile conflicting provisions in their separate versions of the budget bill. After this, a conference committee report on the reconciled budget will go back to the two chambers to be separately ratified, paving the way for the new budget’s submission to President Duterte for signing into law.

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Locsin issues order on birth cert rules in passport renewal

F

OREIGN Affairs Secretary Teodoro L. Locsin Jr. on Tuesday signed Department Order 032019 on the documentary requirements for the renewal of regular passports, days after protesting the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) rule that burdened migrant workers with having to present their birth certificates anew.

The order made it clear that regular renewals of passports are not covered by the requirement to present the birth certificate.

However, in the following cases birth certificates issued by the Philippine Statistics Authority shall be required: ■ First time passport applications; ■ Renewal application for lost and mutilated passport; ■ Renewal applications requiring changes in the passport entries; ■ Renewal application of old brown and green passports bearing no complete middle name, and;

■ Applicants included in the Department’s Watchlist.

The order will take effect 15 days from the filing with the Office of the National Administrative Register (Onar) of the UP Law Center.

The signing of the order caps a nearly weeklong controversy stirred by a series of tweets by the irrepressible DFA chief, who demanded to know why overseas Filipino workers have to present their birth certificates when renewing their passports, when their personal data was already taken by the government earlier when they first applied for a passport.

He subsequently said a contractor had run away with the data, so the government must again build up its digital file of passport holders.

A Senate resolution seeks an inquiry into the matter, and Locsin said on Tuesday crucial points in the controversy can be addressed by such an inquiry. Recto L. Mercene

Pay hike bid made ahead of meeting on TRAIN Continued from A8

in the past two months, and there is no supervening condition to raise wages.

“At [the] moment, there is no justification based on inflation data,” argued George T. Barcelon, chairman of the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

Inflation in November of last year slowed to 6 percent from 6.7 percent in September and October, and settled at 5.1 percent in December, according to figures from the Philippine Statistics Authority.

Average inflation for 2018 was at 5.2 percent, way beyond the government’s target range of 2 percent to 4 percent and higher than the 2.9 percent posted in 2017.

Prices of fuel and commodity goods are also expected to go up this year, as the government rolled out the second round of excise tax on oil under the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TR AIN) law.

Barcelon said what businesses could do is to maintain their prices to provide workers some relief.

“If you look at new fuel prices compared to previous year locally, they are not that much higher. [There is] no reason for

business and transport sectors to increase unnecessarily,” Barcelon explained.

Employers Confederation of the Philippines President Sergio R. Ortiz-Luis Jr. said there could be price hikes this year with the imposition of additional taxes on petroleum products, but estimated this to be manageable.

“There are expected increases, but it will not be as much as during the height of inflation last year. Hindi naman aabot ’yun [It will not reach that same level],” Ortiz-Luis said.

All 17 regional wage boards adjusted minimum-wage rates from P8.50 to P56 in different periods last year, including an increase of P25 in the daily pay of Metro Manila workers.

However, TUCP President Raymond T. Mendoza said wage hikes last year will fail to support workers and their families this year in the face of anticipated price increases.

With the filing of petitions, he pointed out the TUCP will “test once again the capacity of the wage boards to remain relevant with its mandate to raise the minimum wage to an amount that can ably support a family.”

With Elijah Felice E. Rosales

Govt urged to revisit ‘Trabaho’ bill impact on jobs, investment Continued from A1

In order to prevent any abuse, Abola suggested that the government put in place a system wherein it grants tax incentives or gives tax rebates to firms for meeting certain goals.

Abola said the government should come up with a formula for the granting of an incentive. This could include hitting returns on investment or job creation goals.

Remittances. . .

Continued from A1

BSP Officer in Charge Maria Almasara Cyd N. Tuaño-Amador said the countries that contributed most to the increase for the month were Canada and the United States.

Cash remittances from both land-based ($20.5 billion) and seabased workers ($5.5 billion) recorded increments of 2.8 percent and 4.1 percent for January to November 2018, respectively.

Last week, Trade Secretary Ramon M. Lopez said getting the Trabaho bill may be an uphill battle at Senate.

While the House of Representatives approved the measure that it dubbed “Trabaho bill” in September, the government is having a tough time persuading the Senate to pass the tax-reform measure. The most contentious portion of the bill for the Senate is on the rationalization of tax incentives.

“The bulk of cash remittances for the first 11 months of 2018 came from the US, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Singapore, Japan, United Kingdom, Qatar, Canada, Germany and Hong Kong.

Cash remittances from these countries accounted for almost 79 percent of total cash remittances,” Tuaño-Amador said in a statement.

In recent years, the decades-old industry has been showing signs of a slowdown—moving into a more “normalized” growth number from years of rapid expansion.

The Nation BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

No HDO against Trillanes, Davao RTC judge rules

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HE Regional Trial Court (RTC) of Davao City has turned down the bid of the Department of Justice (DOJ) to prevent opposition Sen. Antonio F. Trillanes IV from traveling abroad due to his pending libel and other criminal cases in various courts.

In a five-page order, Davao RTC Branch 54 Presiding Judge Melinda Alconcel-Dayanghirang denied the urgent ex-parte motion for the issuance of hold departure order (HDO) filed by the DOJ on December 4, 2018, following the filing of four counts of libel against Trillanes.

On December 7, the trial court issued warrants of arrest for the four counts of libel, prompting Trillanes to voluntarily surrender to the jurisdiction of the court by posting bail.

In denying the prosecution’s motion, the court took into consideration Trillanes’s voluntarily surrender upon learning of the warrants of arrest against him, which indicates that the risk of his flight or escape.

“His voluntary surrender and placing himself under the jurisdiction of the court is a demonstration of his utter respect for the legal processes of this country,” Judge Dayanghirang said.

Trillanes has left the country last December 11, 2018, to attend speaking engagements in the US and Europe.

The trial court said Trillanes’s trips were planned long time ago and were approved by Senate President Vicente C. Sotto III. “All told, this Court finds accused Antonio Trillanes IV is not a flight risk and that he will abide with the conditions imposed for his provisional liberty, including his appearance before this Court when required,” the order read. Joel R. San Juan

DENR gears up for Manila Bay rehab

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T

By Jonathan L. Mayuga

@jonlmayuga

HE Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) on Tuesday held the first ever stakeholders meeting in preparation for the rehabilitation of Manila Bay. The meeting gathered around 200 representatives from various national government agencies and local government units (LGUs), including barangay units.

Environment Secretary Roy A. Cimatu said the Duterte administration is determined to rehabilitate the Manila Bay and will not hesitate to file appropriate charges against violators of various environmental laws.

The massive rehabilitation will affect establishments along a 194-kilometer coastline from Cavite to Bataan; a total of 128 local government units in eight provinces in Regions 3, 4-A and the National Capital Region.

At a news conference after the stakeholders’ meeting, Cimatu vowed to come up with a list of violators of various environmental laws, particularly Republic Act 9275 or the Philippine Clean Water Act of 2004.

The DENR chief was tasked by President Duterte to lead the massive rehabilitation of Manila Bay following the successful rehabilitation of Boracay Island, the country’s top tourist destination in Malay, Aklan last year.

The country’s chief steward of the environment and natural resources said a draft executive order creating the task force and outlining its man-

Court dismisses gun raps vs NDF leader Baylosis, cohort

By Joel R. San Juan

Editor: Vittorio V. Vitug • Wednesday, January 16, 2019 A3

@jrsanjuan1573

HE Regional Trial Court (RTC) of Quezon City has dismissed the illegal possession of firearms and explosives case filed against National Democratic Front (NDF) of the Philippines peace consultant Rafael Baylosis last year.

In a 27-page order, the court said the prosecution’s evidence were insufficient to support a finding of conviction against Baylosis and his co-accused Roque Guillermo.

It added that the arrest of Baylosis and Guillerno at Aurora Boulevard corner Katipunan Avenue was illegal, and the subsequent search conducted on them by the police, as well as the purported confiscation of firearms and explosives in their posession, cannot be used as evidence.

“It is viewed that the confiscation of the subject items is illegal. It is not a product of a search incidental to a lawful arrest, or a stop and frisk search, or the plain view doctrine,” Quezon City RTC Branch 100 Presiding Judge Editha Mina Aguba pointed out in granting the demurrer to evidence filed by the accused.

A demurrer to evidence is a pleading filed by the defense that seeks the immediate dismissal of the case due to the insufficiency of the prosecution’s evidence.

The court also noted the inconsistencies on the testimonies and statements executed by police witnesses with regard to the arrest of the accused.

Judge Aguba also directed the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology in Bicutan to immediately release Baylosis from jail unless he is confined for another cause.

At the same time, the court ordered Guillermo’s cash bond of P120,000 was to be immediately released.

Baylosis was arrested on January 31, 2018, following the cancelation of the peace talks with the Communist Party of the Philippines-National Democratic Front.

The government, however, denied that his arrest was an offshoot of the failed peace talks.

The police claimed that the arrest stemmed from a tip that some armed men were seen at the area.

“As such, this court cannot attach the presumption of regularity of performance of their functions. Besides, the same cannot prevail over the presumption of innocence of two accused. Exoneration of accused is, thus, in order,” the court ruled.

200 The total number of participants in the first ever stakeholders’ meeting for the massive rehab of Manila Bay

date will still be submitted to Malacañang for the purpose of bringing back Manila Bay back to its former glory.

Aside from the 13 mandamus agencies, which have been ordered by the Supreme Court to rehabilitate Manila Bay, the Department of Tourism (DOT) will play its part in the rehabilitation effort.

According to Cimatu, the DENR will announce to the public the result of a still ongoing water sampling and laboratory testing in various esteros to determine the coliform level and would work on those so-called “millionaire esteros,” or whose coliform level exceed a million most probably number per 100 liter, starting in the Bay Walk area of Manila Bay in Manila, particularly the areas between the Manila Yacht Club and

the US Embassy, which, he said, is the area most visited by tourists.

He said the coliform level in the area is a priority as he vowed to identify establishments that discharge their untreated wastewater in three creeks that drain in the area.

The DENR chief said establishments found violating the Clean Water Act will be charged for specific violations, such as the direct discharge of untreated wastewater, the same way erring establishments in Boracay were dealt with by the DENR. According to Cimatu, compared to Boracay, rehabilitating Manila Bay is a much bigger challenge, whether in terms of water-pollution level or coastal area to be rehabilitated, explaining why the Manila Bay rehabilitation will take time and a huge amount of money.

Compared to Boracay, which has an area of 1,000 hectares, Manila Bay coastline is approximately 190 kilometers from Cavite to Bataan, he said.

In terms of water pollution, he said, when President Duterte tagged Boracay a “cesspool,” the coliform level is about 1 million most probable number/100 milliliters, while in Manila Bay, the highest was about 333 million MPN/100 ml.

“This is 333 times worse than Boracay,” he said.

According to Cimatu, the DENR, particularly the Environmental Management Bureau (EMB), may revoke the environmental compliance certificates of noncompliant or defiant establishments, particularly those who will not put up their own sewage treatment plants.

Adjust targets

MEANWHILE, Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System Administrator Reynaldo Velasco said he

House Speaker forms oversight body on urban poor housing

By Jovee Marie N. Dela Cruz @joveemarie

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PEAKER Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo on Tuesday said the House of Representatives will create an Oversight Committee on Urban Poor Housing.

In a news statement, Arroyo said the committee will monitor the implementation of Republic Act (RA) 9207, or National Government Center Housing and Land Utilization Act of 2003.

According to the speaker, the RA 9207 is the law that facilitated urban poor housing in Quezon City.

The new Oversight Committee will conduct it first hearing this Monday to thresh out the remaining problems of the residents in Barangay Holy Spirit.

Under RA 9207, the Oversight Committee will be chaired in the House by the Environment and Natural Resources Committee chairman, who is currently Cebu Rep. Rodrigo A. Abellanosa. Rep. Winnie Castelo of Quezon City will be a member of the committee and will chair the subcommittee on the concerns of Barangay Holy Spirit because he is the congressman of the said area.

Arroyo said the new oversight committee is consistent with her earlier pronouncement that the Lower House will hold its oversight functions in the remaining months of 17th Congress because they have already passed all the priority bills of President Duterte.

“We already passed many good laws, including my own law in 2003, that’s why they are now owners of their property. But

“While most of them had already been awarded their own titles, some problems still exist, particularly reports of landgrabbing and failure in the reblocking of some properties.”

—Arroyo

what is important now is to make sure that they are well implemented. So this is part of what I have been saying that that’s the task I think the House of Representatives should be doing for the next six months,” she said.

Moreover, speaking during her consultation with beneficiaries of RA 9207, a law she signed when she was President in 2003, at the NGC West in Barangay Holy Spirit, Quezon City, on Tuesday, Arroyo said the Oversight Committee will make sure that the law is properly implemented.

Arroyo said hundreds of urban poor families in BarangayHoly Spirit in Quezon City, were awarded their own land as a result of RA 9207.

“While most of them had already been awarded their own titles, some problems still exist, particularly reports of landgrabbing and failure in the reblocking of some properties,” she added.

Arroyo has been going around the country to visit the urban poor housing beneficiaries during her administration. She signed more than 100 presidential proclamations, executive orders and laws that enabled thousands of urban poor families to acquire the land they have long been occupying.

will meet with Maynilad and Manila Water, MWSS private water concessionaires, to discuss the possibility of stepping up their compliance of the Supreme Court continuing mandamus on Manila Bay. The MWSS chief said he will ask Maynilad and Manila Water to adjust their targets to fast track the connection of sewer lines by reviewing and adjusting targets for the years 2022 to 2037.

As agent and contractor of the MWSS, Maynilad and Manila Water are mandated to connect their customers to the sewer line and ensure treatment of wastewater.

But according to the DENR, less than 15 percent of water consumers are connected to proper sewer lines, although both companies are offering free desludging.

Velasco wants Maynilad and Manila Water to ensure 100-percent connection before 2037.

Squatter relocation ‘a must’

“THIS will be a continuing process. We will be making some announcement on the 27th as a result of the wastewater tests from the EMB and the LLDA [Laguna Lake Development Authority],” Cimatu said.

Aside from addressing water pollution in Manila Bay, Cimatu said the rehabilitation will involve the massive rehabilitation of mangrove and beach forests, including the Las Piñas-Parañaque Critical Habitat and Ecotourism Area.

Asked if the interagency body will also look into various reclamation projects along Manila Bay that are in the pipeline, Cimatu said: “Yes. As a matter of fact, it will be part of the process [review of reclamation projects],” he said.

Cimatu said a major challenge faced by the government concerns

raised by LGUs during the meeting involves the informal settlers living along Manila Bay coasts, particularly in Cavite and Bataan.

The DENR chief said the interagency task force will prioritize areas that are visibly problematic, or areas that are the subject of various complaints, such as in Bacoor and other coastal areas in Cavite, which have a huge number of informal settlers who would have to be resettled.

In Pampanga, he said, several piggeries would have to be resettled or moved away from rivers and water bodies.

“These informal settlers would have to be resettled away from Manila Bay,” the DENR chief said.

Meanwhile, Secretary Eduardo M. Año assured that the resettlement of informal settlers will be carefully planned.

The DILG chief said informal settler governance will be implemented together with concerned LGUs. “We will make sure that the relocation areas have water and electricity,” he added.

For her part, Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo Puyat said they will hold talks with tourism-related establishments, starting in the National Capital Region to inform them of possible violations.

“We will not issue accreditation if they will not be compliant,” the DOT chief said.

She added that some establishments may be unaware of their violation, explaining why the DOT will hold a meeting with owners and managers of hotels and restaurants per area in the next few days.

“We want to inform them if they have a violation, and we will give them time to comply. Otherwise, we will not give them accreditation,” she said.

Senate okays bill declaring Jan. 17 as James Leonard Tagle Gordon Day

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HE Senate passed on third and final reading the bill declaring every January 17 a special non-working holiday in Olongapo City and the Subic Bay Freeport Zone, in recognition of the achievements, contributions and heroism of James Leonard Tagle Gordon.

Among those who voted for the passage of House Bill 8648 were Sens. Juan Edgardo M. Angara, Nancy Binay, Joseph Victor G. Ejercito, Francis G. Escudero, Sherwin T. Gatchalian, Gregorio B. Honasan II, Risa Hontiveros, Aquilino L. Pimentel III, Grace Poe, Antonio F. Trillanes IV, Emmanuel Joel J. Villanueva, Cynthia A. Villar, Minority Leader Franklin M. Drilon, Majority Leader Juan Miguel F. Zubiri, Senate President Pro Tempore Ralph G. Recto and Senate President Vicente C. Sotto III. Angara, chairman of the committee on local government, stood as sponsor of the bill.

James Gordon, the first elected mayor of Olongapo City, was the father of incumbent Sen. Richard J. Gordon. Sen. Gordon, likewise, served as Olongapo City mayor from 1988 to 1993.

Despite being an American—his father John Jacob was an American marine and mother Veronica Tagle, a Filipina—James Gordon exposed the abuses and harassment suffered by Olongapo residents under the US military rule.

He was, in fact, part of the Philippine panel that negotiated and compelled the US authorities to relinquish Olongapo to the Philippine government, and this took place on December 7, 1959, the day when then President Carlos P. Garcia signed the executive order making it a municipality of Zambales.

Born on January 17, 1917, James Gordon chose to stay in the Philippines as a Filipino citizen.

In his three years as mayor, James Gordon lobbied in Congress for the passage of a bill converting the municipality of Olongapo into

a city, amid strong opposition from the provincial government.

In 1966, then-President Ferdinand E. Marcos signed Republic Act 4665, converting Olongapo into a chartered city.

He, likewise, managed to quell crimes, specifically illegal logging, smuggling of firearms, cigarettes and contraband from the military base and launched a crusade against corrupt members of the Philippine Constabulary.

An untiring fighter of graft and corruption, he fought well-entrenched politicians against widespread corruption and won the case, albeit posthumously, returning the electrical system to the Olongapo government.

James Gordon was an entrepreneur and businessman and was also one of the founders of Olongapo Rotar y Club, Olongapo Knights of Columbus and Olongapo Businessmen’s Association.

He and his wife Amelia Juico-Gordon, along with some friends, established the Olongapo Boys Town and Girls Home in 1969, an orphanage for abandoned children of FilipinoAmerican parents.

He survived assassination attempts in 1965 and 1966, but on February 20, 1967, while addressing his constituents on the first floor of the Olongapo City Hall, he was gunned down and killed by an escaped inmate of the National Penitentiary.

Incidentally, Zubiri introduced Joint Resolution 6 in February last year, which was adopted by 18 senators, proposing the same.

“For his invaluable service to uplift the lives of the people of Olongapo through his exemplary leadership providing hope and inspiration to future generations, Mayor James Leonard Tagle Gordon deserved to be commemorated on his birth centenary,” Zubiri’s resolution said.

Amid poll-related violence, Comelec places Daraga, Cotabato under its control ahead of BOL plebiscite, May elections

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HE Commission on Elections (Comelec) announced on Tuesday late afternoon it will take control over the municipality of Daraga, Albay, and Cotabato City following the reported incidents of violence in both areas in previous weeks.

In a news statement, Comelec Spokesman James B. Jimenez said the Comelec en banc finally decided through two separate resolu-

tions to place both areas under their supervision until the end of the election period for the 2019 polls. Comelec en banc Resolution 10479 placed Daraga, Albay, under Comelec control in response to the brutal killing of Ako Bicol Party-list Rep. Rodel M. Batocabe on December 22, 2018.

Meanwhile, Comelec en banc Resolution 10480 allowed the poll body to take control

of Cotabato City following a explosion there, which caused several casualties and “sowed fear among its citizens.”

“Comelec control shall be effective immediately upon publication of the resolution,” Jimenez said.

Jimenez explained the poll body usually exercises its power to take control of an area to ensure that “no local partisan group gets

to enjoy an advantage over others.”

He, however, said areas under Comelec control are different from the areas declared by the Philippine National Police (PNP) or Armed Forces of the Philippines as election hot spots.

“When the PNP declares that a place is a hot spot, all it means is that there will be a greater police alertness and readiness in the place for various reasons,” Jimenez said. Samuel P. Medenilla

A4 Wednesday, January 16, 2019 • Editor: Vittorio V. Vitug

Economy BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

House endorses FIA revision bill to Senate

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By Jovee Marie N. Dela Cruz

@joveemarie

HE House of Representatives has endorsed for Senate approval a measure that proposes to loosen foreign investors’ access to the Philippines.

This, after the lower chamber passed on third and final reading House Bill 8764 amending the Foreign Investments Act (FIA) of 1991.

The measure deletes the “practice of professions” from the items listed in the Foreign Investment Negative List (FINL) by amending Section 4 of Republic Act 8179.

It also lowers the employment threshold from 50 to 15 for smalland medium-sized enterprises

(SMEs) established by foreign investors with minimum paidup capital of $100,000.

The bill also seeks to generate more employment opportunities for Filipinos and strengthening the country’s expanding economy.

Tourism

MISAMIS Oriental Rep. Juliette Uy, vice chairman of the House Committee on Small Business and Entre-

preneurship Development, said the measure is expected to boost small and medium enterprises in the tourism sector through improved online bookings and cyberspace presence.

“As [a] member of the House Committee on Tourism, I supported HB 8764 because of the growth impact it can have by modernizing our tourism sector using online booking and cyberspace technologies,” Uy said.

Uy added HB 8764, when enacted into law, will allow foreign investors to infuse $100,000 minimum paid-in capital into SME capitalized at up to $200,000 engaged in advanced technologies, and with at least 15 direct employees.

“In Misamis Oriental and nationwide, we have thousands of tourism SMEs. An investment of $100,000 which is about P5.2 million can give a tourism SME strong Internet and social-media presence through online bookings and of-

fering of their services and visitor destinations,” the Misamis Oriental lawmaker said.

“Multiply that by the tens of thousands [of] tourism SMEs nationwide and we could very well see a tourism boom in the next few years,” Uy said.

She noted that “reliable and efficient cyberspace access has long been a weakness of many tourism SMEs in the country.”

“As early as now, the DOT [Department of Tourism] and DTI [Department of Trade and Industry] ought to lay the groundwork for the implementation of this amendment to the Foreign Investments Act of 1991. A national registry and database of SMEs can be crucial, and will also dovetail with the execution of the Ease of Doing Business Act,” said Uy.

FDI lure

EARLIER, Deputy Speaker Arthur

Yap of Bohol, one of the principal authors of the bill, said the measure will help the country to attract FDI and facilitate transfer of technologies, and share expertise to provide more options for more quality goods and services.

“Foreign Investments Act of 1991 was enacted to attract investments from foreign sources and in so doing expand livelihood and employment opportunities for Filipinos,” Yap said.

However, he added, there are two provisions in the law that appears to be in conflict with its objectives.

He said the first provision is related to the practice of all professions, which is included in the FINL under the “no foreign equity” phrase.

“Considering that certain laws governing each profession allow foreign nationals to practice in the Philippines under reciprocity agreements. It is misleading to

NFA to raise palay procurement by 5 fold in 2019, DA chief says

By Jasper Emmanuel Y. Arcalas @jearcalas

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HE National Food Authority (NFA) bared plans to procure at least 350,000 metric tons of palay this year, or about 7 million 50-kilogram (kg) bags, which would be more than fivefold of the 1.236 million bags it bought last year.

Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel F. Piñol said the grains agency said it would sustain the momentum of its local buying spree of local palay to further boost its stockpile, which is at present sufficient to last until August.

“We are projecting that after eight months our imported rice [stockpile] would be wiped out. So we have to prepare for the period from September to December that the NFA would not be importing,” Piñol said in a news briefing on Tuesday in Pasay City.

“We have to supply the market with locally procured rice. So right now we are intensifying our local procurement,” Pinol added.

P i ño l s a i d t he P 7- b i l l io n funding of the NFA this year is sufficient to purchase 350,000 metric tons.

However, he explained that the NFA could even exceed the volume

as the agency would roll over the profit from the rice they would be selling in the market.

The NFA’s total palay procurement in 2018 more than doubled to 1.236 million bags, from 588,820 bags recorded in 2017.

However, the NFA still missed its palay procurement target last year of 2.6 million bags owing to uncompetitive buying price against private traders almost throughout the year.

The NFA was only able to ramp up its local palay procurement after it implemented its additional P3per-kg buffer stocking incentive in mid-October. The BSI effectively increased the total buying price of NFA to about P20.70 per kg.

Data prov ided by the NFA showed that around 93 percent, or about 1.151 million bags, of the total volume they bought last year was due to their higher buying price.

“The implementation of the additional P3/kg buffer stocking incentive in NFA’s palay procurement starting October 12, 2018, has significantly increased the agency’s buying capacity, hitting 80 percent of its national procurement target for the month of November alone,” the NFA said in a news statement issued on Tuesday.

Tuguegarao taps Globe for free public Internet access service

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HE local government of Tuguegarao City has tapped Globe Telecom Inc. to provide its citizens with free Internet access in public places.

Globe Business Senior Vice President Peter Maquera said his group’s solutions will help the local government unit to improve its delivery of government services and exchange of information He added that the partnership with the City of Tuguegarao “is also in support of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 9, which emphasizes the need for

investment in infrastructure and innovation, being identified as crucial drivers of economic growth and development.”

For his part, Tuguegarao Mayor Jefferson Soriano said this will help his office deliver better services to the citizens of the northern city.

“Aside from the need to have fast and reliable Internet connectivity to effectively cater to the communication needs of all offices in the city hall, the project also aims to extend its reach to public schools, specifically the students and teachers,” he said. Lorenz S. Marasigan

include such item in the FINL as a nationalized activity. This effectively discourages foreign professionals, who would otherwise be allowed to practice here by virtue of reciprocity, from coming in and sharing their ideas and technical know-how, contrary to the inclusive policy of the FIA,” he said.

According to Yap, the second conflicting provision in the law allows foreigners to invest in smalland medium-sized domestic market enterprises with a minimum paid-in capital of $100,000 if they employ at least 50 direct employees.

“However, operationally speaking, a $100,000 enterprise, which is only a little over P4.3 million, cannot immediately sustain a labor force of 50 persons. Hence, there is a need to retain the employment requirement but lower the threshold to a more reasonable number,” he added.

Marina summons shipowners in Mactan, Cebu, sea mishap

By Lorenz S. Marasigan @lorenzmarasigan

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GADGETS GALORE

A lady sidewalk entrepreneur sells a wide range of assorted electronic gadgets—made mostly in China—at affordable prices for home and office use along the busy Hidalgo Street in Manila. ROY DOMINGO

BFAR raises ‘red tide’ alert in at least 4 regions

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HE Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) has issued “red tide” warning for shellfishes collected in several provinces in Central Luzon, Calabarzon, Bicol and the Visayas regions.

Based on the latest laboratory results of the BFAR and concerned local government units (LGUs), shellfishes collected at Matarinao Bay in Eastern Samar, Lianga Bay in Surigao del Sur; coastal waters of Dauis and Tagbilaran City in Bohol; Puerto Princesa Bay, Puerto Princesa City in Palawan and

coastal waters of Pampanga and Bataan including Mariveles, Limay, Orion, Pilar, Balanga, Orani, Abucay and Samal are still positive for paralytic shellfish poison that is beyond the regulatory limit.

Moreover, the BFAR’s Shellfish Bulletin 1, released by the Information and Fisherfolk Coordination Unit has added Cancabato Bay, Tacloban City in Leyte among areas that are positive for red tide toxin.

This means that all types of shellfish and Acetes sp., or alamang, gathered from such areas are not

safe for human consumption.

On the other hand, fish squids, shrimps, and crabs are safe for human consumption provided that they are fresh and washed thoroughly.

Eduardo Gongona, undersecretary for Fisheries and concurrent director of the Department of AgricultureBFAR added that internal organs such as gills and intestines must be removed before cooking. All other areas not identified in the Shellfish Bulletin continue to be free from toxic red tides. Jonathan L. Mayuga

Duterte meets Sri Lanka leader at the Palace today

By Bernadette D. Nicolas @BNicolasBM

P

RESIDENT Duterte is set to meet Sri Lanka President Maithripala Sirisena today, Wednesday, at the Malacañan Palace for bilateral discussions on areas of mutual interest, including political, economic, agricultural, cultural and people-to-people engagement.

The Sri Lankan leader was invited by President Duterte to visit the country until January 19.

Sirisena’s visit was the first by a Sri Lankan president serving both as Head and State of Government under Sri Lanka’s 1987 Constitution. and the second by a Sri Lankan

leader since the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries in 1961.

Prior to the meeting the President at the Palace, Sirisena is expected to attend a wreath-laying ceremony at Rizal Park at 3 p.m. in the afternoon.

Sirisena and Duterte are also ex pected to issue joint news statements follow ing the exchange of agreements.

After that, there will also be an exchange of gifts and a state banquet to cap the day’s events.

While in Manila, Sirisena is also scheduled to visit the Asian Development Bank and the International Rice Research Institute in Los Baños, Laguna.

In relation to the Sri Lankan leader’s visit, the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) said it will enforce a stop-and-go scheme on Edsa and parts of Metro Manila.

The MMDA said that motorists are advised of the said scheme that will be implemented from January 15 to 19.

Sirisena is scheduled to arrive in Manila on Tuesday night.

“Possible traffic disruptions could be experienced in the vicinity of airport in Pasay City, roads in Makati business district, Pasig commercial district, Manila City and Quezon City when Sirisena’s vehicle convoy passes by,” the MMDA said. With Claudeth Mocon-Ciriaco

HE two companies that own the vessels involved in the Cebu sea mishap over the weekend will have to explain to the Maritime Industry Authority (Marina) their positions on the case, as the agency aims to avoid a similar incident in the future.

In a news statement issued on Tuesday, the maritime regulator said it is issuing separate showcause orders to Eastern Shipping Services Inc. and Concrete Solutions Inc.—owners of the MV Eastern Endeavour and LCT Poseidon 29, respectively—to demand for explanation on the collision accident that happened in Mactan, Cebu, on Saturday.

Based on initial reports cited

by Marina, the Vessel Traffic Management System (VTMS) in Cebu radioed the inbound vessel MV Eastern Endeavour while it was transiting along the Cebu-Mactan Channel abeam Shell Island, informing its crew that an outbound vessel LCT Poseidon 29 was transiting southbound.

MV Eastern Endeavour, then, supposedly requested a port-to-port passage with LCT Poseidon 29, advising the latter to maneuver and stay on hard port rudder to increase its closest point of approach.

However, because of the close proximity between the involved vessels, they collided against each other.

MV Eastern Endeavour is a general cargo vessel that has a gross tonnage of 6,269. It is based in Manila. LCT Poseidon 29, on the other hand, is a cargo vessel with a gross tonnage of 965, and is based in Tacloban City.

No injury was reported, and both ships were able to berth safely by night time.

“To date, the Marina is closely coordinating with the Philippine Coast Guard and the Cebu Port Authority to improve the operation of Cebu’s VTMS to avoid the occurrence of similar maritime accidents in the future,” the Marina statement read.

Portion of Nlex Harbor Link Project expected to open this month–DPWH’s Villar

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HE Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) on Tuesday said a part of the multibillion North Luzon Expressway (Nlex) Harbor Link Segment 10 Project will open to motorists this month.

According to Public Works Secretary Mark A. Villar, the portion

of the undertaking that is set to be opened will shorten the travel time from Circumferential Road 3 (C-3) in Caloocan City and Nlex in Quezon City.

“We are happy to announce t h at t h e N l e x H a r b o r L i n k Project will be accessible to the public by January. W hen this is

completed, travel time from C-3 in Caloocan City and Nlex, will be reduced to 10 minutes,” Villar said in a news statement.

Nlex Harbor Link Segment 10 is composed of the 5.65-km elevated expressway traversing the Nlex from MacArthur Highway in K aruhatan, Valenzuela

“The next phase will connect it to R-10 and reduce travel time from Port Area in Manila to Quezon City to approximately 10 minutes.”—Villar

City, passing through Malabon City and C-3 Road, Caloocan City, and the 2.6 -km section bet ween C-3 Road, Ca loocan City and R adial Road 10 (R-10), Navotas City.

The project costs P15.5 billion.

With this, Villar reported that the next segment will improve

the movement of cargo from the Port of Manila by providing a direct connection between R-10 and Nlex.

“The next phase will connect it to R-10 and reduce travel time from Port Area in Manila to Quezon City to approximately 10 minutes,” he said.

www.businessmirror.com.ph

The World BusinessMirror

Editor: Angel R. Calso • Wednesday, January 16, 2019 A5

China to cut taxes, hike spending to counter slowdown

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EIJING—China plans to slash taxes, step up spending and provide ample financing to private and small enterprises to help counter the country’s worst slowdown since the global financial crisis and the impact of a bruising trade war with the US. The People’s Bank of China is confident it can keep the value of China’s currency, the yuan, steady while maintaining a stable but flexible monetary policy, Zhu Hexin, a deputy central bank governor, told reporters at a briefing on Tuesday on plans for 2019 that were set by top leaders at an annual meeting in December.

The yuan, also known as the renminbi, or “people’s money,” sank to a 10-year low of 6.9756 per dollar at the end of October, coming close to breaking the level of seven to the greenback. It has strengthened since then to about 6.7580 per dollar.

A further slide in the yuan could fuel United States complaints about Beijing’s currency controls. It also might prompt

potentially destabilizing outflows of capital, which would raise borrowing costs and hobble efforts to shore up growth.

In July to September, China’s economy expanded at a post-crisis slow annual pace of 6.5 percent despite the government efforts to stem the downturn by ordering banks to lend more and by boosting spending on public works construction.

The government reported on Monday that China’s exports to the US slipped in December as the delayed impact of President Donald J. Trump’s tariff hikes on Chinese products began to pinch demand. China’s trade surplus with the US surged to a record $323.3 billion in 2018.

World markets tumbled in response, but

recovered on Tuesday after the news conference in Beijing, with Hong Kong’s Hang Seng jumping 1.8 percent while the Shanghai Composite index climbed 1.2 percent.

Sales to the US market had kept growing by double digits in previous months as Chinese exporters rushed to fill orders. But forecasters said American orders would slump once the full impact of Trump’s penalties hit. Global demand has also moderated.

The slump in exports adds to pressure on Beijing to resolve the dispute with Washington over Chinese technology policies.

The US and Chinese officials ended a threeday negotiating session last week with no sign of agreements or word on what their next step would be.

The plans for 2019 outlined on Tuesday included specific measures such as raising the maximum income levels for tax exempt companies and individuals, and reducing the tax rate.

The government plans to begin construction of major projects and promote settlement of rural migrants in cities, slash bureaucratic and anti-competitive red tape, cut energy consumption and open more business areas to foreign in-

Oil halts drop near $51 on stockpile optimism and rebound in equities

O

IL halted its retreat near $51 a barrel on forecasts for a drop in US inventories and as a rebound in equities signaled investor interest in risk assets was improving.

Futures in New York climbed as much as 1.6 percent after dropping 4 percent over the past two sessions. American crude stockpiles probably fell for the sixth time in seven weeks, according to a Bloomberg survey of analysts before Energy Information Administration data due on Wednesday.

Stocks across Asia climbed and US index futures rebounded as markets recovered from the impact of weak economic data in Europe and China on Monday.

While oil is resuming an advance that took it into a bull market last week, it’s still over 30 percent below a four-year high in October. China’s weakest trade data since 2016 stoked concerns over the impact of an ongoing trade war with the US. Saudi Energy

Minister Khalid al-Falih sought to reassure investors in recent days, saying the Opec+ coalition that’s pursuing output cuts to balance the market will do more if it needs to.

“Oil will likely stay within a range of $49 to $55 a barrel as long as there are fresh elements that will either drive prices up or down,” Sungchil Will Yun, a commodities analyst at HI Investment & Futures Corp., said by phone. “Investors are now less worried about dwindling demand and negative economic data, spurred by the US-China trade spat because they’ve largely been reflected in crude prices already.”

West Texas Intermediate (WTI) for February delivery climbed as much as 81 cents to $51.32 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, and traded at $51.15 at 7:32 a.m. in London. It dropped 2.1 percent on Monday, falling for a second straight session.

Brent for March settlement gained 67 cents to $59.66 a barrel on the London-

based ICE Futures Europe exchange. The contract closed 2.5 percent lower on Monday. The global benchmark traded at a premium of $8.22 a barrel to WTI for the same month.

In the US, nationwide stockpiles probably declined 2.5 million barrels last week, according to a median estimate in a Bloomberg survey. If confirmed by the government data on Wednesday, that will mean inventory levels are staying near their lowest since early November.

Meanwhile, investor confidence is improving, with global equities recovering in Japan and Hong Kong. US index futures rose after the S&P 500 index of American stocks was dragged down on Monday as China’s slumping exports stoked fears over global growth. Still, investors are keeping a close eye on the potential impact of a partial US government shutdown that’s entered its fourth week. Bloomberg News

UK leader in frantic push to win Brexit deal backing

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ONDON—British Prime Minister Theresa May made a frantic last push on Monday to swing lawmakers’ support behind her seemingly doomed Brexit deal, warning that its defeat risked scuttling the United Kingdom’s departure from the European Union (EU) and “betraying the vote of the British people.”

May claimed to have gotten reassurances with “legal force” on key issues from the EU, and said history books would judge Parliament harshly if lawmakers did not back Britain’s orderly exit from the EU when they vote on the agreement on Tuesday.

“Over these next 24 hours, give this deal a second look,” May implored skeptical lawmakers in the House of Commons.

“With just 74 days to go until [Brexit day] the 29th of March, the consequences of voting against this deal tomorrow are becoming ever clearer,” she said.

May said rejecting her deal would lead either to a reversal of Brexit—overturning voters’ decision in a 2016 referendum—or to Britain leaving the bloc without a deal, a course that would damage the country’s economy, security and unity.

But the British leader had few concrete measures up her sleeve, and opposition to her deal remains dauntingly strong. A defeat on Tuesday would throw Brexit plans into disarray just weeks before the UK is due to withdraw from the bloc.

Britain and the EU reached a hard-won divorce deal in November, a milestone that should have set the UK on the road to an orderly exit.

But the compromise deal has been rejected by both sides of Britain’s EU divide.

Many Brexit-backing lawmakers say it will leave the UK tethered to the bloc’s rules and unable to forge an independent trade policy. Pro-Europeans argue it is

BRITAIN’S Prime Minister Theresa May delivers a speech during a visit to the Portmeirion pottery factory in Stoke-on-Trent, England, on Monday, January 14. May is due to make a statement in the House of Commons on Monday afternoon, a day before lawmakers are due to vote on her EU divorce deal. May argues that defeating the deal could open the way for EU-backing legislators to block Brexit. BEN BIRCHALL/PA VIA AP

inferior to the frictionless economic relationship Britain currently enjoys as an EU member.

May postponed a vote on the deal in December to avoid a resounding defeat, and there are few signs sentiment has changed significantly since then. A handful of previously opposed legislators have swung behind May’s agreement in the last few days, but they remain outnumbered by those determined to vote against it.

In a bid to win support, May sought reassurances from EU leaders about the deal’s most contentious measure—an insurance policy known as the “backstop”

that would keep Britain in an EU customs union to maintain an open border between the UK’s Northern Ireland and EU member Ireland after Brexit.

Pro-Brexit lawmakers worry that Britain could be trapped indefinitely in the arrangement, bound to EU trade rules and unable to strike new deals around the world.

In a letter to May published on Monday, European Council President Donald Tusk and European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker offered an assurance that the backstop “would only be in place for as long as strictly necessary.” AP

vestment, said Lian Weiliang, vice chairman of the National Development and Reform Commission, China’s planning agency.

“We will do our best in the spirit of getting it nailed down to ensure that the economy gets a good start in the first quarter and keep it within a reasonable range throughout the year,” Lian said.

Xu Hongcai, an assistant minister of finance, said the scale of tax reductions for the year would be about 1.3 trillion yuan ($190 billion).

“The focus is on enhancement and efficiency,” Xu said.

China’s communist leaders have been trying to guide the economy toward a more sustainable mode of growth in recent years by reducing reliance on massive investments in infrastructure and on export manufacturing, and expanding the services sector and private consumption.

It’s a balancing act that requires just enough spending and access to credit to support businesses without setting off inflation and driving asset prices perilously higher.

Zhu said the central bank would keep monetary policy sound, “forward-looking, flexible and pertinent.”

It’s unclear if that will suffice to keep manufacturing on an even keel as Beijing and Washington work to resolve their trade disputes.

Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping agreed on December 1 to postpone additional tariff hikes by 90 days while they negotiated. But the penalties of up to 25 percent already imposed on billions of dollars of each other’s goods remain in place, raising the cost for American and Chinese buyers of soybeans, medical equipment and other goods. AP

A6 Wednesday, January 16, 2019 • Editor: Angel R. Calso

Opinion BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

editorial

Rethinking PHL’s farm policies

T

HE goal of raising annual farm output by as much as 5 percent prompted the government more than a decade ago to start increasing the budget for the agriculture sector. That target, however, remained elusive. Despite billions of pesos poured into agricultural interventions, the expansion of crops and fisheries output from 2008 to 2017 never breached the 4-percent mark. And going by the recent statement of the chief of the Department of Agriculture (DA), the sector again exhibited lackluster performance in 2018 as output rose by a measly 1 percent.

From 2008, when the government decided to increase the DA’s budget, there were years when agricultural production grew by less than 2 percent.

The sector’s dismal performance in 2010, when output contracted by 0.12 percent, was blamed on the El Niño phenomenon. In 2015, production declined by nearly 1 percent in the fourth quarter after Typhoon Lando (international code name Koppu) ravaged North Luzon provinces that are considered top rice and corn producers. More strong typhoons visited the Philippines in 2016, causing output to decline by 1.41 percent.

Two years later, strong typhoons would again destroy standing rice and corn crops, particularly in Northern Luzon. Typhoon Ompong (international code name Mangkhut) damaged rice crops valued at P20 billion in 2018, which forced the DA to admit that full-year rice production likely contracted.

The previous administration had targeted farm-output growth of 3 to 5 percent, and this goal was adopted by the Duterte administration. Three years into the President’s term, however, it appears that the government would likely encounter difficulties in hitting this goal. The sector’s performance in 2017 gave us hope that it is on the road to seeing sustained increases in productivity. But it took just two typhoons to wipe out whatever gains achieved by the sector in the first two years of the Duterte administration.

The government’s economic blueprint, dubbed Philippine Development Plan, had outlined the strategies it will roll out to improve farm output.

So far, many of the PDP initiatives remain unfunded. Compounding the problem is the inaccessibility of affordable credit, which is why many farmers turn to loan sharks that charge onerous rates just so they can buy farm inputs. Although the DA has jump-started a credit program that extends cheap loans to farmers, it remains limited in scope.

The conversion of the quantitative restriction on rice into tariffs will pave the way for the establishment of the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund, which will come from rice import duties. Part of the RCEF would be earmarked for loans to rice farmers. However, despite the expected gains from the conversion of the rice QR, a study by government think tank Philippine Institute for Development Studies found that the mediocre performance of the agriculture sector won’t be reversed by tariffication. (See, “PIDS study: Mediocre farm performance to continue after tariffication,” in the BusinessMirror, January 11, 2019) While there are pockets of hope in the agriculture sector, such as government’s efforts to open up more markets for Philippine farm products, these are not enough to significantly hike the sector’s productivity. Aside from the huge investments required by the farm sector, the government must seriously look at the policies that need to be overhauled or tweaked in line with the country’s food-security requirements.

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Was there a massive passport data breach?

Susan V. Ople

SCRIBBLES

C

HILL, folks. No evil company, local or international, employed hi-tech little minions to cart away your personal passport details. There was no breach.

What did happen? Well, we have to travel back in time to piece this puzzle together.

Way back in 2001, when my father, then Sen. Blas F. Ople, accepted his appointment as secretary of foreign affairs, I served as his chief of staff. One of my first discoveries was a secured room within the huge Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) building with rows of tiny desks with personnel affixing the personal data page to the passports with glue and using script to write the applicants’ names.

The issues then were the poor quality of our passport booklets, and inevitable imperfections associated with such a laborious process. During that time there was also enormous pressure for the Philippines to elevate its quality standards to meet ICAO requirements. ICAO stands for the International Civil Aviation Organization, the United Nationsspecialized agency that oversees the governance of the Convention on International Civil Aviation.

Raising our Jurassic passports to ICAO standards required several implementation phases passed on from one administration to the next. During my father’s time, the transition focused on converting passports with manually attached data pages into machine-readable

ready passports. The passports were printed by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP).

When Ka Blas died, two other foreign affairs secretaries took over.

This was during the time of thenPresident Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

The secretaries were: Delia Albert and Alberto Romulo. Under their watch, the passports were still under the care of both the DFA and the BSP. The BSP tapped Oberthur Technologies, a well-regarded French digital security company, to design the personalization system from end to end, but with the database still squarely resting with the DFA and BSP. In 2014, the DFA received notice that the BSP was no longer interested in printing the Philippine passports. Why? The reason was never publicly revealed. By this time, the personalization system designed by Oberthur Technologies was completed and fully functional.

There was no abrupt, hostile ending of contract between the BSP and Oberthur Technologies. The French company did its job and moved on.

When the BSP relinquished its role as passport printer, the DFA felt it had no other choice but to enter into a contract with the APO Production Unit Inc., a government agency under the jurisdiction

of the Presidential Communications Office. This was when Secretary Herminio “Sonny” Coloma was presidential communications secretary, and Secretary Albert del Rosario served as DFA chief. Some say the transition from BSP to APUI was orchestrated. Some say it wasn’t. The facts can be easily established in a Senate or House hearing.

According to insiders, the DFA had to enter into an agreement with APUI because it was the only government agency that was willing to provide the DFA with a new epassport system as a governmentto-government deal. The fear then was, had there been no agreement between the DFA and APUI, then passport issuances would grind to a halt. APUI decided to take on a private-sector partner (United Graphic Expression Corp.) in order to fulfill its orders through a joint venture agreement. Did it officially inform the DFA about the JVA? And was DFA given the opportunity to vet UGEC given its role as the legal custodian of the Philippine passport? This, too, can be easily established.

Insiders said the DFA contract with APUI passed through the National Economic and Development Authority, Department of Science and Technology, the Department of Budget and Mananagement, and the Government Procurement Policy Board. What remains unclear is whether the joint venture agreement between APUI and the United Graphic Expression Corp. underwent the same rigorous and vigorous inter-agency review prior to its approval. An independent probe would help put this issue to rest. Such an investigation should also focus on this question: What happened to the personalization

system designed by Oberthur and the data already loaded in that system? A successful and efficient migration of that data meant doing away with birth certificates altogether as a requirement for passport renewal. Clearly, there was a glitch somewhere.

Looking back, we need to acknowledge the reforms that led to where we are now. Remember those days when foreign immigration officers singled us out for possessing a non-ICAO compliant passport?

Those days are over. Remember when online appointments meant waiting for months? That, too, has been solved. Overseas Filipino workers, senior citizens and persons with disability can walk-in and have their passports renewed. Validity is now good for 10 years. We can shop and apply for passports in our favorite mall. Life is better, yes?

For travelers who have let more than five years lapse before renewing their passports, the DFA requires that you bring a copy of your birth certificate with you. This is a onetime ask. Once you fulfill this requirement, every renewal (now extended to 10 years each time), will be a breeze. How many passport holders continue to fall under this category?

That is for the DFA to reveal. Why was their old data not included in UGEC’s e-passport system? This also needs to be explained.

Is it right for a private company to continue handling something as delicate and politically sensitive as our passports without being directly accountable to the DFA? Considering that we have entered an era where data is gold, the DFA must find a way to be directly and solely in control of the system, data and personalization of our passports. All roads (and tweets) must lead to this.

Europe needs a revolution in investment fund fees

By Mark Gilbert Bloomberg Opinion

I

N business, Adam Smith’s invisible hand often does the job of aligning the supply of and demand for financial products to the benefit of both buyers and sellers.

Sometimes, though, imbalances develop that require the heavy hand of the authorities to recalibrate the scales. Europe’s investment industry is a market sorely in need of intervention.

The European Securities Market Association (Esma) has just published a 117-page report analyzing the performance and costs of retail products in the European Union (EU). It makes for depressing reading—all the more so given the increasing need for the region’s aging population to put aside sufficient retirement funds to ensure

a decent standard of living in its twilight years.

T he high light— or lowlight, if you prefer—is the measure of just how much investors are paying for the privilege of investing in so-called Undertakings for Collective Investments in Transferable Securities, the EU’s €10-trillion ($11.5-trillion) equivalent of the US mutual fund industry. The study shows that, between 2015 and 2017, costs eroded returns by an average of 25 percent across different asset classes. Returns on bond funds were so low in 2017 that fees, which haven’t changed much in recent years, absorbed more than half of the gross returns. Those are incredible numbers.

Moreover, Esma said it found “high heterogeneity in costs across member states,” suggesting that the passport

system that allows firms to sell investment products across the bloc’s national boundaries isn’t resulting in the sorts of competitive pressures that would bring fees down.

The study also provides more ammunition, if it were needed, for the cheerleaders of low-cost index tracking products. On a one- to three-year horizon through 2017, Esma reckons that the higher gross returns generated by actively managed funds were so reduced by their higher fees that their net performance matched that of passive strategies. Over the longer term, those elevated fees cost investors.

Unsurprisingly, costs are higher for retail buyers than institutional investors. Esma estimates individual investors pay 1.9 percentage points in fees for equity funds compared with about one point levied on institutional clients, while for fixed-income prod-

ucts the retail premium is more than half a point.

Perhaps more worryingly, those gaps persist across all of the time horizons measured by the agency, ranging from one year to a decade.

That shows fund providers haven’t cut their costs as governments and employers force employees to take more personal responsibility for their pension provision.

And that matters. Part of the European Commission’s drive to create an integrated Capital Markets Union is to encourage individual investors to shift their savings from bank accounts and into stocks, bonds and other securities to “meet the challenges posed by population aging and low interest rates,” as Esma puts it.

So what is to be done? Esma isn’t, and shouldn’t be, in the business of See “Europe,” A7

Opinion BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

US is a meritocracy: It’s still not fair Leonid Bershidsky

BLOOMBERG

M

UCH of the current debate about inherited wealth in a number of Western countries is informed by the notion that most of today’s top incomes are the product of passive returns on financial capital rather than labor. But in a new National Bureau of Economic Research working paper, four US economists stipulate that much of that income actually comes from the returns on the aptitudes, or human capital, of the working rich; these returns are so great because large human capital is exceedingly rare.

In their important 2018 work, “Distributional National Accounts,” Thomas Piketty, Emmanuel Saez and Gabriel Zucman wrote that, “in contrast to earlier decades, the increase in income concentration over the past 15 years derives from a boom in the income from equity and bonds at the top.” This implies that the top incomes of the 20th century—those of top executives, star performers and professional athletes—grew because the richest received bigger pay for work considered unique. Now the elite grows wealthier simply by virtue of owning assets. The authors say the new state of affairs is manifestly unfair, especially since the assets can be passed by inheritance, creating an idle owner class, somewhat like the old aristocracy, that vacuums up much of societies’ cash.

In the new paper, “Capitalists in the Twenty-First Century,” Matthew Smith of the US Treasury Department’s Office of Tax Analysis, Danny Yagan of the University of California at Berkeley, Owen Zidar of Princeton Univesity and Eric Zwick of the University of Chicago take issue with the conclusions of Piketty et al. They argue that about three-quarters of the passthrough business income the biggest US earners receive is, in effect, payment for work or returns from human capital, such as expertise, connections and reputation.

About 84 percent of the top 0.1 percent of earners receive some passthrough income from businesses that aren’t subject to corporate tax.

“A typical firm owned by the top 0.1 percent,” the economists write, “is a regional business with $20 million in sales and 100 employees, such as an auto dealer, beverage distributor or a large law firm.”

For the top 1 percent, who account for about 40 percent of US wealth, pass-through income typically comes from small professional services firms or medical practices.

The recipients of pass-through income are typically involved in these small- and medium-sized businesses; 70 percent of people in the US who earn $1 million work for a living. For tax reasons, they choose to receive compensation as pass-through income rather than wages. Moreover, 75 percent of top earners are selfmade, meaning their parents came from the bottom 99 percent.

To figure out how much of that income is the product of the earners’ human capital, Smith, Yagan, Zidar and Zwick compared the income flows from closely held firms in which working-age owners have died or retired to those of companies where the owners remained in place. They found that after death or retirement, profits accruing to

Europe. . .

continued from A6

imposing caps on how much investment managers charge for their services. But it can insist that the firms it oversees do a better job of being transparent about their fees, which, in turn, would give investors better information when making their selections.

Smith’s invisible hand could then do a better job in helping money flow to the most cost-effective solutions.

owners drop by more than threequarters. This doesn’t mean the companies are no longer well-managed once the founders are gone: A lot of the profit now goes to professional outside managers.

Studying the effects of owner death and retirement led the researchers to conclude that about 75 percent of pass-through income is the product of labor rather than capital. “An important role for human capital is consistent with the view that the demand for top human capital has outpaced its supply, with the returns to top human capital increasingly taking the form of business income,” they wrote.

In other words, people with a high human capital—outstanding expertise, lucrative networks, a stellar reputation—are in such great demand that their earning potential has gone through the roof in this century, and high earners have mostly seen fit to record their earnings as business income rather than wages. This is meritocracy at work rather than some kind of aristocracyformation process.

The findings in the Smith paper, however, aren’t necessarily a moral justification of modern capitalism.

As the authors point out, “returns to top owner-managers need not be socially optimal.” Their human capital can include connections within the country’s elite or access to lucrative government contracts. Privilege and corruption aren’t fair or socially useful, but they do boost some people’s earning potential.

Researchers and wealthy individuals often discuss the pitfalls of passing fortunes by inheritance. But even if the governments take most of the assets away through taxes or if the top 0.1 percent decide to leave their children nothing but a good education, the kids will still get an unfair start compared with the rest. They’ll be able to draw on their parents’ networks, including their “socially suboptimal” parts, and the fortunes they make in the process will be booked under “returns to human capital.” That’s not particularly meritocratic.

Leveling out this sort of unfair advantage defies simple solutions. Even estimating the share of income that accrues to inherited social capital is no easy task; we know, for example, how much money Donald J. Trump inherited from his father, but we don’t know how much of Trump’s subsequent income is attributable to his father’s connections. And yet, if Smith and collaborators are right and human capital is king, this kind of inheritance—sometimes from parents in the 99 percent, too—could well be an important contributor to income inequality.

Esma notes that its study was impaired by “the unavailability of important cost data elements” including distribution and transaction costs and performance fees, as well as a lack of common reporting across the different EU countries.

If the market regulator can’t get to the bottom of fee numbers—the biggest factor investors can control when choosing where to put their money—what hope is there for Joe and Josephine Average trying to save for retirement?

Wednesday, January 16, 2019 A7

Ivanka as president of the World Bank? Don’t laugh

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By Tyler Cowen |Bloomberg Opinion

HAT if Donald J. Trump were to nominate his daughter Ivanka to be president of the World Bank?

I know the White House has denied the rumor that he will, but it has denied rumors before. And I am here to tell you that it might not be so bad.

For one, picking Ivanka could work out well for the bank’s current standing in Washington. Republicans in Congress have long failed to embrace foreign aid with enthusiasm, even if they sometimes voted for it. If she were running the World Bank, suddenly Republicans would be committed to the idea of foreign aid in general and the bank in particular.

If you think this unlikely, remember that in the Trump era, Republicans in Congress have proved themselves to be a remarkably flexible bunch. They will put up with, defend or deny almost anything—including campaign contacts with Russia, or the confiscation of private property under a “state of emergency” to build an anti-immigration wall.

Surely they can swallow the mildly bitter pill that is embracing the World Bank. Libertarians may not like that landing point for the Republican Party, but if you want a durable and politically popular World Bank, Ivanka’s tenure might just be a dream come true.

You might argue that Ivanka is not qualified to run the World Bank, and I might agree with you. (She would

not be my personal pick; how about Carly Fiorina, Kristin J. Forbes or Arthur Brooks?) Yet, consider that the previous president, Jim Yong Kim, was highly qualified on paper.

He cofounded a famous foreign-aid public health group, has a PhD in anthropology, was a professor at Harvard Medical School and the Harvard School of Public Health, and then president of Dartmouth.

As an Asian-American, he had the potential to be a powerful symbol of multicultural governance.

Yet by most accounts his tenure at the bank was a failure. He alienated much of the staff, and his organizational changes (after first creating chaos and bad morale) were largely reversed. Now he is leaving suddenly, years before his term is up, allowing Trump to appoint his replacement.

Not only that: Kim is moving to a for-profit infrastructure firm, hardly the best symbolism for the leader of an institution that is supposed to be about helping the global poor.

The sad reality is this: If Ivanka took over the reins of the bank, she probably would be an improvement.

Remember that Ivanka already has played a role in the World Bank.

Remember that Ivanka already has played a role in the World Bank. In 2017 she was a leading force behind setting up a $1-billion fund, supported by Saudi Arabia, for the bank to encourage entrepreneurship by women.

Would it be so terrible if that were the new priority, with bipartisan support? She could spend her time lobbying the US government for a capital increase.

In 2017 she was a leading force behind setting up a $1-billion fund, supported by Saudi Arabia, for the bank to encourage entrepreneurship by women. Would it be so terrible if that were the new priority, with bipartisan support? She could spend her time lobbying the US government for a capital increase.

That said, if Trump is a one-term president, she could be gone before she could have much of an impact, one way or the other. It is worth noting that the bank has a large and well-trained staff, the institution is difficult to control or steer, and the processes for loans and projects stretch for many years.

There is also the question of nepotism. I would argue that a modest degree of it is an unfortunate but survivable feature of the US political

system. Former President Bill Clinton picked Hillary Clinton to spearhead his health-care plan, after all, and many Democrats supported that idea at the time and remained loyal to the Clintons for years thereafter.

As for the reputation of the World Bank, recall that President George W. Bush nominated Paul Wolfowitz, one of the intellectual architects of the Iraq War, to be president of the bank.

For an international institution that does so much work in the Middle East and receives so much support from Europe, such a pick was fraught with reputational dangers. But the work of the World Bank proceeded more or less on normal terms under Wolfowitz, who was president for only two years.

Ivanka, in contrast to Wolfowitz, is actually a pretty popular figure in many countries, especially China.

There is also the possibility that Trump is not really intending to appoint Ivanka to the post, as it would involve too many tedious meetings and limit her ability to speak publicly.

Maybe it is a negotiating ploy so that everyone will sigh with relief when the president picks some boring, Trumpian white guy instead.

Again, I would not pick her myself. And her mere nomination by her father would not necessarily get Ivanka the job; the president of the World Bank is chosen by the board.

But these days, I am “long popcorn.” If her name appears in the headlines, I am not going to be disappointed.

NK’s nuclear program quietly advances, pressuring Trump

By Jon Herskovitz & Youkyung Lee | Bloomberg Opinion

K

IM JONG UN told the world this month that North Korea took steps to stop making nuclear weapons in 2018, a shift from his earlier public statements. The evidence shows production has continued, and possibly expanded.

Satellite-imagery analysis and leaked American intelligence suggest North Korea has churned out rockets and warheads as quickly as ever in the year since Kim halted weapons tests, a move that led to his June summit with US President Donald J. Trump. The regime probably added several intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBM), nuclear proliferation analysts say, with one arms control group estimating that Kim gained enough fissile material for about six more nuclear bombs, bringing North Korea’s total to enough for between 30 and 60.

“There is no indication that their nuclear and missile programs have slowed or paused,” said Melissa Hanham, the director of the One Earth Future Foundation’s Datayo Project and an expert in using satellite imagery and other publicly available data to analyze weapons proliferation.

“Rather it has reached a new stage.”

Recent reports have shown that North Korea continued to operate two suspected uranium enrichment facilities—one near its long-established Yongbyon nuclear center and another location suspected of being a gas centrifuge site. In July US Secretary of State Michael Pompeo acknowledged in Senate testimony that North Korea was still producing fissile material.

Other reports suggest North Korea bolstered its arsenal in the run-up to the Trump summit and still runs a plant believed to have produced Kim’s first ICBMs capable of reaching the US homeland. They say the regime recently expanded a factory probably making engines for new, easier-to-hide solid-fuel rockets and enlarged an underground base for long-range missiles.

The reports underline what’s at stake as Trump considers holding a second summit with Kim, which the US president says could come “in the not-too-distant future.”

While Trump has credited Kim’s decision to halt weapons tests and dismantle a few testing facilities with preventing a war in the Western Pacific, those moves haven’t prevented North Korea from building

new weapons out of sight that could threaten the US.

Fortifying arsenal

SKEPTICISM remains about Kim’s denuclearization pledges, including his assertion in a New Year’s speech that he agreed in 2018 to “neither make and test nuclear weapons any longer, nor use and proliferate them.” A year ago, Kim ordered the mass production of warheads and ballistic missiles after suspending weapons tests following the launch of an ICBM capable of reaching the entire US—the last of more than 40 conducted in a 24-month span.

Nonproliferation analysts say Kim’s strategy appears to be quietly fortifying the arsenal he has while creating the diplomatic climate necessary for North Korea to get sanctions lifted and be tolerated as a nuclear state.

The stalled nuclear talks with the Trump administration have given Kim the space to perfect the technologies needed to strike the US. Analysts say it’s only a matter of time before he acquires a targeting system and a reentry vehicle capable of delivering a warhead safely through the atmosphere.

“I don’t know of a country that has produced an ICBM and found that building a reentry vehicle to be a substantial barrier,” said Jeffrey Lewis, a specialist on proliferation at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies in Monterey, California. Lewis and his colleagues produced several reports showing Kim’s continued weapons development last year, identifying the probable site of a covert uraniumenrichment facility north of Pyongyang and an expanded missile base near the Chinese border.

Target list

IN recent days, Kim has also made clear that any disarmament deal with Trump would also require removing the US’s nuclear-capable planes and warships from the region. He’s shown little interest in declaring his nuclear assets as sought by US officials, with state media last month comparing it

The stalled nuclear talks with the Trump administration have given Kim the space to perfect the technologies needed to strike the US. Analysts say it’s only a matter of time before he acquires a targeting system and a reentry vehicle capable of delivering a warhead safely through the atmosphere. to handing over a target list.

Without disclosures and inspections, it’s impossible to know exactly what weapons North Korea possesses. The secretive regime has for decades relied on deception and a vast network of tunnels and clandestine facilities to hide the components of its nuclear arms program from government spy agencies, let alone commercial satellites.

Pompeo told Fox News on Friday that international verification of North Korea’s denuclearization remained the administration’s goal as it works to secure a second summit.

‘This knowledge is declining’

“REDUCING the threat from North Korea, whether that’s by our success to date in stopping their missile testing, stopping their nuclear testing, those are the important elements,” he said. “We’ve got to get to full and final denuclearization.”

Pompeo may meet a senior aide to the North Korean leader in Washington this week to discuss another summit between Trump and Kim, Chosun Ilbo newspaper of South Korea reported, citing an unidentified person familiar with the matter.

North Korea canceled a similar meeting with Pompeo at the last minute in November.

An analysis of satellite imagery published by the 38 North web site on January 9 showed that the Yongbyon Nuclear Scientific Research Center, which Kim suggested he might dismantle in exchange for US concessions, remains operational and well maintained. While the main facilities don’t appear to be working, the uranium enrichment plant was a possible exception.

Inspectors say Kim’s nuclear program has reached a stage where it can progress without obvious tests, making it even more difficult to monitor. The International Atomic Energy Agency underscored that

concern in an August report, saying “knowledge of the DPRK’s nuclear program is limited and, as further nuclear activities take place in the country, this knowledge is declining.”

“They don’t need to test their ICBMs because they are satisfied with the performance,” said Hanham, who worked at the Middlebury Institute until November. “Instead, they are following Kim Jong Un’s order to mass produce nuclear weapons and the missiles needed to deliver them.”

How many nuclear warheads North Korea holds is also unknown.

The nonpartisan Arms Control Association estimated last year that the regime possessed at least 15 warheads and was churning out enough fissile material to produce six to seven more bombs annually.

“But there is a high degree of uncertainty surrounding these estimates,” the Arms Control Association said. By 2020, it could have anywhere from 20 to 100 warheads, potentially exceeding Israel’s 80 estimated bombs.

A comparison to Israel may be apt, since the country’s weapons program is tolerated by the international community in part because it stays out of sight. Kim appears to want this sort of “opacity” for his own arsenal, according to Lewis from the Middlebury Institute.

South Korea believes that North Korea possesses 50 kilograms (110 pounds) of weapons-grade plutonium and a “considerable” amount of highly enriched uranium, its Ministry of Defense said in a biennial security report released on Tuesday, reaffirming its previous assessment. It added the country has made significant strides for miniaturizing a nuclear warhead to mount on a missile.

Meanwhile, the international sanctions regime that Kim blames for stifling efforts to develop his impoverished country appears to be doing little to prevent North Korea from building more missiles and warheads. Kim only needs enough money and material to build a few ICBMs a year to cement his country’s status as a nuclear power.

“While the sanctions may put a squeeze on the economy, they are not harming the weapons program,” Lewis said. “There hasn’t been any significant political or economic pressure in the past year that would curtail North Korea’s weapons program.”

2nd Front Page BusinessMirror

A8 Wednesday, January 16, 2019

‘Early passage of ’19 budget crucial for MSME, economy’

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By Elijah Felice E. Rosales @alyasjah & Butch Fernandez @butchfBM

HE proposed 2019 national budget has to be approved the soonest, as it covers additional funding for the government’s microfinance program for small businesses, according to the country’s trade chief.

This, as a senior lawmaker on Tuesday also pushed for early passage of the budget, but for another reason: to avert the negative economic implications if the government continues to operate on last year’s budget.

The Duterte administration needs to step up lobbying efforts in Congress to front-load final passage of the P3.7-trillion budget bill within the month, according to Senate President Pro Tempore

Ralph G. Recto.

In a statement, Trade Secretary Ramon M. Lopez said the Pondo sa Pagbabago at Pag-asenso (P3) program has so far served 62,000 borrowers. He claimed the fund could benefit more small enterprises if the national budget for this year is ratified by Congress.

“We have to wait for the 2019 budget approval for the new P1.5billion fund to cover more borrowers,” Lopez said.

Once the money measure is approved, the P3 program will have a working capital of P3.9 billion.

In its accomplishment report, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) claimed P2.4 billion in loans were released from the fund last year.

“We can hit about 80,000 [borrowers] with the current P2-billion funding because we are able to [lend again] the repaid loans, and now total approved loans have been P2.4 billion, coming from a P2-billion funding,” Lopez added.

The government is operating on a reenacted budget, after lawmakers failed to pass the 2019 money measure over a number of reasons, including the late transmittal by the House to the Senate and controversies over alleged insertions made by the Department of Budget and Management in its proposal. Still, Lopez is optimistic “that the budget will be approved soon.”

Increased capital for the P3 program could be crucial with the number of registered enterprises now at

1.39 million in 2018 from 900,000 in 2017, according to figures from the DTI. The P3 program is the government’s microfinance scheme that allows small businesses to borrow up to P200,000 with a maximum interest rate of 2.5 percent monthly and with no collateral. It is intended to counter the onerous 5-6 lending—valued at about P30 billion by the government—which slaps an interest rate of 20 percent per day, week or month.

‘Only until January’

“THE reenacted budget should only last until January,” Recto said on Tuesday, voicing concern that “it has an effect on the economy.”

At the same time, Recto batted for the restoration of additional funding for health services in this year’s budget.

“We need to increase the budget of the Department of Health,” Recto stressed, even as he noted that the “reason for the cut is its absorptive capacity.”

See “Budget,” A2

Pay hike bid made ahead of meeting on TRAIN

By Samuel P. Medenilla

A

@sam_medenilla

N interagency meeting will be held this week to review the effects of the first year of implementation of the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) Act. In a press conference on Tuesday, the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) said it has

been invited by the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) to participate in the event.

Among the expected issues to be discussed in the meeting are the government interventions for sectors deemed vulnerable to the impact of TRAIN. “This is probably where the updates on the subsidies [which are being demanded by labor] will be discussed,” DOLE’s Bureau of

NORTHEAST MONSOON AFFECTING LUZON AND VISAYAS as of 4:00 pm - January 15, 2019

Local Employment (BLE) Dominiqué R. Tutay told reporters.

She was referring to the P500 government subsidy being sought by the Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP) for minimumwage earners to allow them to cope with the effects of TRAIN. A source privy to the interagency meeting told the BusinessMirror the event will be held by the DBM on Wednesday.

Following the implementation of the second tranche of the excise tax for fuel products under the TRAIN law this month, labor groups are now demanding for another round of wage hike to offset its impact on the cost of living.

Last year, TR AIN raised the price for fuel products by P2.5 per liter. It increased by another P1.5 per liter during the start of the year.

The TUCP said it is now mulling over filing another round of petitions at the regional wage board to raise minimum-wage rates ranging from P313 to P355 in their respective jurisdictions.

To justify the petitions, TUCP President Raymond Mendoza said they will cite the increase in the prices of diesel and gasoline as supervening events.

Under Republic Act 6727, or the Wage Rationalization Act, regional wage boards cannot grant consecutive wage hikes within a year unless there is a supervening event in their jurisdiction.

“We are also going to test once again the capacity of the wage boards to remain relevant with its mandate to raise the minimum wage to an amount that can ably support a family,” Mendoza said.

Militant labor group Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU) said it will demand a P750 legislated minimumwage hike to give immediate relief to TRAIN-affected workers.

“It does not bode well that in the early days of 2019 the Filipino workers are already faced with price hikes. The spike in oil prices will reverse the slowdown of inflation in the last months of 2018 and may trigger an even quicker inflation this year,” KMU Secretary-General Jerome Adonis said in another statement.

Employers: Chill!

INFLATION is easing, so should labor groups. Business leaders on Tuesday argued there is no need for workers to ask for a new wage hike, as commodity prices are stabilizing reflected by recent inflation data.

Business executives interviewed by the BusinessMirror expect the government to simply dismiss any petition from labor groups to increase wages.

They said inflation tempered Continued on A2

www.businessmirror.com.ph

HANJIN WOES IMPACT BANKS; NEW CLARK CITY BECKONS TO WORKERS

T

HE loan default of Hanjin Heavy Industries and Construction-Philippines (HHICPhil) may have challenged the affected banks’ operating environment, but is unlikely to materially impact the overall stability of the Philippine financial system, an international think tank said.

In an assessment paper released on Tuesday, Fitch Solutions—the research arm of Fitch Group—said the Philippine banks’ exposure to the troubled company is “not a systemic problem and is unlikely to threaten financial stability in the country in the near term.”

“Crucially, Philippine banks as a whole have strong capital buffers and low nonperforming loans on their balance sheets,” Fitch Solutions said, noting further that there is a “low concentration risk” as the HHIC-Phil’s loan exposure is shared by five banks.

Fitch Solutions added, “Secondly, all five banks have reportedly come together to take control of Hanjin’s assets in the Philippines, and agreed that no single lender will unilaterally seize the company’s assets. This should give the company some time to rehabilitate, and there has been precedent of lenders being able to recoup their losses after the period.”

Last, it noted, “the Philippine banking system as a whole boasts

BOL. . .

Continued from A1

elections, referenda, recall votes and plebiscites in the budget of the Commission on Elections [Comelec],” Diokno said in a statement.

“Furthermore, the Comelec has prior years’ continuing appropriations [from 2015 to 2017] amounting to P409.5 million as of end-September 2018, which they can tap to cover the funding requirements of the plebiscite,” he added.

The DBM said the Comelec may also use unobligated allotments amounting to P10.4 billion as of end-September 2018 for preparatory activities in the national and local elections lodged in the builtin appropriations of the Comelec.

“Now, to appease concerns that there is not enough money for the Bangsamoro plebiscite, the Comelec may also request for more funding through the Contingent Fund, subject to approval of the Office of the President, in case the above cited sources are fully utilized,” Diokno said. “We want to give peace a chance in the Bangsamoro region, and we are prepared and willing to fund this exercise to the fullest.”

On Monday, Andaya said the DBM “forgot to include” the P857 million needed for the BOL plebiscite in the P10 billion allocated for the Comelec in the 2019 national budget.

Malacañang confirmed through a schedule sent to Palace reporters that the President will attend the Peace Assembly for the Ratification of the BOL in Cotabato.

Panelo is optimistic that the President can persuade people in Cotabato to vote for the ratification of the BOL, which aims to end the decades-long conflict in Mindanao since “the President’s voice is a powerful influencing voice.”

He also said the President will abide by the decision of Mindanao voters. “If despite the support and campaign, the overwhelming majority or even a slight majority says they are against it, the President cannot do anything but to comply with the sovereign voice of the people in Mindanao.”

‘Peaceful exercise’

LAWMAKERS from Mindanao

3,812

The number of workers still remaining at Hanjin Subic. The DOLE’s Region 3 chief said firms in the economic zones in Clark, Bataan and Subic contacted them on the possibility of absorbing the workers robust capital and liquidity buffers, while asset quality remains healthy, with the nonperforming loans ratio well-below crisis levels.”

Rough time for banks FITCH, however, warned that Philippine banks will be sailing in rough seas ahead, not only due to this loan —which is seen to be the biggest in the recent history of Philippine banking—but because of other factors, as well. “...We maintain our expectation for credit growth to slow and asset quality to weaken over the coming quarters, as the operating environment becomes more challenging due to slowing economic growth momentum and tightening monetary conditions,” Fitch Solutions said.

See “Hanjin,” A2

on Tuesday expressed confidence that the BOL plebiscite on January 21 and February 6 will be held peacefully.

Deputy Speaker Bai Sandra E. Sema and Anak Mindanao Rep. Amihilda Sangcopan also told reporters in a news conference that the Philippine Army and Philippine National Police (PNP) are monitoring the peace situation in the region.

“Our Army and our PNP are on top of the situation, considering that the Moro National Liberation Front and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front are also part of those securing the areas [where the plebiscite will be held],” Sema said.

“There will always be threats, but as to how it will be dealt by our security forces, we have 1,000 percent confidence in them,” she added.

Sema said Muslims, Christians, lumads, and people from other faiths will hold a prayer rally for peace and unity on Friday in Cotabato City “to pray for peace, harmony, and the success of the ratification of the BOL.” With this, Sema filed House Resolution 2404, declaring January 18, 2019, as “a Day of Prayer to pray for peace in the Bangsamoro Homeland as the voters prepare to ratify Republic Act 11054, or the Organic Law for the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.”

On the same day, Sema said different cause-oriented groups in Cotabato City will walk from Sinsuat Avenue to the Oval Ground of the Cotabato City State Polytechnic College where the Grand Rally for the BOL, expected to be the biggest inter-faith rally in the region, will be held.

“We ask all qualified voters to participate in the plebiscite on January 21 and February 6 and be part of this historic event that will unify all people in the Bangsamoro Homeland,” she said.

“The Organic Law guarantees, among other things, the right of the Bangsamoro people to practice their religion and conform to their way of life even as the corresponding rights of other Filipinos within the Bangsamoro Homeland are preserved and protected,” Sema added.

Editor: Efleda P. Campos

Companies BusinessMirror

Wednesday, January 16, 2019

B1

FMIC: Capital raising from debt, equities markets to recover in 2019

C

By VG Cabuag

@villygc

APITAL raising from both the equities and debt markets may recover this year, after a slump due to market jitters in 2018, investment bank First Metro Investment Corp. (FMIC) said.

Jose Pacifico E. Marcelo, FMIC senior executive vice president, said issuances might rise by 51 percent to P824 billion from last year’s P546 billion combined.

“With a better economic outlook and more favorable financial environment for 2019, we expect capital raising to recover from 25 percent in 2018 to expand this year by 51 percent,” Marcelo said in the bank’s semiannual briefing.

Capital raising from the fixedincome sector, down by almost half in 2018 to P319 billion, may double this year to P618 billion due to the expected quadrupling of bank bonds, he said.

Volume of trade from the equities market, meanwhile, may ease by 9 percent to about P206 billion from last year’s P227 billion.

“IPOs [initial public offerings] are, however, expected to pick up

with deferred issues from 2018, boosting volume by 62 billion in 2019, from only P8 billion in 2018,” said Marcelo who is stepping down from his position in the bank in the coming weeks.

The Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) earlier targeted to have eight IPOs in 2018, but only one materialized, DM Wenceslao and Associates Inc., which raised P8.15 billion.

Del Monte Philippines Inc. and Taiwanese firm Cal-Comp Technology (Philippines) Inc.—which both pulled out their respective IPO plans last year—may push through this year, while investment banks along with the regulators are already preparing for a possible listing of the country’s first real-estate investment trust or REITs. PSE president Ramon S. Monzon earlier said they are still targeting a P200 billion raised from the PSE this year, but that will be harder to achieve as banks have already

raised their capital this year, and there’s a new regulation that makes it easier for lenders to raise money through bonds.

“What are the challenges for next year? All the big banks have already raised capital from Metrobank, BPI, RCBC, and even worse now, bank bonds now have been approved, so everybody go to the bank bonds because the requirement there is very small,” he said.

FMIC Vice President Cristina S. Ulang said the main index, the PSEi, may close between 8,400 points and about 8,800 points by end of the year due to an election upside.

That closing would be between 18 times and 19 times of its price per earnings ratio.

“Last year, we were worse in terms of valuation. So this year is the right time for foreign funds to come into the market as valuations may improve. We are on the higher side of growth,” Ulang said.

PHL could be Asia’s turnaround story in 2019

By Claire Jiao Bloomberg News

T

HE Philippine economy is staging a comeback this year.

After last year’s inflation shock, a 5-percent slump in the currency and a widening current-account deficit, pressure is starting to ease. Consumer-price growth slowed last month, the peso and stocks are rebounding, and the current account is set to remain manageable.

Economic growth is expected to exceed 6 percent, and reserve buffers are among the strongest in global emerging markets, according to

Moody’s Investors Service.

“We’ve seen the worst in 2018,” said Jonathan Ravelas, chief market strategist at BDO Unibank Inc. in Manila. “We are cautiously optimistic because we know we’re not there anymore.”

The benchmark Philippine stock index has risen more than 7 percent this year, the biggest gainer in Asia.

The peso is up 0.8 percent to 52.2 per dollar, after being one of hardest hit by an emerging-market rout in 2018.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. forecasts the peso will strengthen to 50 per dollar over the next 12 months, according to a note on Monday. The

tightening in financial conditions last year should slow domestic demand and import growth, helping support the current account, it said.

“There’s more room for the peso to rebound, with sufficient reserve buffers and quite solid fundamentals,” said Koji Fukaya, CEO at FPG Securities Co. in Tokyo.

The Philippines has the advantage of having low foreign-debt obligations. External debt payments due this year and total nonresident deposits over one year are estimated at 25 percent of foreign reserves for 2019, the lowest among 19 emerging markets tracked by Bloomberg, ac-

cording to Moody’s forecasts.

Remittances from Filipinos living abroad are a key pillar of support for the economy and the currency, amounting to 10 percent of gross domestic product. Those inflows rose 2.8 percent in November from a year ago, according to data released on Tuesday.

As economic fundamentals firm up, they should offset risks including a prolonged US-China trade war and an uptick in world oil prices, which hampered the economy last year.

“The waters are no longer murky.

Investors are ready to dive back into the Philippines,” Ravelas said.

AboitizPower Russian bizmen keen on investing on track to meet ₧8B in Mindanao banana plantation energy target of 4K MW by 2020

By Jasper Emmanuel Y. Arcalas @jearcalas

A

BOITIZ Power Corp. (AboitizPower) is well on track of hitting its energy capacity of 4,000 megawatts (MW) by 2020, its top official said on Tuesday.

“We will achieve 4,000 megawatts by 2020.

There are a number of power projects lined up for commercial operation,” Chief Operating Officer Emmanuel Rubio said.

The power firm’s current attributable power capacity is 3,200 MW, of which 1,200 MW is renewable energy (RE).

Therma Visayas Inc.’s (TVI) 300-MW power plant in Toledo, Cebu, will be coming on line in April this year.

“TVI’s commercial operation date is by April.

It’s delayed. We had expected its COD in September 2018, but plants like this will have issues,” Rubio said.

He added that the 68-MW Manolo Fortich hydropower project of Hedcor Bukidnon is waiting for regulatory approval.

“Once we have GNPower Dinginin’s two units, then we can already achieve 4,000 MW,” he said.

GNPower Dinginin is developing a supercritical coal-fired power plant with two identical units with a net capacity of 668 MW each. The two GNPower plants will help the company meet the 4,000-MW target. Also, these are essential in the company’s commitment to securing a balanced energy mix to support the country’s energy security.

On overseas expansion, the power firm is looking at RE projects in Vietnam, Myanmar and Indonesia.

“We are always on the lookout. We are open to any opportunity. The primary focus in these areas is renewable energy. Being able to have a local partner in those areas is critical when you go overseas,” Rubio said. Lenie Lectura

A

GROUP of Russian businessmen is keen on investing at least P8 billion in Mindanao to develop 5,000 hectares of Cavendish banana plantation. The project is expected to generate 10,000 jobs, Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel F. Piñol said.

The Russian group, represented

by French-Russian businessman Robert Gaspar, is eyeing the Moro Islamic Liberation Front’s (MILF) main enclave of Camp Abubakar as its plantation site, Piñol added.

Together with Maguindanao Gov. Esmael Mangudadatu, Piñol accompanied the Russian group in visiting the proposed banana plantation area

in Barangay Oring, Buldon, Maguindanao, on January 14.

“This is an exciting development, especially for Bangsamoro. We really believe that, with the ratification of the Bangsamoro Organic Law, the government must be able to provide something to the people in the Bangsamoro area to feel that things have changed since signing the agreement,” he said in a news briefing on Tuesday.

Piñol said the Russian investment is expected to be finalized soon as the businessmen and the owners of the proposed plantation area iron out on January 24 the type of business arrangement they would agree on.

“The meeting, which will be attended by the MILF Central Committee member Ed Guerra and land-

owner leaders and representatives of the Russian business group, will discuss the arrangements between the investors and the landowners,” he said. Citing Gaspar, Piñol said the Cavendish bananas produced from the proposed banana plantation would be shipped to Russia.

“The Russian Business Group has expressed interest in investing in the Philippines following the visit of President Duterte to Moscow in May 2017 and his succeeding engagements with Russian President Vladimir Putin,” he said.

Piñol said the Russian group is even planning to have a 20,000-hectare banana plantation in Mindanao.

The cost of developing 1 hectare of banana plantation is around P1.2 million, Piñol added.

DOT will not accredit hotels, other establishments if not cleared by DENR, DILG

By Ma. Stella F. Arnaldo

Special to the BusinessMirror

N

O permits, no accreditation.

This was the stern warning of Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo Puyat to hotels and other accommodation establishments in the Manila Bay area on Tuesday, as environment and interior officials laid out the procedures to be undertaken in the water body’s rehabilitation.

“We will not give them [hotels] accreditation without DENR [Department of Environment and Natural Resources] and DILG [Department of the Interior and Local Government] compliance,” she told reporters at a press briefing, although she said her agency has “continually been consulting” with the establishments.

Asked whether hotels had already moved to address their possible environmental issues, she said, “We still have to meet with the Tourism Congress of the Philippines. We told them to wait for our advice. What we did in Boracay for all establishments, we will also do here [in the Manila Bay rehab].”

As this developed, Sen. Nancy Binay, chairman of the upper chamber’s Committee on Tourism, urged government authorities to carefully plan the rehabilitation of Manila Bay and involve all its stakeholders in the discussion, instead of immediately closing hotels and other tourism establishments.

“Learning from the Boracay experience, let’s take the Manila Bay rehabilitation challenge as an opportunity to plan it for the better. Isantabi na natin ’yung [Let’s do away with] knee-jerk reactions ng pagpapasara ng [like closing down] tourist establishments, which has painful impacts on jobs, businesses and the economy,” she told the BusinessMirror.

She added, “After Boracay, I believe we are on the journey to better environmental compliance.

Stakeholders are now positively responding to a growing environmental awareness; business establishments are now more engaged in corrective measures; NGOs [nongovernment organizations] now have a strong green representation in all levels of governance; LGUs [local government units] are listening; media is spreading the green message; and, most important, environmental consciousness is back on the table.”

She thus stressed, “‘Wag na natin sayangin ang pagkakataong ito. [Let’s not waste this opportunity.] Let’s start on the right foot in rehabilitating Manila Bay and waterfronts.

Listen better, and plan better to bring Manila Bay back to life.”

DENR officials have threatened to close down hotels, condominium units and other establishments found polluting Manila Bay. Fecal coliform levels in the

water body, which spans three regions including the National Capital Region, has reached an average of 330 million most probable number (MPN) per 100 milliliters. (See, “DENR has 1-strike policy vs pollutive bay condos,” in the BusinessMirror , January 11, 2019.)

The agency aims to reduce this level to lower than 270 million MPN/100 milliliters by the end of the year, according to Undersecretary for Attached Agencies Sherwin S. Rigor during the press briefing, contrary to earlier pronouncements. “The secretary [Roy A. Cimatu] wants to reduce it to less than 270 million MPN. [This may be possible] as we will cut pollution at the source. The circulation of salt water also heals Manila Bay. As we will install wastewater-treatment facilities [at key points], the water that will be discharged will already be of SB quality,” he added.

SB quality is equivalent to the water in swimming pools, and thus swimmable. He noted that some parts of the bay “will be ready for swimming, but not the whole bay” by the end of the year.

Cimatu, meanwhile, said hotels and other establishments inspected “will be given a notice of violation first,” if they have been found discharging untreated wastewater into the bay, “then mag-uusap [both parties will discuss]. ‘You need to have a treatment plant. How many months are needed [to address the violations]?’ As in the Manila Zoo, they were surprised they needed a treatment plant. In the meantime they are not compliant, they are closed.”

As in the Boracay Island rehabilitation, establishments need to secure environmental clearances and permits from the DENR and the DILG again, to be able to reopen. “[Violators] have to pay a penalty for polluting Manila Bay,” the DENR chief added, “from P20,000 to P200,000 per day. This is in the Clean Water Act, which we are implementing.”

Computation of the fine will begin from the time the establishment is tested and found to be polluting the bay.

While most hotels expressed support for the cleanup of the Manila Bay, underscoring they are required to install sewerage treatment plants on their properties before they are issued permits to operate by LGUs, they cautioned against the changing of parameters governing the STPs as what happened in Boracay. They also asked the DOT to draw up a plan to help tourists relocate in case the hotels they are staying in are suddenly closed, and wish the DENR attacks the major polluters of the bay, the informal settlers, instead of training their sights on tourist establishments. (See, “Most hotels back Manila Bay cleanup, but…” in the BusinessMirror, January 14, 2019.)

4,000 MW more to come on line in 2019

O

U.C.C. COFFEE SHOP A UCC (Vienna Café) Coffee Shop is now open along Tomas Morato in Quezon City. NONOYLACZA

VER 4,000 megawatts (MW) of additional capacity are expected to come on line this year, an official of the Department of Energy (DOE) said on Tuesday.

“As per submissions of gencos [generation companies], some 2,927 MW in Luzon, 765.8 MW in [the] Visayas and 763.4 MW in Mindanao are expected in 2019,” DOE Electric Power Industry Management Bureau Director Mario C. Marasigan said.

Marasigan cited some of the prominent power projects lined up for the year. These include Limay Power Phase II Unit 4 (150 MW), Masinloc expansion Unit 2 (300 MW), GNPower Dinginin Unit 1(600 MW), San Buenaventura Power (500 MW), Redondo Peninsula (600 MW), Energy World Combined cycle (650 MW), Concepcion 1 Solar Philippines (115 MW), Therma Visayas (300 MW), Concepcion Coal of Palm Thermal (135 MW), GNPower Kauswagan (600 MW) and Southern Mindanao Coal (100 MW).

Marasigan pointed out that since the list came from the power generation firms, “we cannot discount some delays”

in the commercial operation date (COD).

“We have to account for every submission, nonetheless. It’s good to note that these power plants are well spread within the year. Our outlook for this year is good,” he said.

Earlier, DOE Assistant Secretary Redentor Delola said the DOE is confident in its projections for 2019 that the country will be able to meet the power demand considering the incoming capacities.

“If we will have problems, there wont be a red alert, only yellow alert,” said Delola.

A yellow alert notice means operating reserves have dropped below the required 647 MW contingency in Luzon, equivalent to the largest unit in Luzon, which is the 647 MW coal-fired power plant in Sual, Pangasinan.

A red alert notice is issued by the grid operator when the power reserve left on the grid is regulating reserve or equivalent to four percent of the current demand. Power interruption may occur.

B2

Companies BusinessMirror

Wednesday, January 16, 2019

PSE STOCK QUOTATIONS

January 15, 2019

Net Foreign Stocks Bid Ask Open High Low Close Volume Value Trade (Peso) Buy (Sell) FINANCIALS

ASIA UNITED 59.5 59.6 59.5 59.6 59.5 59.6 7660 456020 BDO UNIBANK 130.8 130.9 131.6 131.6 129.1 130.9 2659180 346761229 BANK PH ISLANDS 93.2 93.8 91.9 93.85 91 93.8 2296210 214634075 CHINABANK 27.8 27.9 28 28.1 27.8 27.9 114700 3209385 CITYSTATE BANK 4.69 7.58 7.58 7.58 7.58 7.58 100 758 EAST WEST BANK 12.38 12.4 12.32 12.5 12.32 12.4 377000 4678964 METROBANK 80 80.4 80 80.5 79 80 3686380 294366114.5 PB BANK 12.2 12.42 12.2 12.4 12.2 12.4 5200 63840 PBCOM 18.84 20.05 19.46 20.1 19.44 20.1 600 11736 PHIL NATL BANK 45.35 45.4 45.2 45.5 45.2 45.4 158700 7205415 PSBANK 59.2 59.3 59.1 59.2 59 59.2 5290 312967 RCBC 27.15 27.25 27.15 27.3 27.05 27.15 123300 3352375 SECURITY BANK 179 179.1 179 181.5 177.1 179.1 359400 64605166 UNION BANK 64.75 65 64.85 65 64.6 65 10600 687996 BRIGHT KINDLE 1.44 1.47 1.45 1.47 1.44 1.47 178000 257080 BDO LEASING 2.27 2.3 2.26 2.3 2.26 2.3 63000 144060 COL FINANCIAL 15.8 16.2 16.2 16.2 16.2 16.2 6600 106920 FIRST ABACUS 0.61 0.69 0.68 0.68 0.68 0.68 1000 680 FERRONOUX HLDG 4.87 4.88 4.75 4.92 4.65 4.87 296000 1416880 IREMIT 1.43 1.47 1.42 1.42 1.42 1.42 9000 12780 MEDCO HLDG 0.475 0.485 0.49 0.49 0.485 0.485 50000 24350 MANULIFE 760 800 800 800 800 800 2040 1632000 NTL REINSURANCE 0.99 1.01 1.01 1.02 0.99 1 531000 532280 PHIL STOCK EXCH 179.8 180 180 180 179.8 179.8 370 66574 SUN LIFE 1790 1800 1801 1801 1790 1799 720 1295525

INDUSTRIAL ALSONS CONS 1.39 1.4 1.4 1.41 1.4 1.4 565000 791010 ABOITIZ POWER 36.8 37 36.8 37 36.5 37 1527500 56,177,925( BASIC ENERGY 0.246 0.25 0.25 0.255 0.242 0.25 1960000 483460 FIRST GEN 20.5 20.55 20.5 20.75 20.1 20.5 2235300 45849670 FIRST PHIL HLDG 72.6 72.9 72.3 73.5 72.25 72.9 342920 24987749 MERALCO 395 396 397.8 397.8 392 396 182100 71956930 MANILA WATER 27.05 27.25 26.8 27.35 26.8 27.25 1441400 39089835 PETRON 7.77 7.79 7.79 7.83 7.77 7.77 1537900 11987080 PETROENERGY 3.76 3.78 3.78 3.78 3.73 3.76 540000 2026180 PHINMA ENERGY 1.35 1.36 1.38 1.38 1.35 1.35 10594000 14430880 PH RESORTS GRP 6.1 6.14 5.7 6.19 5.7 6.14 983100 5880667 PHX PETROLEUM 10.96 11 10.96 11 10.9 11 110000 1206800 PILIPINAS SHELL 47.7 48 47.8 48.65 47.65 47.7 962700 46078065 SPC POWER 6.37 6.38 6.23 6.45 6.23 6.38 264100 1664140 AGRINURTURE 16.46 16.5 16.5 16.72 16.4 16.5 875000 14479428 CNTRL AZUCARERA 16.52 17.5 16.2 16.2 16.2 16.2 200 3240 CENTURY FOOD 15.86 15.9 15.96 15.96 15.7 15.9 107400 1707472 DEL MONTE 6.62 6.69 6.7 6.7 6.64 6.69 37500 249694 DNL INDUS 11.8 11.82 11.78 11.84 11.78 11.8 2034500 24008148 EMPERADOR 7.29 7.3 7.34 7.4 7.3 7.3 209100 1532326 SMC FOODANDBEV 84 84.4 84 84.4 83.7 84.4 421980 35457667.5 ALLIANCE SELECT 1.16 1.17 1.17 1.23 1.14 1.17 17435000 20743210 GINEBRA 26 26.1 26 26 25.15 26 7500 194150 JOLLIBEE 315 318 324 324 315 315 595560 189695816 MACAY HLDG 10.12 11 10.5 11.1 10.5 11 12800 140760 MAXS GROUP 11.24 11.26 11.2 11.4 11.08 11.24 747900 8433716 PEPSI COLA 1.44 1.45 1.41 1.49 1.41 1.45 7244000 10538450 SHAKEYS PIZZA 12.72 12.78 13.2 13.2 12.72 12.78 1305700 16931548 ROXAS AND CO 1.81 1.82 1.82 1.82 1.81 1.81 1046000 1899280 RFM CORP 4.88 4.89 4.8 4.88 4.8 4.88 8000 38560 ROXAS HLDG 2.75 3 2.87 2.87 2.87 2.87 53000 152110 UNIV ROBINA 142 143 141.5 144.4 138.9 142 2035560 287725074 VITARICH 2.18 2.19 2.13 2.19 2.08 2.19 18866000 40459650 CONCRETE B 70.05 78 78 78 78 78 190 14820 CEMEX HLDG 2.06 2.07 1.99 2.1 1.97 2.06 17431000 35790030 DAVINCI CAPITAL 6.4 6.65 6.43 6.65 6.32 6.65 13600 87724 EAGLE CEMENT 15.14 15.3 15.3 15.38 15.1 15.3 518400 7893754 EEI CORP 8.19 8.2 8.2 8.3 8.17 8.19 131900 1079429 HOLCIM 6.01 6.06 6.04 6.1 6.01 6.06 184800 1116727 MEGAWIDE 17.98 18 18.22 18.22 18 18 338700 6112032 PHINMA 8.25 9.29 9.1 9.1 9.05 9.05 16500 150025 TKC METALS 0.89 0.93 0.94 0.94 0.89 0.93 43000 39740 VULCAN INDL 1.6 1.61 1.58 1.6 1.56 1.6 3643000 5802940 CHEMPHIL 132.1 140 140 140 132 132 100 13770 CROWN ASIA 1.75 1.79 1.79 1.8 1.75 1.75 63000 111630 LMG CHEMICALS 4.38 4.4 4.38 4.38 4.38 4.38 8000 35040 MABUHAY VINYL 3.06 3.15 3.15 3.15 3.15 3.15 33000 103950 PRYCE CORP 5.8 5.99 5.86 5.86 5.85 5.85 105000 614300 CONCEPCION 41.05 41.45 41.2 41.3 41 41 1600 65650 GREENERGY 2.18 2.2 2.1 2.21 2.08 2.2 21299000 46237240 INTEGRATED MICR 12.74 12.76 12.14 12.76 12.14 12.76 1810500 22640540 IONICS 1.86 1.88 1.85 1.88 1.81 1.88 637000 1179770 PANASONIC 5.7 5.94 5.97 5.97 5.7 5.7 600 3499 SFA SEMICON 1.49 1.51 1.53 1.53 1.49 1.51 35000 52520 CIRTEK HLDG 30.9 30.95 30.95 31.35 30.95 30.95 72200 2238655

HOLDING & FRIMS ABACORE CAPITAL 0.73 0.74 0.74 0.74 0.73 0.73 8682000 6367430 ASIABEST GROUP 27.9 28 29.25 29.4 27.6 28 103900 2955405 AYALA CORP 970.5 980 976 984 970.5 970.5 122870 119744600 ABOITIZ EQUITY 64.6 64.8 64.4 64.8 63.1 64.8 1392310 89381169 ALLIANCE GLOBAL 13.34 13.4 12.98 13.48 12.98 13.4 10139900 135257824 ANSCOR 6.5 6.54 6.55 6.55 6.55 6.55 1800 11790 ANGLO PHIL HLDG 0.77 0.8 0.8 0.8 0.8 0.8 25000 20000 ATN HLDG A 1.43 1.44 1.48 1.48 1.44 1.44 9789000 14272190 ATN HLDG B 1.45 1.46 1.48 1.48 1.46 1.46 671000 984440 COSCO CAPITAL 7.13 7.16 7.13 7.18 7.12 7.16 681700 4872654 DMCI HLDG 12.58 12.6 12.7 12.88 12.6 12.6 3171500 40094278 FILINVEST DEV 12.84 12.88 12.7 13 12.68 12.9 475600 6131890 FORUM PACIFIC 0.224 0.23 0.205 0.23 0.205 0.23 230000 49900 GT CAPITAL 990 994 1003 1003 983 990 110075 109097802.5 HOUSE OF INV 5.93 6.14 5.93 5.93 5.93 5.93 5000 29650 JG SUMMIT 65.85 65.9 65.65 66.95 65.3 65.9 2616500 173009852.5 JOLLIVILLE HLDG 5.7 5.83 5.5 5.5 5.5 5.5 4800 26400 LODESTAR 0.6 0.61 0.6 0.62 0.59 0.6 165000 99480 LOPEZ HLDG 5.25 5.26 5.01 5.37 5 5.26 5366300 28033072 LT GROUP 15.38 15.4 15.7 15.98 15.4 15.4 7559200 117754874 MABUHAY HLDG 0.63 0.64 0.6 0.64 0.6 0.64 728000 454700 MJC INVESTMENTS 2.59 3 3 3 3 3 21000 63000 METRO PAC INV 5.07 5.08 5.03 5.08 4.99 5.08 47066400 236418770 PACIFICA 0.038 0.039 0.038 0.038 0.038 0.038 1600000 60800 PRIME ORION 2.61 2.64 2.57 2.65 2.57 2.6 742000 1940190 PRIME MEDIA 1.18 1.19 1.18 1.19 1.17 1.19 220000 259020 SOLID GROUP 1.39 1.42 1.44 1.44 1.38 1.43 61000 84530 SYNERGY GRID 475 517 500 520 475 475 670 337094 SM INVESTMENTS 979.5 980 990 990 971 980 402910 395299325 SAN MIGUEL CORP 151.4 151.5 150.7 152.9 149.8 151.5 274110 41567928 TOP FRONTIER 242.6 250 249.2 250 242.2 250 122660 30568136 WELLEX INDUS 0.25 0.255 0.255 0.26 0.25 0.255 1810000 456050

PROPERTY ARTHALAND CORP 0.93 0.95 0.92 0.96 0.92 0.95 1686000 1584270 ANCHOR LAND 10.72 11 11.78 11.78 11 11 5400 60296 AYALA LAND 44.95 45 44 45.1 43.95 45 14994800 672329195 ARANETA PROP 1.68 1.7 1.67 1.7 1.66 1.7 140000 233030 BELLE CORP 2.4 2.42 2.36 2.41 2.35 2.4 1581000 3776580 A BROWN 0.85 0.86 0.86 0.86 0.85 0.86 1200000 1025340 CITYLAND DEVT 0.87 0.9 0.88 0.91 0.88 0.9 60000 53220 CROWN EQUITIES 0.265 0.27 0.255 0.27 0.25 0.27 113970000 29983500 CEBU HLDG 6.35 6.45 6.45 6.45 6.4 6.4 2200 14185 CEB LANDMASTERS 4.25 4.29 4.3 4.3 4.15 4.29 870000 3668540 CENTURY PROP 0.435 0.44 0.44 0.445 0.43 0.435 1670000 724750 CYBER BAY 0.38 0.395 0.4 0.4 0.38 0.38 630000 240150 DOUBLEDRAGON 21.55 21.6 21.4 22.5 21.4 21.55 1846800 40490080 DM WENCESLAO 8.43 8.44 8.58 8.71 8.38 8.44 2761500 23635052 EMPIRE EAST 0.52 0.53 0.52 0.54 0.52 0.53 483000 253150 EVER GOTESCO 0.115 0.116 0.113 0.116 0.113 0.116 360000 41720 FILINVEST LAND 1.45 1.46 1.47 1.48 1.45 1.45 11498000 16733020 GLOBAL ESTATE 1.18 1.19 1.2 1.21 1.15 1.18 1839000 2175800 8990 HLDG 8.71 8.72 8.72 8.76 8.71 8.72 663400 5790389 PHIL INFRADEV 2.21 2.22 2.24 2.25 2.19 2.22 4683000 10327940 CITY AND LAND 0.84 0.86 0.84 0.84 0.84 0.84 31000 26040 MEGAWORLD 5.15 5.16 5.13 5.16 5.03 5.15 24156400 124209619 MRC ALLIED 0.465 0.47 0.475 0.475 0.465 0.465 7870000 3690100 PHIL ESTATES 0.46 0.465 0.48 0.48 0.455 0.465 1300000 595100 PRIMEX CORP 3.55 3.56 3.7 3.7 3.54 3.55 2604000 9312520 ROBINSONS LAND 22.7 22.8 23 23 22.6 22.8 3214600 73408400 PHIL REALTY 0.415 0.43 0.435 0.435 0.415 0.415 1200000 504900 ROCKWELL 2.03 2.04 2.03 2.03 2.03 2.03 4000 8120 SHANG PROP 3.12 3.14 3.14 3.14 3.11 3.14 44000 137540 STA LUCIA LAND 1.29 1.31 1.34 1.34 1.3 1.3 4424000 5773630 SM PRIME HLDG 39.5 39.75 39.5 39.75 39.2 39.75 6844000 270736505 STARMALLS 6.11 6.17 6.02 6.23 6.01 6.17 422200 2608385 SUNTRUST HOME 0.72 0.74 0.73 0.74 0.73 0.74 56000 41390 PTFC REDEV CORP 38.05 44 43.7 43.8 43.7 43.8 9800 429170 VISTA LAND 5.88 5.89 5.96 5.98 5.85 5.89 2916200 17159351

SERVICES ABS CBN 21.4 21.45 21.45 21.6 21.4 21.45 156500 3362470 GMA NETWORK 5.78 5.79 5.78 5.8 5.78 5.78 532000 3079391 MANILA BULLETIN 0.35 0.37 0.355 0.355 0.355 0.355 10000 3550 MLA BRDCASTING 15.76 17.5 17.5 17.5 17.5 17.5 100 1750 GLOBE TELECOM 2064 2086 2060 2094 2038 2086 40780 84460930 PLDT 1212 1215 1210 1220 1205 1215 128555 156122575 APOLLO GLOBAL 0.042 0.043 0.043 0.045 0.042 0.043 16700000 712400 DFNN INC 7.11 7.49 7.49 7.49 7.49 7.49 700 5243 IMPERIAL 1.89 1.96 1.99 1.99 1.97 1.97 6000 11920 ISLAND INFO 0.134 0.136 0.137 0.139 0.134 0.136 5580000 756440 ISM COMM 6.39 6.4 6.39 6.52 6.3 6.4 7608700 48870953 JACKSTONES 3.1 3.11 3.14 3.14 3.11 3.11 9000 28150 NOW CORP 4.19 4.2 4 4.23 4 4.2 13219000 54620820 TRANSPACIFIC BR 0.44 0.445 0.445 0.445 0.44 0.44 5870000 2585150 PHILWEB 3.32 3.33 3.3 3.4 3.28 3.33 2202000 7339380 2GO GROUP 14.36 14.4 14.3 14.72 14.2 14.4 111800 1603460 CEBU AIR 79.5 80 79.7 81.3 79.35 79.5 177600 14211542 CHELSEA 6.77 6.79 6.78 7 6.75 6.79 1657600 11339579 INTL CONTAINER 102.3 103.5 104.2 105.7 102.3 102.3 1739370 180692007 LBC EXPRESS 14.54 14.8 14.88 14.88 14.8 14.8 8100 120298 LORENZO SHIPPNG 0.85 0.87 0.88 0.88 0.84 0.87 49000 41900 MACROASIA 18.54 18.58 18.54 18.68 18.16 18.58 374800 6945912 METROALLIANCE A 2.23 2.24 2.34 2.38 2.2 2.24 562000 1266090 METROALLIANCE B 2.25 2.3 2.3 2.3 2.25 2.25 10000 22700 PAL HLDG 8.98 8.99 8.9 9 8.8 8.99 9300 83217 HARBOR STAR 3.19 3.22 3.22 3.27 3.18 3.22 698000 2245010 ACESITE HOTEL 1.4 1.42 1.45 1.45 1.45 1.45 26000 37700 WATERFRONT 0.76 0.77 0.75 0.77 0.75 0.77 3840000 2900080 CENTRO ESCOLAR 7.75 7.96 7.75 7.75 7.75 7.75 16800 130200 FAR EASTERN U 900 940 950 960 930 930 60 57100 IPEOPLE 10.9 11.2 11.2 11.2 11.2 11.2 1900 21280 STI HLDG 0.77 0.78 0.79 0.79 0.77 0.78 7128000 5546880 BERJAYA 3.45 3.46 3.35 3.48 3.32 3.46 2123000 7272700 BLOOMBERRY 10.92 10.98 10.82 11.1 10.82 10.98 11759300 128706228 PACIFIC ONLINE 9.58 9.84 9.6 9.61 9.6 9.6 59900 575140 LEISURE AND RES 3.5 3.51 3.49 3.59 3.45 3.51 1750000 6097740 MANILA JOCKEY 5.01 5.25 5.29 5.29 5.02 5.25 10600 53338 PREMIUM LEISURE 0.94 0.95 0.9 0.95 0.89 0.94 27211000 25356510 TRAVELLERS 5.47 5.5 5.5 5.51 5.46 5.47 61300 336834 METRO RETAIL 2.69 2.7 2.7 2.76 2.68 2.7 1510000 4082550 PUREGOLD 48.6 48.65 48.6 48.8 48.4 48.65 212200 10312665 ROBINSONS RTL 87 87.4 87.95 88 87 87 189370 16549095 PHIL SEVEN CORP 114.4 116 116 116 115.8 116 173670 20145670 SSI GROUP 2.31 2.32 2.33 2.35 2.31 2.32 7652000 17751520 WILCON DEPOT 13.44 13.5 13.8 13.8 13.28 13.44 4894000 66345908 APC GROUP 0.425 0.43 0.42 0.43 0.42 0.43 2910000 1244000 EASYCALL 16.58 16.6 16.96 16.96 16.42 16.6 162900 2702858 GOLDEN BRIA 323 330 330 330 319.2 330 340 111386 PAXYS 3.47 3.75 3.59 3.75 3.45 3.75 176000 635550 PRMIERE HORIZON 0.325 0.34 0.33 0.335 0.325 0.33 190000 62750 SBS PHIL CORP 7.6 7.84 7.79 7.84 7.7 7.84 85400 662761

MINING & OIL ATOK 14.56 15.5 15.48 15.5 15.48 15.5 6800 105390 APEX MINING 1.63 1.65 1.64 1.67 1.63 1.63 2718000 4477160 ABRA MINING 0.0021 0.0022 0.0021 0.0022 0.0021 0.0022 106000000 222700 ATLAS MINING 2.69 2.7 2.64 2.69 2.63 2.69 71000 187560 BENGUET A 1.33 1.41 1.4 1.49 1.33 1.33 30000 42730 COAL ASIA HLDG 0.295 0.305 0.29 0.29 0.29 0.29 50000 14500 CENTURY PEAK 2.01 2.04 2.06 2.06 2.01 2.01 2134000 4331720 DIZON MINES 7.75 7.82 7.89 7.97 7.51 7.73 15100 116236 FERRONICKEL 1.66 1.67 1.67 1.68 1.65 1.66 2722000 4523680 GEOGRACE 0.215 0.219 0.214 0.219 0.213 0.215 200000 43190 LEPANTO A 0.118 0.12 0.118 0.12 0.118 0.118 2570000 303940 LEPANTO B 0.121 0.127 0.127 0.127 0.12 0.127 730000 88730 MARCVENTURES 1.2 1.24 1.25 1.25 1.2 1.2 159000 192390 NIHAO 1.03 1.08 1.02 1.09 1.02 1.08 51000 53740 NICKEL ASIA 2.49 2.5 2.47 2.58 2.45 2.49 5258000 13270360 OMICO CORP 0.65 0.67 0.65 0.68 0.65 0.68 57000 37080 ORNTL PENINSULA 0.96 0.98 0.96 0.98 0.96 0.96 65000 62430 PX MINING 4.2 4.21 4.04 4.24 4.01 4.21 9838000 40452770 SEMIRARA MINING 24.1 24.25 24.15 24.65 24 24.1 2434900 59036070 UNITED PARAGON 0.0073 0.0075 0.0073 0.0075 0.0073 0.0075 12000000 88000 ORNTL PETROL A 0.013 0.014 0.013 0.013 0.013 0.013 12400000 161200 ORNTL PETROL B 0.013 0.014 0.013 0.014 0.012 0.014 2314700000 30066300 PHILODRILL 0.012 0.013 0.012 0.013 0.012 0.013 23300000 291600 PHINMA PETRO 3.7 3.75 3.71 3.75 3.7 3.75 107000 397960 PXP ENERGY 15.9 15.92 15.6 16.18 15.54 15.92 1338200 21331950

PREFFERED HOUSE PREF A AC PREF B1 AC PREF B2 ALCO PREF B DD PREF SMC FB PREF 2 FGEN PREF G FPH PREF C GTCAP PREF A GTCAP PREF B LR PREF MWIDE PREF PNX PREF 3A PNX PREF 3B PCOR PREF 2B SMC PREF 2B SMC PREF 2C SMC PREF 2D SMC PREF 2E SMC PREF 2F SMC PREF 2G SMC PREF 2I

95.6 461.2 490 100 97 971 102.5 451 872.5 880 1 99 99.5 102.6 960 75.1 76.2 72.65 72.05 74.3 73 73

PHIL. DEPOSITARY RECEIPTS ABS HLDG PDR GMA HLDG PDR

19.22 5.6 2.02

SMALL & MEDIUM ENTERPRISES ITALPINAS 5.27 XURPAS 1.64

118.6

457710 -20485 -23549690 8459792 56857870 -585520 3453030 -15334706 126910 -34712875 29650 58723655.0001 4525910 -17282104 600 8167996.9997 -26300 -279000 -45368325 -9686288 214826040 -1889290 -1413400 -377850 -13050 140155 865 -9217290 458710 10472680 286700 -140820 -3923920 1300 98928800 18360 -6843801 35099360 -545635 1145 356580 35250 -2526600 8592 124252.5 8171.9999 -22743040 -5952 -92128.0001 -17960 80500 -9600 -33100 -710570 32781572 348940 -236780 -6612 4574815 161550.5 335190 1752670 -28126536 -262946 -10800 583932 -1628820 51000 21470 50120 10800 1177000 1185140 -11955335 -6500000 966200

96 473.4 495 100.9 96.75 990 103.5 455 918 900 1.01 100.5 99.1 105.9 1000 75.45 76.5 73.5 74 74.5 74 73.4

96 473.4 495 100.9 98.5 990 103.5 455 918 905 1.01 100.5 100.1 106 1002 75.45 76.5 73.5 74.5 74.5 74 73.4

96 465 495 100.9 96.5 990 103.5 455 918 900 1.01 100.5 99.1 105.9 1000 75.15 76 73.5 74 74.5 73 73.4

96 473 495 100.9 98.5 990 103.5 455 918 900 1.01 100.5 100.1 106 1002 75.15 76.5 73.5 74.5 74.5 73 73.4

650 6420 60 160 33260 10 610 20 10 2080 50000 2250 2920 1150 250 440 15390 40 5020 6410 20 2390

62400 3035024 29700 16144 3234420 9900 63135 9100 9180 1873520 50500 226125 292082 121892 250460 33078 1172875 2940 373285 477545 1470 175426

10350 -97155 -

19.3 5.62

19.3 5.6

19.4 5.62

19.2 5.59

19.22 5.61

385800 395100

7452262 2215323

-7431130 -364000

2.07

2.05

2.09

2.01

2.02

173000

352050

-

5.28 1.65

5.04 1.69

5.3 1.7

4.86 1.63

5.28 1.65

2865300 6440000

14355602 10711460

400826 -633320

EXHANGE TRADE FUNDS FIRST METRO ETF

4,359,025.0002) -147500 6509435 2361662.5 22003338 1050275 -7450137 538700 -11176 -742500 -23174000 -429604 2279934 -1306800 -205058 6747046 -291510 10005633 199160 74550 -35611118 -2051562 -3454280 11325422 1820 29567489 7498950 -14820 -9659750 -731518 -443096.9997 -12160 -2079820 112660 21600 -8226740 13017246 -9250 -1080365

96 473.2 495 100.9 98.5 990 103.5 455 918 904 1.01 100.5 100.1 106 1395 75.35 76.5 73.5 74.5 74.5 74.9 73.4

WARRANTS LR WARRANT

456020 -113091541 100880108 -1450680 -1629158 -21820534 1267145 -242325 19545868 -326984.9999 23250 -0 -43200 -17990

118.8

118.8

118.9

118

118.8

10120

1200933

-

Editor: Efleda P. Campos

BPI, Tongdun Intl partner to help PHL SMEs have access to financing

T

By Rea Cu

@ReaCuBM

HE Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Tongdun International Pte. Ltd. (Tongdun International), to create a credit scoring model to allow more Philippine small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to have access to financing.

In a statement issued on Tuesday, BPI said it has engaged the services of leading risk management service provider Tongdun International to help more SMEs in the country access financing through the development of a credit scoring model.

BPI Business Banking Head Roland Gerard R. Veloso Jr. said the MOU is in line with the bank’s drive to intensify its digitalization efforts, as well as its campaign to increase financial inclusion in the country for this year.

“We believe that through the use of artificial intelligence solutions such as the one provided by Tongdun, we can optimize our processes for the benefit of more clients. Moving forward, we will be able to serve more clients faster while managing our risks better,” Veloso said.

BPI explained the signed MOU between the two companies will cover services and solutions involving credit cards and unsecured lending, microfinance products and loans for SMEs. The bank added the two parties hope to expand the scope of their partnership upon the achievement of certain milestones.

Tongdun International, the Singapore arm of China-based Tongdun Technology, is a provider of big data analytical tools that include risk management, anti-fraud and customer-value analysis.

“Tongdun is a leading fintech [fi-

nancial technology] company that can help financial institutions like BPI in their digital transformation journey. More than 10,000 companies across industries worldwide trust Tongdun to enhance their customers’ experience and safeguard their interests. We look forward to a fruitful partnership with BPI,” said Jackal Ma, cofounder and Partner, Tongdun Technology.

In November 2018, BPI President and CEO Cezar P. Consing said a double-digit growth in terms of loans is being eyed for 2019 as the bank expands its retail-lending business, as well as the continued growth of the economy. The retail loans of the Ayala-led bank comprise 20 percent of its total lending portfolio, while corporate loans are at 80 percent.

Consing explained that BPI wants to expand its consumer business to reach 35 percent this year.

Russian diamond giant Alrosa is going back to Zimbabwe

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LROSA PJSC, one of the world’s top diamond miners, is returning to crisisstricken Zimbabwe, the latest example of Russia expanding its footprint in Africa.

The company will develop new mining operations with the support of the government, Alrosa said on Monday as Zimbabwe’s President Emmerson Mnangagwa visited Moscow to try and raise investment for his economically blighted nation.

In Mnangagwa’s absence, protests against his government’s economic mismanagement intensified, with 24 injured on Monday and five possibly dead.

Mnangagwa, who became president in 2017, sees diamonds as one way to help revive his nation’s mining industry, which suffered years of decline under his predecessor Robert Mugabe. The government is considering waiving a rule that has prevented foreign investors from holding controlling stakes in its diamond mines, as it targets production of 12 million carats by 2023, up from 3.5 million carats last year.

From Libya to Madagascar, Russia has been carving out a niche in Africa in part by shoring up strongmen in

unstable but potentially rich states.

The Kremlin has made the region a focus of its efforts to reassert geopolitical prowess and open new markets for domestic companies hamstrung

by Western sanctions. President Vladimir Putin will host more than 50 leaders from the continent for the first Russia-Africa summit this year.

Alrosa opened an office in Zimbabwe last month, Chief Executive Officer Sergey Ivanov said at a press conference.

“We also seek to support Zimbabwe in the development of its diamond-mining industry in line with the industry’s best practices,” he said in a statement. Geologists and mining engineers from Alrosa will arrive in Zimbabwe in the next month to start operations, it said.

Despite the country’s diamond riches, no major producers operate there. Rio Tinto Group sold its stake in a project in 2015 and gem giant De Beers quit the country more than a decade ago. Alrosa stopped working in the nation in 2016, a few years after first studying assets there.

Zimbabwe’s diamond production has tumbled in recent years as easy pickings at the once vast Marange diamond fields have been exhausted.

DLSU, Gokongwei Brothers Foundation launch innovation hub

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E La Salle University’s (DLSU) Laguna campus has officially launched the John Gokongwei Jr. Innovation Center (JGIC), a fourstory facility that aims to be a major hub of multimedia gaming revolution and interactive entertainment in the Asean region.

Named after businessman and DLSU MBA alumnus John Gokongwei Jr. (MBA ’77), the world-class facility currently houses the Philippine studio of international gaming giant, Ubisoft.

DLSU’s partnership with Ubisoft has resulted in joint curriculum development, collaboration in teaching and research, and industry-oriented on-the-job training. The university currently offers two related programs: Bachelor of Science in Interactive Entertainment Major in Game Development and Bachelor of Science in Interactive Entertainment Major in Game Art and Design. JGIC is part of the Gokongwei Brothers Foundation’s support for DLSU in recognition of the importance of collaborating with leading academic institutions to sustain quality education. In 2011, DLSU’s College of Engineering was renamed “Gokongwei College of Engineering” in consideration of an endowment

from GBF intended for student scholarships, faculty development, research and infrastructure building.

Considered as the premier engineering school in the country, the DLSU Gokongwei College of Engineering boasts of numerous achievements in the field. Most recently, DLSU ranked in the 501-600 bracket of the 2019 Times Higher Education (THE) Engineering and Technology Subject Rankings, making it the top-ranked Philippine university in this area based on THE’s research-intensive criteria.

The only other local university to appear in the subject ranking is the University of the Philippines, which is listed in the 601-800 bracket.

GBF was established in 1992 with the goal of having lasting impact on education in the Philippines. Guided by its mission to build the future through education, GBF works toward the advancement of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education, believing this is the driving force for sustainable national development. With all these undertakings, DLSU continues to work closely with GBF in its collective mission to further advance science and technology education in the country.

Output is down almost 75 percent in the past five years, with the southern African nation now producing just a fraction of what Russia mines.

Mining at Marange has also been opaque. After initial gem discoveries, there was a rush of artisanal min-

MUTUAL FUNDS

ers, followed by groups led by closely held Chinese and South African companies. Human-rights activists have accused Zimbabwe’s military of smuggling gems out of the country and said that little benefit has gone to state finances. Bloomberg News

January 15, 2019

NAV ONE YEAR THREE YEAR FIVE YEAR Y-T-D

PER SHARE RETURN* RETURN STOCK FUNDS ALFM GROWTH FUND, INC * 266.78 -11.16% 5.08% 4.06% 5.84% ATRAM ALPHA OPPORTUNITY FUND, INC.* 1.514 -6.61% 13.27% 4.25% 6.16% ATRAM PHILIPPINE EQUITY OPPORTUNITY FUND, INC.* 4.1585 -11.68% 7.39% 2.47% 6.48% CLIMBS SHARE CAPITAL EQUITY INVESTMENT FUND CORP.* 0.9516 -6.75% N.A. N.A. 6.83% FIRST METRO CONSUMER FUND ON MSCI PHILS. IMI, INC.* 0.88 N.A. N.A. N.A. 6.96% FIRST METRO SAVE AND LEARN EQUITY FUND,INC.* 5.6217 -7.9% 5.17% 3.37% 6.79% MBG EQUITY INVESTMENT FUND, INC. * 120.26 1.64% N.A. N.A. 1.94% ONE WEALTHY NATION FUND, INC.* 0.8932 -11.88% -2.94% N.A. 6.96% PAMI EQUITY INDEX FUND, INC.* 52.7926 -8.84% 6.78% N.A. 7.01% PHILAM STRATEGIC GROWTH FUND, INC.* 547.64 -9.38% 5.01% 3.37% 6.33% PHILEQUITY DIVIDEND YIELD FUND, INC.* 1.3268 -7.28% 6.59% N.A. 5.6% PHILEQUITY FUND, INC.* 39.0309 -7.24% 7.59% 5.97% 6.38% PHILEQUITY MSCI PHILIPPINE INDEX FUND, INC.* **** 1.0512 N.A. N.A. N.A. N.A. PHILEQUITY PSE INDEX FUND INC.* 5.3289 -8.74% 7.71% 6.09% 7.21% PHILIPPINE STOCK INDEX FUND CORP.* 890.25 -8.54% 7.62% 6.18% 7.21% SOLDIVO STRATEGIC GROWTH FUND, INC. * 0.9109 -8.02% 4.46% N.A. 5.8% SUN LIFE PROSPERITY PHILIPPINE EQUITY FUND, INC.* 4.3102 -8.49% 7% 4.32% 6.05% SUN LIFE PROSPERITY PHILIPPINE STOCK INDEX FUND, INC.* 1.0249 -8.87% 7.45% N.A. 7.15% UNITED FUND, INC.* 3.7174 -5.61% 8.86% 4.86% 6.21% EXCHANGE TRADED FUND FIRST METRO PHIL. EQUITY EXCHANGE TRADED FUND, INC.* ***118.9522 -8.23% 8.78% 7.27% 7.18% ATRAM ASIAPLUS EQUITY FUND, INC.** $0.9502 -17.46% 5.53% -0.05% 2.66% SUN LIFE PROSPERITY WORLD VOYAGER FUND, INC.* $1.1632 -10.62% N.A. N.A. 6.69% BALANCED FUNDS PRIMARILY INVESTED IN PESO SECURITIES ATRAM DYNAMIC ALLOCATION FUND, INC.* 1.7319 -8.68% 1.58% -0.05% 4.73% ATRAM PHILIPPINE BALANCED FUND, INC.* 2.3021 -7.68% 4.26% 1.89% 4.19% FIRST METRO SAVE AND LEARN BALANCED FUND INC.* 2.666 -4.58% 2.14% -0.19% 4.87% GREPALIFE BALANCED FUND CORPORATION* 1.3592 -8.16% N.A. N.A. 4.07% NCM MUTUAL FUND OF THE PHILS., INC* 1.9078 -5.63% 3.46% 2.89% 3.43% PAMI HORIZON FUND, INC.* 3.6052 -9.76% 1.78% 1.74% 1.97% PHILAM FUND, INC.* 16.3863 -8.28% 2.21% 1.88% 2.97% SOLIDARITAS FUND, INC.* 2.147 -5.8% 3.65% 3.6% 3.64% SUN LIFE OF CANADA PROSPERITY BALANCED FUND, INC.* 3.8087 -6.53% 3.58% 2.52% 4.23% SUN LIFE PROSPERITY DYNAMIC FUND, INC.* 0.9617 -7.27% 2.89% N.A. 4.4% PRIMARILY INVESTED IN FOREIGN CURRENCY SECURITIES COCOLIFE DOLLAR FUND BUILDER, INC.* $0.03541 -2.05% 0.02% 1.72% 0.63% PAMI ASIA BALANCED FUND, INC.* $0.9504 -11.89% 4.3% -0.85% 2.7% SUN LIFE PROSPERITY DOLLAR ADVANTAGE FUND, INC.* $3.4348 -7.77% 4.97% 1.39% 4.21% SUN LIFE PROSPERITY DOLLAR WELLSPRING FUND, INC.* $1.0342 -8.06% N.A. N.A. 2.84% BOND FUNDS PRIMARILY INVESTED IN PESO SECURITIES ALFM PESO BOND FUND, INC.* 343.92 1.97% 2.16% 1.94% 0.16% ATRAM CORPORATE BOND FUND, INC.* ^^ 1.8553 -2.07% -0.63% -0.44% -0.08% COCOLIFE FIXED INCOME FUND, INC.* 2.9788 5.52% 5.41% 5.28% 0.29% EKKLESIA MUTUAL FUND INC.* 2.1382 1.49% 1.68% 1.59% 0.37% FIRST METRO SAVE AND LEARN FIXED INCOME FUND,INC.* 2.2204 0.08% 0.32% 0.37% 0.52% GREPALIFE FIXED INCOME FUND CORP.* P 1.5829 -1.82% -0.11% 0.02% 1.21% PHILAM BOND FUND, INC.* 3.8448 -5.3% -0.99% -0.21% -1.91% PHILEQUITY PESO BOND FUND, INC.* 3.5596 1.98% 1.06% 0.91% 1.31% SOLDIVO BOND FUND, INC. * 0.902 -2.25% -0.32% N.A. 1.06% SUN LIFE OF CANADA PROSPERITY BOND FUND, INC.* 2.7986 0.64% 1.56% 1.17% 1.23% SUN LIFE PROSPERITY GS FUND, INC.* 1.5584 0.37% 1.25% 0.77% 1.27% PRIMARILY INVESTED IN FOREIGN CURRENCY SECURITIES ALFM DOLLAR BOND FUND, INC. * $449.05 0.63% 2.27% 3.06% 0.18% ALFM EURO BOND FUND, INC. * Є212.53 -0.62% 1.04% 1.51% -0.04% ATRAM TOTAL RETURN DOLLAR BOND FUND, INC.** $1.1307 -0.15% 1.06% 1.96% 0.48% FIRST METRO SAVE AND LEARN DOLLAR BOND FUND, INC.* $0.0249 - 0.4% 0.82% N.A. 0% GREPALIFE DOLLAR BOND FUND CORP.* $1.691 -4.66% -0.54% 1.1% 0.04% MAA PRIVILEGE DOLLAR FIXED INCOME FUND, INC. N.S. N.S. N.S. N.S. N.S. MAA PRIVILEGE EURO FIXED INCOME FUND, INC. ЄN.S. N.S. N.S. N.S. N.S. PAMI GLOBAL BOND FUND, INC* $1.0387 -2.9% -0.57% -2.35% 0.47% PHILAM DOLLAR BOND FUND, INC.* $2.1884 -2.68% 1% 2.79% 0.81% PHILEQUITY DOLLAR INCOME FUND INC.* $0.0570585 -0.17% 0.92% 1.84% 0.12% SUN LIFE PROSPERITY DOLLAR ABUNDANCE FUND, INC.* $2.8843 -4.33% 0.35% 1.73% 0.44% MONEY MARKET FUNDS PRIMARILY INVESTED IN PESO SECURITIES ALFM MONEY MARKET FUND, INC.* 121.06 2.86% 1.91% 1.6% 0.2% PHILAM MANAGED INCOME FUND, INC.* 1.1792 1.81% 0.68% 0.46% -0.19% SUN LIFE PROSPERITY MONEY MARKET FUND, INC.* 1.2208 2.74% 2.29% 1.64% 0.18% PRIMARILY INVESTED IN FOREIGN CURRENCY SECURITIES SUN LIFE PROSPERITY DOLLAR STARTER FUND, INC.* $1.0168 1.79% N.A. N.A. 0.12%

* - NAVPS AS OF THE PREVIOUS BANKING DAY ** - NAVPS AS OF TWO BANKING DAYS AGO *** - LISTED IN THE PSE.

**** - RE-CLASSIFIED INTO A BALANCED FUND STARTING JANUARY 1, 2017 (FORMERLY GREPALIFE BOND FUND CORP.).

***** - LAUNCH DATE IS NOVEMBER 6, 2017 ****** - LAUNCH DATE IS JANUARY 08, 2018 ******** - RENAMING OF THE FUND WAS APPROVED BY THE SEC LAST APRIL 13, 2018. ********* - BECAME A MEMBER SINCE APRIL 20, 2018. ******* - ADJUSTED DUE TO CASH DIVIDEND ISSUANCE LAST JANUARY 29, 2018

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Banking&Finance BusinessMirror

Panelo vows to ask LandBank on exposure in Hanjin Heavy

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By Bernadette D. Nicolas

@BNicolasBM

RESIDENTIAL Spokesman and Chief Presidential Legal Counsel Salvador S. Panelo said he will inquire about Land Bank of the Philippines’s (LandBank) $85-million loan to Hanjin Heavy Industries and Construction Co.-Philippines (HHICPhil) after corn farmers group said the bank’s loan to the ailing shipbuilder was against its mandate.

“I will write to the LandBank about the status of the loans and when did it start and, if there is a collateral, to inform the President.

And then the President will take action,” Panelo said in a briefing on Tuesday.

Last year, President Duterte ordered LandBank to return to its original mandate of helping farmers and fishermen. Panelo said it could also be possible that the loans occurred prior to Duterte’s presidency.

“Maybe the loans you were saying occurred prior to the presidency—we don’t know. When were the shipyard loans availed? Maybe Duterte was still not the President at that time,” he said.

Panelo’s statement came after Philippine Maize Federation (PhilMaize) urged Duterte and lawmakers to investigate the LandBank’s loan to Hanjin.

He, likewise, pointed out it was against Landbank’s mandate to

prioritize the provision of financial aid to Filipino farmers and fishermen.

“The President should look into this and find out why [a shipyard] was prioritized over farmers,” he said.

PhilMaize also said LandBank’s loan to Hanjin is a “slap in the face for the agriculture sector,” as the “Philippine subsidiary of the Korean firm is not even in the agriculture or food sector.”

“LandBank can’t even condone the loans of farmers’ cooperatives.

These cooperatives bring food to the tables of Filipino families.

What a display of misplaced priorities,” he said.

Panelo urged PhilMaize to write to Duterte, lawmakers and to Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel F. Piñol to air their concerns over LandBank’s loan to Hanjin.

For its part, Malacañang said it will welcome any letter coming from any citizen.

A STORY by the Philippine News Agency quoted the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas as issuing an assurance that “the banking system remains strong despite Hanjin’s default.” Such assurance “soothed the fears in the local equities market, but negative trade data from China shook the local currency.” NONIE REYES

LandBank President and CEO Alex V. Buenaventura told reporters earlier about the bank’s exposure to Hanjin. Buenaventura also expressed hopes the bank can recover its loan.

“We’ll have to address the problem. But the good news is that we can recover because the assets of the shipyard are worth $1.2 billion, and the total exposure of the creditors is less than $400 million; down the road we hope to recover our exposure,” Buenaventura said.

“I think the shipping industry is a very important industry, supporting global development. The global economy is improving, the time will come, and I think it’s around the corner, there will be a lot of moving goods through ships.”

Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III has also said earlier that LandBank and other four creditor banks of Hanjin should

focus on working together to address the financial fallout from the troubles of the giant Korean shipbuilder.

“LandBank has an exposure to Hanjin, together with other banks. I don’t know the exact exposure of the other banks, but definitely, we are not the largest single lender. It’s a problem, we have to address it,” said Dominguez, who is also chairman of LandBank. “There are assets to be had, and this is a difficult problem; it has to be worked through by the banks.”

On January 9, the BusinessMirror broke the stor y that Hanjin filed for corporate rehabilitation at the Olongapo Regiona l Tr i a l Cou r t , seek ing protect ion f rom its creditors.

Near-quintuple bids for T-bills prompt BIR to open tap facility I NVESTORS in government securities flocked to the Bureau of the Treasury’s (BTr) tap facility on Monday as bids for the 364-day Treasury bill (T-bill) amounted to P37.370 billion, almost five times more than the offered P8 billion.

The BTr on Monday opened anew its Tap facility for the one-year T-bill, offering P8 billion to investors, as the market showed strong domestic liquidity reflected in the tenders received by the auction committee amounting to P37.370 billion.

The strong demand for the government security prompted the auction committee to award another P8 billion in the end.

The rate for the security remained at 6.253 percent, which was closed during the primary auction for the IOU earlier in the day.

During the primary auction, the rate for the 364-day T-bill fell by 38.80 basis points from the 6.64-percent rate in the previous auction.

The BTr was able to raise a total of P22.405 billion from its primary auction on Monday from its offering of P20 billion, as investors lapped up T-bills with longer tenors.

National Treasurer Rosalia V. de Leon pointed out that the high liquidity shown in the auction for government securities may come from the decelerating inflation, among others.

The BTr’s tap facility is made available to its 10 government securities eligible dealers market makers, which are mostly universal and commercial banks.

On Monday, the BTr also opened its over-the-counter (OTC) window to auction of all tenors of the T-bills for government-owned and -controlled corporations (GOCCs) and tax-exempt institutions.

De Leon said that the BTr is considering to open the OTC on a regular basis, which is seen to encourage the participation of the GOCCs in the auctions of the BTr. “The OTC, that’s really meant for the GOCCs that are tax exempt. Before, we used to consult [them], but they could not really commit. Of course, they would have to see first the rate,” de Leon said.

“So we just have it opened because before their request was that they could not participate in the primary [market] given the tax.” Rea Cu

GSIS grants ₧190M Banks win break on trading-desk in cash benefits to capital as Basel tones down rule active members

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HE Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) released a total of P190 million in cash benefit to its active members on December 22, 2018.

Qualified to receive the cash benefits are GSIS members whose compulsory life insurance policy has been in force for at least one year as of December 31, 2017.

Holders of compulsory life insurance policy whose agency was suspended as of that day are also entitled to receive the benefit, while members whose policy matured in 2017 will get a proportionate amount.

GSIS automatically credited the benefits of qualified members to their GSIS eCard or unified multipurpose identification card.

GSIS members whose compulsory policy was terminated due to death, retirement or separation or lapsed in 2017 are not qualified for the benefit. Those with unpaid salary and consolidated loans or premiums for at least 12 months as of December 31, 2017, are likewise ineligible.

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IG investment banks scored a victory in their campaign to soften global rules, as regulators reduced the capital hit from new trading-book standards by nearly half.

The Basel Committee on Banking Supervision said its final market-risk standards will drive up banks’ tradingbook capital requirements by a weighted average of about 22 percent from current levels. That’s down from the estimate of a 40-percent increase when the package of rules was first rolled out in 2016. The Basel Committee’s new standards, scheduled to take effect in 2022, should primarily affect banks with large trading operations, such as JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Barclays Plc. The standards published on Monday will make it easier for banks to rely on their own statistical models to assess the risk of trading-book assets—part of setting capital

requirements—instead of having to use regulator-set formulas that often lead to higher capital demands.

Banks lobbied regulators for years to soften the rules, arguing that they could lead to billions of dollars in additional risk-weighted assets and hamper their ability to lend.

Basel Committee standards aren’t legally binding. Bloomberg News

Wednesday, January 16, 2019

B3

DOF prompts lawmakers on 2nd package of CTRP

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INANCE Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III prodded lawmakers to pass the remaining packages of the Comprehensive Tax Reform Program (CTRP).

Dominguez told reporters lawmakers can do this since a lot of the packages are in the final stages already.

“There are two more periods; [these] four weeks, and we have another period after the elections, which is another four weeks, we have eight weeks. A lot of the packages are already in the late stage and are ready to go,” Dominguez said. “Sure we understand there are problems in the budget, but that can be approved in a day if you want.… There’s a lot of work that has been done already, so we can do it.”

He said that passing the second package, which is the Tax Reform for Attracting Better and High-Quality Opportunities (Trabaho) bill, will benefit their constituents or the Filipino people.

“If they actually think about it, it’s [Trabaho] actually good. Can you imagine you are giving a tax break to 99 percent of the corporations in the Philippines by reducing the CIT [corporate income tax] from 30 percent down to 25 percent; that is a big incentive for the people,” he added. “If you think about it that way you should be able to pass it in a flash.”

Early in the month, the Department of Finance (DOF) acknowledged the proximity of the May elections may dim hopes of getting the remaining packages under the CTRP passed under the 17th Congress. Still Dominguez said he remains optimistic all packages will be passed before the year ends.

The 17th Congress adjourned session last December 15 for its traditional year-end break and resumed session on January 14. It will adjourn again on February 9 and resume session on May 20, after which it will adjourn sine die on June 8.

The remaining packages under the CTRP include: n Package 1B in line with the reforms in the Motor Vehicle Users’ Charge; n Package 2 on reducing the corporate income tax, as well as instituting reforms in the country’s fiscal incentives system, with the Trabaho bill pending in the Senate; n Package 2 plus, proposing additional excise tax on tobacco and alcohol products, as well as an increase in the government’s share from mining; n Package 3 covering reforms in property valuation, which will adopt the Schedule of Market Values as single valuation base for national and local property taxation; and, n Package 4, which is meant to rationalize capital income taxation to address the multiple rates and different tax treatments and exemptions on capital income and other financial instruments.

Dominguez wants lawmakers to place Package 2 in the front burner. It was certified as an urgent and priority measure by President Duterte last year.

“This is a big benefit to the business community,” he said. “This will benefit the small guy running the business.”

On Monday, it was reported that the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (Peza) registered a 41-percent decline in investment approvals for 2018 amounting to P140.24 billion from the P237.57 billion in 2017, as firms held on to their capital in anticipation of the rationalization of tax incentives.

Peza Director General Charito B. Plaza attributed the double-digit decline to the uncertainties brought about by the Trabaho bill, pointing out that potential investors held on to their capital to wait for the final provisions of the measure, while existing locators postponed their expansion plans in fear that their tax perks could be removed soon. Rea Cu

B4 Wednesday, January 16, 2019

FLIPPING NIGHTS AT VU’S SKY BAR AND LOUNGE SUMITOMO EYES BOOMING PHILIPPINE CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY

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RECOGNIZED global player, Sumitomo ConstructionMachinery Co. Ltd. considers itself a latecomer in the Philippine construction industry.

Sumitomo managing director Ichiro Shimada (in photo), however, believes that, with proper market positioning, they will seize opportunities presented by the robustly growing Philippine construction industry.

“We haven’t concentrated on the Philippine market. We have businesses in Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, etc. but the Philippines is a very new market for us, so I still haven’t actually figured out what our strengths and weaknesses are—relative to our competitors—given that we haven’t been here for a long time,” he said.

Shimada said Sumitomo is focusing on two products: The excavator and the asphalt-paving machine. He feels confident on Sumitomo having an advantage in these equipments, in which their firm has concentrated its efforts and resources to develop them.

Sumitomo specially features its most fuel-efficient hydraulic excavators SH130-6 and SH210-6, and asphalt-paving machines at the recent Philconstruct Manila Expo 2018 (Philconstruct 2018) at the World Trade Center.

In an interview, Shimada said the Sumitomo excavator offers not just comfort and convenience, but a l so h ig h ef f ic ienc y i n operating costs, including low-fuel consumption. To operate it, “you don’t have to put so much money to maintain the machine. Everybody desires equipment quality and cost-efficiency, particularly in construction work,” he stressed.

“G e ne r a l ly s p e a k i ng , t he Philippine market is a very viable

and high-potential one; you have a huge population...Along with the growth of this industry, you need efficiency to build infrastructures.”

He noted that, with the Duterte administration’s Build, Build, Build program, there is a rising need for construction machineries and supplies in the country. The future is bright for the infrastructure industry not only here in the Philippines, but also globally. The use of artificial intelligence in buildings and infrastructure is on the rise. “ Ta ke a look at the advanced countries, like Japan, Europe [and the] America. In these countries, there is now what is called a machine-controlled system, which is becoming more popular.

It assists machine operators who may not even be highly skilled.

Shimada said the system has become urgently necessary. “It has become difficult to find skilled operators for the construction industry,” citing Japan, “where we are facing lack of laborers.

That will be an area where all players need to develop responsive systems to provide more efficient work process. We’re gearing for less human-control systems.”

Shimada assured that, despite the challenges they face in the Philippines, their coming to the country is timely, however. He said Sumitomo targets to sell approximately 13,000 hydraulic extractors and 300 asphalt pavers in Asia, Africa, Australia, Europe, the Middle East and North America in a year.

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AKE a chance in cold January nights with a classic gin and tonic in hand as Vu’s sky bar and lounge presents Flip Nights in partnership with Bombay Sapphire. Simply toss a coin and get a complimentary round of gin and tonic when you win against the bartender. This promotion is available from 8 p.m. onward from Sunday to Tuesday.

Located on the 45th-floor level of Marco Polo Ortigas Manila, Vu’s sky bar and lounge is a signature attraction offering an unobstructed 180-degree view of Manila. Apart from the remarkable skyline scenery, it also invites diners to indulge in its vast selection of cocktails, wines and other spirits, together with a well-curated lineup of dishes that is a good mix of Filipino, Spanish and other Mediterranean favorites.

For more information, e-mail at restaurant. mnl@marcopolohotels.com. For more information about Marco Polo Ortigas, book online at www. marcopolohotels.com or e-mail at manila@ marcopolohotels.com.

PWA 2019 SPEAKERS ARE TOP LADY PHOTOGRAPHERS

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HOTOGRAPHY is one field in which women also excel.

Like their counterparts in other countries, some Filipina photographers are considered experts and master photographers like men.

For the first time, Photoworld Asia (PWA), the longestrunning photography event in Southeast Asia, will feature local women photographers who are considered experts in photography; and share their expertise and experiences among PWA 2019 participants.

Angeli Jane Blanco, section chief of the multimedia division of the Department of Education—with vast experience in video production, advertising, marketing, public relations and news—will discuss of social-media publishing.

Joan Bondoc, a creative-writing graduate of the University of the Philippines and a recipient of several awardgiving bodies, will share her knowledge in photojournalism based on her experience as a staff of several media outlets.

Marian Peachy Hernando will give a talk on underwater photography. She is not only a prolific underwater photographer, but also a portrait photographer with work exhibits done here and abroad.

JaJa Samaniego, a part-time professor at De La Salle University, will discuss the “Eight Truths of Life in Photography”.

Sharia Luna, a self-taught photographer, excels

both in fashion and advertising photography. Most of her pictures were used as illustrations for billboards of branded commercial products.

RC Sustiguer, a graduate from Miriam College and with training expertise, discusses the “Personal Brand As A Photographer”.

Vivian Marasigan Valdes will talk of mobile-phone photography and how it can be an additional source of income to photographers.

Hannah Reyes Morales, a multi-awarded and accomplished photographer of Sony Philippines, focuses on “Telling Stories Through Photography”. She is a recipient of various grants, honors and awards.

Rachel Lobangco will share her personal techniques in boudoir photography, or subjects doing intimate activities like changing work outfit into house clothes.

Andrea Genota, marketing officer of Big Picture Asia and contributing photographer and contributing writer of Explore Philippines magazine, will share her skills in portraiture, landmark and music events, and travel photography.

Lisa Watson, an expert business and marketing specialist, specializes on empowerment through innovation in the world of print.

For complete details, visit www.photworldmanila.com.

STRATBASE LEADS PILIPINAS CONFERENCE AT THE PENINSULA MANILA The Stratbase ADR Institute for International and Strategic Studies (ADRi) recently held a Pilipinas conference at The Conservatory, The Peninsula Manila, to assess the current administration’s performance, thus far, provide for a comprehensive vision and outlook for the year 2019. The third session of the conference brought together perspectives on how the administration fared economically in the past two years and provided for an outlook, as well as recommendations for the year ahead. In photo after closing of the third session are (from left) lawyer Michael Toledo, MVP Group Media Bureau managing director, who led the session; Foundation for Economic Freedom President Calixto Chikiamco; Former Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario; national scientist and University of the Philippines economics professor Dr. Raul Fabella; Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry Chairman George Barcelon; and Stratbase ADRi founder and managing director professor Victor Andres Manhit.

IT’S A WEEKLONG MARATHON FOR THIS YEAR’S SINGKUWENTO INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL

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HE Singkuwento International Film Festival Manila Philippines 2019 is on! Founded by festival director Perry Escaño, an independent filmmaker, the fourth edition will be held from February 15 to 22 at the National Commission for Culture and the Arts Theater in Intramuros, Manila, presented by MPJ Entertainment Productions, in cooperation with Asian Television Content Corp. headed by Engr. Rey Sanchez, and NCCA and Film Development Council of the

Philippines headed by chairman Liza Diño.

This year’s official entries—five full-length films, five documentaries and 25 short films— explore topics ranging from the youth to personal relationships, growing up to death, to other thought-provoking social issues.

The awards night will be on February 23 at Atrium The Plaza of Resorts World Manila, with a delayed telecast on IBC 13 on March 23 from 8 to 10 p.m. Festival passes are available at Ticket World outlets.

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EVEN with a hitch in his gait, even as he leans forward to rest his hands on his knees between points, Andy Murray summons the strength and the strokes to push the match beyond the four-hour mark. AP

By Howard Fendrich The Associated Press

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ELBOURNE, Australia— If this was it for Andy Murray, if this truly was it, he gave himself—and an appreciative, raucous crowd that included his mother and brother—quite a gutsy goodbye, the type of never-give-in performance he’s famous for.

What Murray could not quite do on Monday at the Australian Open was finish off a stirring comeback and prolong what might just be the final tournament of his career.

Playing on a surgically repaired right hip so painful that pulling on socks is a chore, he summoned the strength and strokes to erase a big deficit and force a fifth set before eventually succumbing to 22nd-seeded Roberto Bautista Agut, 6-4, 6-4, 6-7 (5), 6-7 (4), 6-2, Murray’s first opening-round loss at a Grand Slam tournament in 11 years.

“If today was my last match, look, it was a brilliant way to finish,” Murray said.

“I literally gave everything that I had on the court, fought as best as I could and performed a lot better than what I should have done with the amount I’ve been able to practice and train.”

Murray, just 31, is a year removed from his operation, and he said that he will decide in the next week or so whether to

have a second one.

If he opts to avoid another procedure, he might be able to play in July at Wimbledon, where he won two of his three major titles, including the first for a British man in 77 years. If he decides for further surgery, then Monday’s match might have been his last.

Even with a hitch in his gait, even as he leaned forward to rest his hands on his knees between points, Murray summoned the

mirror_sports@yahoo.com.ph Editor: Jun Lomibao

strength and the strokes to push the match beyond the four-hour mark.

And the fans tried to will him past Bautista Agut, who had lost in straight sets all three previous matches the two men had played.

They roared when Murray managed to break back to 2-all on the way to taking the third set, with his mom, Judy, smiling widely as she stood alongside other spectators.

They chanted his name when he grabbed the fourth set.

They rose when the compelling contest ended.

“Andy deserves this atmosphere. Andy deserves [that] all the people came to watch him,” Bautista Agut said. “He’s a tough, tough fighter.

A tough opponent.

He gives everything until the last point. I want to congratulate him for all he did for tennis.”

Afterward, a video was shown

in the stadium with tributes to Murray from various players, including rivals Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic, along with Nick Kyrgios, Caroline Wozniacki, Karolina Pliskova and Sloane Stephens.

“Amazing career. Congratulations, buddy,” Federer said. “I’m your biggest fan.”

Federer opened his bid for a third consecutive Australian Open championship, and record seventh overall, with a 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 victory over Denis Istomin at Rod Laver Arena.

Nadal, whose 17 career majors are second among men only to Federer’s 20, overpowered Australian wild-card entry James Duckworth, 6-4, 6-3, 7-5, earlier.

Nadal, who had surgery on his right ankle in November, hadn’t competed since stopping during his US Open semifinal in September because of a bad knee.

“It’s very difficult to start [again] after an injury,” Nadal said. “I know it very well.”

Other major title winners who advanced on Day 1, when the temperature approached 90 degrees Fahrenheit (33 degrees Celsius), included defending champion Caroline Wozniacki, Maria Sharapova—who beat Harriet Dart, 6-0, 6-0—Angelique Kerber, Sloane Stephens and Petra Kvitova.

The highest-seeded player to exit was No. 9 John Isner, who hit 47 aces but lost, 7-6 (4), 7-6 (6), 6-7 (4), 7-6 (5), against 97th-ranked Reilly Opelka in an all-American match.

The most attention, though, was drawn by Murray, who is as popular for his success on the court as his attitude away from it.

The stands were dotted with British and Scottish flags and with signs of support. When Bautista Agut entered, he was greeted by a smattering of polite applause. When Murray was introduced, there were full-throated screams, followed by chants of his first name.

As play began, Murray delighted his well-wishers every so often with terrific shots on a full sprint and his trademark, quick-reflex returns. When he flubbed a shot or otherwise let a point slide by, Murray displayed the muttering and leg-slapping self-contempt the world has come to know and expect—and, let’s face it, love—from the guy.

For all that Murray accomplished over the years, including reaching No. 1 in the rankings and a pair of Olympic singles gold medals, he never was able to leave Melbourne with the trophy, finishing as the runner-up five times.

When Murray eventually succumbed to his weariness—not to mention Bautista Agut—the arena speakers blared Queen’s “We are the Champions,” with its fitting line: “And we’ll keep on fighting ‘til the end.”

If this was, indeed, the end, Murray did just that.

“I’d be OK,” he said, “with that being my last match.”

Nadal finds form quickly M

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SERENA WILLIAMS is pursuing an eighth title in Melbourne and 24th Slam trophy overall. AP

The American, a former No. 1 who is seeded 16th on account of playing only 24 matches in 2018, never faced a single break point and compiled a 22-7 edge in winners.

“Maybe,” Maria said afterward, “I was a little bit overwhelmed.”

Just a little bit.

The two players have homes near each other in a gated community in Florida—”We do sometimes barbecue together,” Maria said—and their daughters—Williams’s is 16 months old; Maria’s is five years old—share play dates.

“I think the last time I was here, I was actually pregnant and playing at the same time, which is insane,”Williams said.

“It was kind of weird walking back on—by myself, this time.”

Two years ago, no one knew Williams was carrying her child while winning her 23rd major to break a tie with Steffi Graf for the most in the half-century professional era. Her baby, Olympia, was born on September 1, 2017, and Williams was off the tour until last March. Her Grand Slam return came at the 2018 French Open, where she reached the fourth round before withdrawing with an injured chest muscle, and was followed by runner-up

BusinessMirror

A GUTSY GOODBYE?

SERENA BACK AS IF SHE NEVER LEFT ELBOURNE, Australia—This was quite a return for Serena Williams. Almost as if she never left.

In her first match at the Australian Open since winning the 2017 title while pregnant—and her first official match anywhere since a loss in the chaotic US Open final last September—Williams looked to be at her dominant best, overpowering Tatjana Maria, 6-0, 6-2, in the first round on Tuesday.

“I kind of like to jump in the deep end and swim,” Williams said in an on-court interview after the 49-minute workout, “and see what happens.”

She hadn’t dipped her toe in Grand Slam waters since New York, where everything devolved after Williams was warned for getting coaching, then docked a point for breaking a racket and eventually docked a game for calling the chair umpire “a thief” during the final.

When that match was mentioned by a reporter during Williams’s news conference Tuesday, as part of a question about whether coaching should be allowed during matches at majors, she replied, “I, like, literally have no comment.”

Truth be told, the match against Maria was not much of a test for Williams, given that the 74th-ranked German entered with an 11-15 record in first-round matches at Grand Slam tournaments, only once has made it as far as the third round at any major and owns a total of one career Women’s Tennis Association title after a dozen years on the tour.

Williams, meanwhile, is pursuing an eighth title in Melbourne and 24th Slam trophy overall, which would equal Margaret Court—whose career spanned the amateur and professional eras—for the most in tennis history.

“I have been going for the record [for] what seems like forever now,” the 37-year-old Williams said, “so it doesn’t feel any different.”

How lopsided was this?

Williams needed all of 18 minutes to wrap up the first set, ceding just five of 29 points along the way.

Sports

| Wednesday, January 16, 2019

showings at Wimbledon and the US Open.

Because of a health scare after giving birth, Williams wears compression stockings during matches to try to make sure she doesn’t get blood clots again.

On a humid afternoon with the temperature topping 90 degrees Fahrenheit (32 degrees Celsius) on Tuesday, Williams wore a green leotard of sorts—she called it a “Serena-tard”—and while her dangerous serve produced only two aces, her other, considerable, tools were in working order.

When Williams returned to the tour last season, she often was asked to rate herself in comparison to how good she played in the past. She has no interest in that sort of comparison now.

“I don’t want to give myself a ranking anymore.

I think it gives me too much negative expectations. I always expect to reach the sky, and anything below it is not good enough for me,” said Williams, who’ll face 2014 Wimbledon runner-up Eugenie Bouchard next. “I don’t know. I just know that I’m going in the right direction. I feel like I’m in the right direction. We’ll see.” AP

ELBOURNE, Australia—Rafael Nadal has missed a lot of tennis since last September. He hasn’t missed a beat.

The No. 2-seeded Nadal had a 6-4, 6-3, 7-5 win over Australian wild-card entry James Duckworth on Monday in the first round of the Australian Open, his first match back on Rod Laver Arena since he had to retire during his quarterfinal match last year.

The 17-time major winner hasn’t played since retiring from his semifinal at the US Open because of a knee injury. He had surgery on his right ankle in November, and withdrew from a tune-up tournament in Brisbane earlier this month because of a muscle strain in his thigh, mainly as a precaution, to ensure he’d be fit for the seasonopening major.

“The doctors didn’t allow me to go on court,” he said, “even if I wanted.”

He really was coming in cold.

“It’s very difficult to start after an injury—I know it very well,” he said. “So that’s an important victory because it is the first victory since a while, and at the same time, because that

RAFAEL NADAL is circumspect about his progress. AP

gives me the chance to be on court again.”

His only hiccup came when he served for the match in the ninth game of the third set and was broken. He returned the favor quickly, though, to seal his spot in the second round.

He was quick with a serve at his media conference, too, poking fun at a journalist who appeared to be dozing.

On a day when an injured Andy Murray likely played his last match at the Australian Open in a stirring five-setter— his first first-round loss at a Grand Slam tournament in 11 years—Nadal was circumspect about his progress.

Murray has announced plans to retire this year because of the constant pain in his right hip. Injuries have forced Nadal to take extended breaks throughout his career, and his high-energy style means he’s being more selective about when and where he plays.

“My plan is wake up and see how I feel,” the 32-yearold Nadal said. “I am working about the personal feelings of every day—adapt our practice every day.

“So nothing new when you have comebacks, you need to do it that way, and worked well all my career for me that way.”

He’ll play another Australian, Matthew Ebden, next. AP

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Takeda corruption probe stains 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games, IOC

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OKYO—Tsunekazu Takeda, the head of the Japanese Olympic Committee and a powerful International Olympic Committee (IOC) member, has denied corruption allegations against him concerning reported bribes paid to be awarded the rights to host the 2020 Olympics.

A French prosecutor is investigating Takeda, who is reportedly linked to about $2 million in payments in 2013 before and after the IOC picked Tokyo ahead of Madrid and Istanbul to stage the games.

The brewing scandal is a major blow to Tokyo’s preparations, which IOC President Thomas Bach has called “the best” in Olympic history.

The Tokyo Olympics open in 18 months with Japan spending at least $20 billion to prepare.

“I am very sorry for having caused worry for those working very hard to preparing for Tokyo 2020,” Takeda told a packed news conference Tuesday at the JOC’s office.

Dressed in a dark suit, Takeda did not take questions and said: “I’d like to clear the allegation against me, and I will cooperate fully with French authorities.”

The preliminary charge against Takeda announced by the National Financial Prosecutors office was first reported by

French newspaper Le Monde. The preliminary charge means the investigating magistrate has determined there are serious grounds for suspicion. But no decision has been made on prosecution.

Le Monde said French authorities suspect the IOC vote for Tokyo in 2013 was swayed by secret deals that secured the backing of IOC members from Africa, reporting that investigators suspect Takeda of authorizing the payment of $2 million in bribes made on either side of the IOC vote in September 2013 to a Singapore company, Black Tidings.

“As for me, I was not involved in the decision-making process for deciding on Black Tiding,” Takeda said at the news conference.

“There was no reason for me to question the process on this consultation deal.”

The International Olympic Committee has backed Takeda and says he has the presumption of innocence.

He testified with an IOC ethics commission on Friday. The IOC has not commented on details.

The 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics were also sullied by corruption scandals. Carlos Nuzman, the head of those games, resigned afterward accused of vote-buying.

There was some speculation Takeda might use his brief address to step aside on Tuesday, at least temporarily. AP JAPANESE Olympic Committee President Tsunekazu Takeda again denies corruption allegations. AP

HARDEN’S 57 LIFTS ROCKETS THE Grizzlies’ Isaiah Hartenstein (55) tries to steal the ball from the Rockets’ James Harden. AP

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OUSTON—After scoring a seasonhigh 57 points in Houston’s win over the Memphis Grizzlies on Monday night, James Harden was asked how he was able to put Sunday’s loss to Orlando, when he went 1 for 17 from threepoint range, behind him so quickly.

“I went 1 for 17? That’s a lot of threes missed,” he deadpanned. “Oh wow!”

Then the reigning Most Vauable Player, who scored 38 points against the Magic despite that terrible statistic, got serious when asked if it’s easy to forget about such a night.

“Yeah, because if I make six of them it’s on,” he said. “It’s a 60-point game. So Orlando got lucky last night.”

Harden extended his streak of 30-point

games to 17 by halftime, pouring in a franchise-record 36 points in the first half to send Houston on its way to a 112-94 victory. It’s the longest such streak since Wilt Chamberlain had 20 straight games of at least 30 points in 1964.

It’s the franchise-record 14th time Harden has scored 40 this season and the eighth time in his last 11 games. It’s the third time he’s topped 50 points this season and the 12th time in his career. He surpassed his previous season best of 54 against Washington and fell just shy of the career-high and club-record 60 points he scored last January against Orlando.

Houston teammate Austin Rivers, who joined the Rockets just three weeks ago, marveled at Harden’s ability to not let Sunday’s struggles spill over into Monday’s performance.

NBA RESULTS

Brooklyn 109, Boston 102 Houston 112, Memphis 94 Charlotte 108, San Antonio 93 Utah 100, Detroit 94 Sacramento 115, Portland 107 New Orleans 121, L.A. Clippers 117 “He comes off a game where he was 1 for 17, and everybody’s saying whatever, and it just doesn’t even faze him. He just comes in tonight like he was 17 for 17,” Rivers said. “That’s just the mindset that the great ones have. I’m telling you right now, if another player went 1 for 17 they

would have come in tonight a little...messed up.

James comes in and that’s just why he is who he is, and it’s impressive.”

After his huge first half, the Grizzlies doubleteamed Harden on most every possession in the first few minutes of the third quarter, and he didn’t score again until there were about five minutes left in the period. That basket was the start of an 11-0 run capped by a three-pointer from Harden that pushed the Rockets’ lead to 76-60 with about 3 1/2 minutes remaining in the third.

A three-pointer by JaMychal Green got the Grizzlies within 12 later in the third before Harden scored five quick points to make it 87-70.

Garrett Temple and Mike Conley scored 14 each for the Grizzlies, who lost for the eighth time in nine games.

Memphis Coach JB Bickerstaff, who worked for the Rockets from 2011 to 2016, said his team tried to keep the ball out of Harden’s hands, but Houston does such a good job of putting him in different spots on the floor that it’s difficult to do effectively.

“There’s so much space, so you have to give them credit, and give him credit just for the talent he is and the impact he has on the game,” Bickerstaff said.

Harden’s latest big game came on a night when the Rockets were without three starters, as center Clint Capela joined Chris Paul and Eric Gordon on the injured list after he hurt his right thumb Sunday night. It’s possible Capela could miss significant time, but Coach Mike D’Antoni said the team won’t know how long he’ll be out until he gets a second opinion later this week. AP

CRUCIAL TIFF FOR AZKALS T

HE Philippines battles Kyrgyzstan in an all-important duel on Wednesday but a victory alone could not guarantee the Azkals safe passage into the knockout stage of the Asian Cup. The No. 116 Filipinos take on the No. 91 Kyrgyz side at 5:30 p.m. (9:30 p.m. Manila time) at the Rashid Stadium in Dubai with both teams hanging on to survive for the round of 16.

“We have to win the next game.

We don’t have to go gung-ho at the beginning, but we know at some point we have to go for it,” said the Azkals’ top scorer, Phil Younghusband, who has yet to start a match.

Younghusband threw caution that their opponents are as hungry as they are.

“We played them twice in the last few years. Played them away, played them at home and we got two wins. But this is a different stage, they may have different players, we have different players, it’s a different arena,” he said.

The then-Thomas Dooley-led Azkals beat the Kyrgyz squad twice, 2-1 and 1-0, in international friendlies in 2016.

In this Asian Cup, Kyrgyzstan fell to China, 1-2, and South Korea, 0-1.

The Philippines, on the other hand, fell to the Koreans, also 0-1, and Chinese, 0-3, to fall to the bottom of Group C. So just how would the Azkals survive further in their Asian Cup debut? It’s complicated that the results in the other four groups closing out the preliminaries will decide whether Younghusband and company would overachieve.

The Philippines is without a point and so are Syria and Palestine in Group B, Vietnam and Yemen in Group D, Lebanon and North Korea in Group E and Turkmenistan and Oman in Group F. Already through the preliminaries are Iraq, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Japan, Uzbekistan, China and South Korea. Ramon Rafael Bonilla

Thais make Asian Cup KO stage THE United Arab Emirates’s Ismail Al Hammadi (left) and Thailand’s Supachai Jaided challenge for the ball during their Group A soccer match on Monday. AP

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L AIN, United Arab Emirates (UAE)—Thailand’s decision to change coaches continued to prove to be a masterstroke but there was last-minute heartbreak for India at the Asian Cup on Monday.

Thailand drew with host UAE, 1-1, to qualify for the next round for the first time since reaching the semifinals in 1972.

UAE finished on top of Group A and the pair could be joined in the round of 16 by Bahrain, which beat India, 1-0, thanks to a last-gasp penalty and will likely progress as one of the best four third-placed teams.

It was a far cry from Thailand’s first match in the tournament, a 4-1 loss to India that led to the firing of Coach Milovan Rajevac and the appointment of his assistant, Sirisak Yodyardthai, as interim coach.

UAE started strongly and took the lead less than seven minutes in. Ismail Al Hammadi’s attempted chip

came back off the crossbar, but Ali Mabkhout headed home the rebound.

Thailand started to get into the match and leveled four minutes before the break when Thitiphan Puangjan took advantage of panic in the UAE defense to bundle the ball past goalkeeper Khalid Eisa.

The War Elephants finished second, a point below UAE and above Bahrain thanks to a better head-to-head record, having won the match between them 1-0.

Bahrain, which hit the woodwork earlier in the match, was seconds away from going out of the tournament as India managed to fend off wave after wave of attack.

However, India captain Pronay Halder brought down Hamed Alshamsan in the penalty area and Jamal Rashed converted in stoppage time to send Bahrain into unbridled joy. AP

BULLPUPS EYE WIN NO. 8 VS. CUBS

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ATIONAL University (NU) tries to solidify its hold of the top spot as it tangles with University of Santo Tomas (UST) on Wednesday in University Athletic Association of the Philippines Season 81 juniors basketball action at the Filoil Flying V Centre.

The Bullpups and Tiger Cubs take the floor at 1 p.m.

Defending champion Ateneo, hoping to arrest back-to-back losses suffered at the hands of NU, squares off with University of the East to cap a fourgame bill at 3 p.m.

Coming off a back-to-back elimination head-tohead sweep against the Blue Eaglets, the Bullpups hold the league-best record of 7-1 (won-lost).

Big boys Carl Tamayo and Kevin Quiambao, along with offensive options Gerry Abadiano, Terrence

Fortea and Ernest Felicida, will be the vital cogs for NU. Sporting a 4-4 record at fifth spot, UST trails joint third-placers Ateneo and Adamson University (5-3) by a game in the race for the last Final Four berth.

Ace rookie Mark Nonoy, who posted his second triple-double of the season in last Sunday’s 85-63 conquest of the Junior Warriors, will be the Tiger Cubs’ main weapon.

Kai Sotto, who scored 24 points—3-of-3 from the three-point area—and pulled down 18 rebounds in a 71-78 loss to the Bullpups last Sunday, has been producing Most Valuable Player numbers for the Eaglets this season.

In the other games, Adamson University and UP Integrated School collide at 9 a.m. and Far Eastern University-Diliman clashed with De La Salle-Zobel at 11 a.m.

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Wednesday, January 16, 2019

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Fuel Masters take on Meralco Bolts

MPHASIS will be on power as the long hitters from the stellar international field gear up for an all-out assault on the Pradera Verde layout in Wednesday’s start of the $100,000 International Container Terminal Services Inc. (ICTSI) Pradera Verde Classic in Lubao, Pampanga.

Five players try to become the first two-leg winner on the second season of the Philippine Golf Tour Asia (PGTA) with Damien Jordan (Aboitiz Invitational) and fellow Aussie David Gleeson (Luisita), Jhonnel Ababa (Forest Hills), Jay Bayron (Southwoods) and James Ryan Lam (CAT Open) all coming into the ICTSI-sponsored event upbeat of their respective chances.

“I feel good, confident after winning the Aboitiz Invitational,”said Jordan ahead of his expected explosive showdown with Bayron and Lam in one of the featured flights at 7:50 a.m. on No. 1.

The Aussie ace, however, is wary of the heat and a windy week at the flat, hazard-laden course while others expressed concern over the layout’s last line of defense.

“The course is tough. The greens are unreceptive and sleek,” said Ababa, out to

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OUR teams take their turn to kick off their Philippine Cup campaign as the 44th season of the Philippine Basketball Association resumes on Wednesday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

Phoenix tackles Meralco in the main game at 7 p.m., while NorthPort and Blackwater take the floor in the opener at 4:30 p.m.

The Fuel Masters and the Bolts acquired potential key assets in the off-season in their bid to contend well this season.

Alex Mallari and Dave Marcelo will debut for Phoenix following a deal with NLEX. The two veterans are expected to boost an already stacked lineup led by Calvin Abueva, Matthew Wright and Rookie of the Year Jason Perkins.

Meralco, on the other hand, will roll out the red carpet for its players coming out of injury bay and additions John Nard Pinto and rookie Trevis Jackson.

Jared Dillinger, Ranidel de Ocampo and Cliff Hodge have recuperated from their injuries and are back to support Chris Newsome, Reynel Hugnatan and Baser Amer.

The Batang Pier and the Elite also parade new faces in the young season.

Garvo Lanete will don the NorthPort jersey after a trade on Tuesday with Meralco in exchange for a 2020 second-round pick. He teams up with third overall pick Robert Bolick and hotshot Stanley Pringle.

Blackwater, meanwhile, will be playing without Poy Erram and Pinto.

Erram was traded to NLEX, while Pinto was shipped to Phoenix then Meralco after a dispute emerged in his contract extension.

The Elite, however, remain formidable with Mac Belo, Allein Maliksi, Gelo Alolino and Joseph Eriobu.

Ramon Rafael Bonilla

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WO of the league’s rising big men get a share of the limelight when the Philippine Basketball Association Press Corps (PBAPC) holds its 25th Annual Awards Night.

John Paul Erram and Vic Manuel will be the recipients of two traditional awards scribes who regularly covers the PBA beat are handing out on Monday at the Novotel Manila Araneta Center.

The 6-foot-8 Erram will be honored as the Defensive Player of the Year, while Manuel, known as the “Muscleman,” will lift the Mr. Quality Minutes trophy in the affair presented

by Cignal TV. Erram, who made the Mythical Second Team for the first time in his career, emerged as the

MAGNOLIA’S Mark Barroca is back in a national team uniform.

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ARK BARROCA is back in a national team jersey after he was named as one of 14 members of the pool picked by Head Coach Yeng Guiao for two

crucial away games in the sixth window of the Fiba World Cup Asian Qualifiers next month.

Barroca was a member of the Gilas Pilipinas I program coached

by Serbian Rajko Toroman having picked directly out of college from Far Eastern University. In last season’s Governors’ Cup, Barroca was named Finals Most Valuable Player in TNT’s successful run.

Joining Barroca in the pool are naturalized player Andray Blatche, Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) five-time Most Valuable Player June Mar Fajardo, Jayson Castro, Paul Lee, Scottie Thompson, Gabe Norwood, Marcio Lassiter, Raymond Almazan, Roger Pogoy Troy Rosario and Poy Erram.

Christian Standhardinger is on standby as a possible replacement for Blatche, thus ruling out Stanley Pringle as a naturalized player option.

Guiao put premium on height to challenge the bigs of Qatar and Kazakhstan.

The pool open camp on Monday

Pacquiao to KO Broner, Mayweather up next THAT’S ALL AL MENDOZA | alsol47@yahoo.com

MANNY PACQUIAO will be in his 71st fight five days from today.

He will be defending his World Boxing Association (WBA) welterweight crown against Adrien Broner on Sunday, January 20 (PHL time).

For Broner, the 29-year-old American from Cincinnati, Ohio, the encounter will not only be his 38th bout but the defining moment of a checkered career marked by ups and downs.

His brushes with the law, ranging from domestic violence to driving/speeding without a license and sexual assault, merely reflects his boxing moniker: “The Problem.”

But although Broner is 33 fights behind Pacquiao’s total bouts, he is not lacking in credentials in the beak-busting business. He is a former four-time world champion.

That is easily dwarfed, though, by Pacquiao’s record eight division world titles. But, hey, look at this: Only nine of Broner’s 33 victims survived his

knockout power.

Besides boasting of 24 knockout wins, Broner’s three losses were merely on points.

Meaning, he has never been floored.

But here comes Pacquiao, at 40, bragging to high heavens he will inflict a first knockout defeat on Broner.

If you ask me, it might just happen.

Pacquiao is only too fixated to stop Broner to cement a well-orchestrated plan to face Floyd Mayweather Jr. again.

The much-talked about rematch has been in the works for two years now ever since Mayweather easily run away with a unanimous decision win over Pacquiao in 2015.

The world saw Mayweather’s win obviously coming as Pacquiao couldn’t connect correctly in that ill-fated bout, whose much-ballyhooed hype as “The Fight of The Century” quickly degenerated into “The Farce of The Century.”

ALL OUT ASSAULT UP IN PRADERA defend the crown he won by two over Aussie Andrew Campbell last year.

“But I’m ready. If I lead in the first two rounds, I feel I can win it the second time,” said winningest player on PGT Asia (with three victories), who drew Dutch Guido Van der Valk and Erwin Arcillas in the 8:10 a.m. flight on No. 10.

Clyde Mondilla, who averted a winless 2018 with a victory at PGT’s Luisita Championship last October, also exudes confidence following a successful stint in the recent Asian Tour Qualifying School where he tied for 16th to earn a full card status.

“Coming from the Q-School, I feel confident of my chances,” said the soft-spoken Mondilla who kept himself in shape through regular practice in his hometown in Bukidnon.

The 2017 PGT Order of Merit titlist is paired with Thai Tawit Polthai and Nilo Salahog at 8 a.m., also on the first hole. Other top pairings include Gleeson with Thai Wisut Artjanawat and Ira Alido at 7:40 a.m. and Tony Lascuña, Thai Pasavee Lertvilai and Justin Quiban at 8:20 a.m. on No. 10.

Others tipped to contend for the top $17,500 purse in the 72-hole championship organized by Pilipinas Golf Tournaments

Inc. and backed by Custom Clubmakers, Meralco, K&G Golf Apparel, BDO, Sharp, KZG, PLDT, Empire Golf and Sports and MY Shokai Technology Inc. are Thais Poosit Supupramai and Thammanoon Sriroj, Aussies Clayton Bridge, Nathan Park, Simon Viitakangas and Campbell, Sydney Chung, Dylan Jackson, Andy Kang and Lexus Keoninh of the US, Englishmen Benjamin David, Joe Knox and George Twyman, Keisuke Takahashi of Japan, Korean Hwang Myung Chal, Spain’s Salvador Paya Vila, Peter Stojanovski of Macedonia and Manila-based Dutchman Guido van der Valk.

Erram, Manuel run away with PBAPC awards leading shot blocker last season with 1.9 per game while playing for Blackwater. Now with NLEX, he consistently topped the department by emerging No. 1 during the Philippine and Commissioner’s Cups among locals and placing third in the Governors’ Cup. A native of Licab, Nueva Ecija, the 6-foot-4 Manuel came off the bench in all 50 games he played for Alaska and averaged 16.0 points and 4.8 rebounds as the leading force of the Aces following the trade of star player Calvin Abueva.

Also joining Erram and Manuel in the honor roll are the first-ever PBA D-League Finals MVP awardees of the 2018 season.

Top rookie pick CJ Perez of Zarks-Lyceum Jawbreakers is the winner in the Aspirants Cup, while the Foundation Cup went to Go For Gold’s Gab Banal.

The other awardees are Stanley Pringle (Scoring Champion), Chris Tiu (Breakout Player of the Season), Barangay Ginebra-Rain or Shine triple overtime thriller (Game of the

Season), Order of Merit (June Mar Fajardo, Paul Lee, Vic Manuel), All-Rookie Team (Jason Perkins, Christian Standhardinger, Paul Zamar, Robbie Herndon and Jeron Teng) and All-Interview Team (Christian Standhardinger, Chris Tiu, Chris Ross, Mike Digregorio, Joe Devance and Yeng Guiao).

Still to be named is the highlight Virgilio “Baby” Dalupan Coach of the Year, Danny Floro Executive of the Year, President’s Award and first ever Lifetime Achievement Award.

BARROCA IN 14-MAN PHL POOL

JHONNEL ABABA will be out to defend the crown he won by two shots last year.

in preparation for its game against Qatar on February 21 and Kazakhstan on February 24—both away games.

The Philippines is coming off consecutive defeats in the qualifiers for a 5-5 won-lost record. The Filipinos are running fourth behind World Cup-bound Australia (9-1), Iran (7-3) and Japan (6-4).

Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (SBP) President Al Panlilio said he is confident of the national team’s chance of earning a spot in this year’s World Cup in China but acknowledged the games against Qatar and Kazakhstan are “must win.”

Panlilio thanked the PBA Board of Governors led by Chairman Ricky Vargas and Commissioner Willie Marcial for again lending the members of the pool to the national squad.

“As this window is critical in our campaign, we would like to thank again the support of the PBA in making these players available,” said Panlilio, also a member of the league’s board representing Meralco.

“We are also happy to announce that [Andray] Blatche has committed to help our drive,” said Panlilio, adding that Blatche is expected to arrive in the first week of February.

The national team dropped its last two games to Kazakhstan (92-88) and Iran (78-70) last month.

Ramon Rafael Bonilla

And then the real shock came: Pacquiao fought Mayweather with an injured shoulder, a handicap concealed tightly before the fight that reportedly fetched a record $600 million.

Pacquiao has since recovered his true form and, even before he turned 40 last December 17, seemed to have proven his readiness to battle Mayweather again as evidenced by his seventhround knockout win over Lucas Matthysse to capture the Argentine’s WBA crown.

And what more proof does Pacquiao need to ink his rematch with Mayweather than knock Broner out, making it a rare back-to-back stoppage victories for the durable fighting senator with 39 KO wins tucked under his belt?

Bold as it may seem, therefore, I predict a Pacquiao victory by knockout. What round it will be I can only hazard a guess: between the fourth and eighth rounds. If the fight goes the distance, Pacquiao by unanimous decision.

Sit tight, crystal ball.

THAT’S IT For San Miguel Beer’s June Mar Fajardo to win a record five Most Valuable Player awards in the Philippine Basketball Association is more than enough reason to raise glasses. But for him to do it five straight years, what does that tell us? Man may land on Mars soon but, hey, Fajardo’s feat might not be matched—not in the immediate future. That’s easily comparable to Pacquiao’s eight world division titles: The hardest to surpass, let alone equal.

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GOLF AND POLITICS AT SAUDI TOURNEY Sports

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BusinessMirror

| Wednesday, January 16, 2019 mirror_sports@yahoo.com.ph Editor: Jun Lomibao

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Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy and Phil Mickelson.

Saudi Arabia’s human-rights record has come under intense scrutiny since the killing in October of Khashoggi, who wrote critically of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in columns for The Washington Post. He had been living in self-imposed exile before he was killed and dismembered inside the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul, according to Turkish media and officials.

European Tour Chief Executive Keith Pelley deflected concerns when he introduced the Saudi International to the schedule in November.

“As like many global companies, we monitor the situation in the areas countries, areas we play and the viability of the golf tournament, and I can simply say that the Saudi International is on our schedule in 2019,” Pelley said. “And I really don’t have anything more to add than that.”

Among those not going is Paul Casey, who last April was listed as “confirmed” for the tournament with Johnson and Reed. He says that was never the case, only that he had entertained the idea of going.

“But there were a lot of questions,” Casey said. “Do I want to go to Saudi? That was the main question.”

There also was the matter of Casey being an ambassador for Unicef, with the logo on his golf bag.

“There are a lot of places in the world that I have played and continue to go, which you could question... some human-rights violations that governments have committed,” he said. “I thought I’d sit this one out.”

PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan has granted releases for his members to play the tournament, held the same week as the Waste Management Phoenix Open.

He said the US tour’s only involvement was making sure the trip was safe for its players.

“Those are all terrible things that have happened, and that’s what gives us concern about our players’ safety,” Monahan said about recent developments in Saudi Arabia. “Our players are independent contractors.

Ultimately, they’re going to make their own choice. Our job is to make them as informed as they can be.”

Koepka, who won two majors last year and was the PGA Tour player of the year, also said he received no pushback from his sponsors.

Like Johnson, it was another offer to play golf in a new spot.

The PGA Tour runs a developmental tour and sponsors a World Golf Championship event in China. The European Tour has had Turkey on the schedule since 2013.

“People are always going to have different views on politics wherever you go,” Koepka said. “All these places, there’s a bit of conflict if you want to get into it. I’m not going to get into it. It’s going to be an

The Associated Press

OLF usually isn’t all that complicated for Dustin Johnson. He decides where he’s going to play and tries to post the lowest score.

The newest addition to his schedule involved a little more than that. Johnson is among several of golf’s biggest stars who are scheduled to play the Saudi International at the end of the month.

Johnson and Masters champion Patrick Reed were among the first to sign up last April for the European Tour event, long before Saudi Arabia came under even greater scrutiny over the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

Johnson said he talked to his corporate sponsors to make sure they didn’t have a problem with him playing.

He will be joining a field that features Justin Rose, Brooks Koepka and Bryson DeChambeau—that makes four of the top five players in the world ranking—at Royal Green Golf and Country Club on January 31.

“Obviously, that was a concern with our team,” Johnson said. “I’m going over there to play a sport I’m paid to play. It’s my job to play golf. Unfortunately, it’s in a part of the world where most people don’t agree with what happened, and I definitely don’t support anything like that. I’m going to play golf, not support them.

“I’m not a politician. I play golf.”

He also said it might have been a tougher decision if not for so many others going. Along with four of the top five in the world, the Saudi International includes the last two Masters champions—Reed and Sergio Garcia—and former British Open champion Henrik Stenson.

“I think any time we’re trying to grow the game and expose the game in a positive way, that’s what we’re trying to do,” said DeChambeau, a four-time winner on the Professional Golfers’ Association (PGA) Tour last year.

“I don’t think it’s a bad decision as long as they want us there. That’s what I’ve heard—they want us there. And they want to have a little bit more exposure in the game of golf. And that’s what I’m trying to do.”

It’s not all goodwill, of course. The purse is $3.5 million, though the primary income for these players is appearance money, likely to be in the $1 million range for the biggest names. That’s common for some European Tour events, especially early in the year in the Middle East, which hosted its first golf tournament in Dubai in 1989 and now has six on the Arabian Peninsula.

Johnson and Koepka start their journey this week at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship, an event that in years past has featured top players like

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IMA, Peru—French driver Stephane Peterhansel and British rider Sam Sunderland won their second stages at the Dakar Rally and moved back into position to threaten for the overall lead on Monday.

But Peterhansel, back up to second overall, believed he will need luck to catch Nasser Al-Attiyah, who has a 29-minute margin with effectively two stages to go.

“He’s doing really well and has made no mistakes so far,” Peterhansel, the 13-time Dakar champion, said of Al-Attiyah, a two-time winner.

Al-Attiyah suffered a rear wheel puncture 10 kilometers from the finish but kept driving to avoid losing time changing the tire, which was stripped to the rim.

Peterhansel and codriver David Castera suffered bad whiplash after a dune jump which also damaged the bonnet. But he still dominated the 323-km, four-hour loop stage around San Juan de Marcona, pulling away from and holding off Nani Roma about a third of the way in.

Sebastien Loeb, who won the previous two stages to be second overall, suffered an electrical problem only 3 km in. The cutouts continued and he lost 40 minutes. He cut it to 28 minutes by the finish but, overall, dropped to nearly an hour behind AlAttiyah in fourth.

“It’s quite demoralizing,” Loeb said. “We’ll see what we can fight for in the coming days.”

Roma, the 2014 champion, was third after Peterhansel, 38 minutes back. The top three are driving Minis.

Sunderland was second overall on Saturday on his KTM, then suffered rear brake failure on Sunday and fell to seventh. He was back up to fourth on Monday after dominating the last 200 km.

“Apart from losing three or four minutes looking for a waypoint, the special went well,” Sunderland said.

“I wanted to push hard this morning and it paid off.”

Jose Ignacio Cornejo was second and Ricky Brabec third on the stage, enough to retake the lead in a motorbike race in which mistakes are costly.

Pablo Quintanilla started the stage as the leader but quickly faded. He finished 21 minutes behind Sunderland, and fell to fourth overall, 10 minutes off the pace. He’s still in contention but lost a chance to shade his rivals.

Behind Brabec was Adrien van Beveren, competing in his fourth Dakar, then recent champions Toby Price and Sunderland. Quintanilla was fifth. They were all within 10 minutes of each other, guaranteeing the title won’t be decided until the very end on Thursday. AP

By Doug Ferguson

Frenchman cuts Al-Attiyah lead to 29 minutes

unbelievable field of golf there.

Hopefully, you can spread some goodwill through golf when you’re there.”

DUSTIN JOHNSON says he talked to his corporate sponsors to make sure they didn’t have a problem with him playing in Saudi Arabia. AP

BOLOVIA’S Daniel Jager Nosiglia rides his Honda across the dunes on Monday. AP

BURGERS, FRIES FOR CHAMPS W

ASHINGTON—The scent of burgers, fries and victory wafted through the stately White House on Monday as President Donald J. Trump saluted college football’s Clemson Tigers for winning the national championship.

Trump, a fast-food lover, said he even paid for their meal himself because of the partial government shutdown. He did not disclose the tab.

“We ordered American fast-food, paid for by me. Lots of hamburgers, lots of pizza,” Trump said after returning to the White House from a trip to New Orleans. “We have some very large people that like eating, so I think we’re going to have a little fun.”

Spokesman Sarah Huckabee Sanders said much of the staff in the White House residence has been furloughed because of the shutdown, “so the president is personally paying for the event to be catered with some of everyone’s favorite fast-foods.”

An impressive—and highly unusual—White House smorgasbord greeted the players. Silver trays held stacks of

wrapped burgers from Wendy’s. Also on offer were boxed burgers from McDonald’s, including Big Macs.

White House cups bearing the presidential seal held the fries.

Pizzas, some topped with olives and tomatoes, also were on the menu. Silver bowls held the condiments, and stacks of white plates sat nearby. Several young men were spotted eating multiple burgers at the stand-up tables dotting the East Room.

The Clemson team’s visit is its second since Trump took office. The Tigers last visited in June 2017 after their championship run the previous season.

Clemson Coach Dabo Swinney has nominated this season’s undefeated Tigers as the best college team ever. Trump called them a “great team, an unbelievable team.”

Trump has routinely sparred with professional athletes during his two years in office. College football has managed to avoid such political controversies, with last year’s champion Alabama also visiting the White House.AP

PRESIDENT Donald J. Trump talks to the media about the table full of fast-food in the State Dining Room of the White House. AP

On the wings of the wind

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LESS the Lord, Oh my soul! Oh Lord my God, how great You are, clothed in majesty and honor, wrapped in light as with a robe! You stretch out the heavens like a tent; You lay beams on the waters for Your dwelling. You make the clouds Your chariot; You ride on the wings of the wind. You make the winds Your messengers. You set the Earth on its foundation, immovable from age to age. You wrapped it with the depths like a cloak; the waters stood higher than the mountains. I will sing to the Lord all my life (Psalm 104:1-6). Amen.

GIVE US THIS DAY SHARED BY LUISA LACSON, HFL Word&Life Publications • teacherlouie1965@yahoo.com

Editor: Gerard S. Ramos • lifestylebusinessmirror@gmail.com

Life BusinessMirror

‘ROMA’ TOPS CRITICS’ CHOICE AWARDS; A TIE FOR GAGA AND CLOSE D3

Wednesday, January 16, 2019

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Smart but nosy: Latest gadgets want to peer into our lives A SMART home mockup at the Tuya booth at CES International 2019. AP

By Rachel leRMaN & JOsePh PisaNi The Associated Press

FIL-AM podcasters Paola Mardo and Patrick Epino of “Long Distance” are in the first batch of podcasters selected from thousands to be part of the accelerator portion of the Google Podcasts Creator Program.

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AS VEGAS—Many of the hottest new gadgets are also the nosiest ones.

The recently concluded CES tech show in Las Vegas was a showcase for cameras that livestream the living room, bathroom mirrors that offer beauty tips and gizmos that track the heartbeats of unborn children. All will collect some kind of data about their users, whether photos or monitor readings; how well they’ll protect it and what exactly they plan do with it are the important and often unanswered questions.

These features can be useful—or at least fun— but they all open the door for companies and their workers to peek into your private life. Just this week, The Intercept reported that Ring, a securitycamera company owned by Amazon, gave a variety of employees and executives access to recorded and sometimes live video footage from customers’ homes.

Our data-driven age now forces you to weigh the usefulness of a smart mirror against the risk that strangers might be watching you in your bathroom.

Even if a company has your privacy in mind, things can go wrong: Hackers can break in and access sensitive data, or your ex might hold onto a video feed long after you’ve broken up. “It’s not like all these technologies are inherently bad,” says Franziska Roesner, a University of Washington computer security and privacy researcher.

But she said the industry is still trying to figure out the right balance between providing useful services and protecting people’s privacy in the process.

AMAZON’S VIDEO FEEDS LIKE other security devices, Ring cameras can be mounted outside the front door or inside the home; a phone app lets you see who’s there.

But the Intercept said the Amazon-owned company was also allowing some high-level engineers in the US to view customers’ video feeds, while others in the Ukraine office could view and download any customer video file.

In a statement, Ring said some Amazon employees have access to videos that are publicly shared through the company’s Neighbors app, which aims to create a network of security cameras in an area. Ring also says employees get additional video from users who consent to such sharing.

At CES, Ring announced an Internet-connected video doorbell that fits into the peepholes in apartment or dorm-room doors.

Though it doesn’t appear Ring uses facial recognition yet, records show that Amazon recently filed a patent application for a facial-recognition system involving home security cameras.

LIVING ROOM LIVESTREAM It’s one thing to put cameras in our own homes, but Alarm.com wants us to also put them in other people’s houses. Alarm’s Wellcam is for caretakers to watch from afar and is mostly designed to check in on aging relatives. Someone who lives elsewhere can use a smartphone to “peek in” anytime, says Steve Chazin, vice president of products.

The notion of placing a camera in someone else’s

PHOTOS FROM LONGDISTANCERADIO.COM

FIL-AM ENTRY AMONG THOSE SELECTED TO FIRST GOOGLE PODCASTS CREATOR PROGRAM

living room might feel unsettling.

Wellcam says video streaming isn’t started until someone activates it from a phone and then it stops as soon as the person turns it off. Chazin says such cameras are “becoming more acceptable because loved ones want to know that the ones they care about are safe.”

Just be sure you trust whom you’re giving access to.

You can’t turn off the camera unless you unplug it.

BATHROOM CAMERAS FRENCH company CareOS showcased a smart mirror that lets you “try on” different hairstyles. Facial recognition helps the mirror’s camera know which person in a household is there, while augmentedreality technology overlays your actual image with animation on how you might look.

CareOS expects hotels and salons to buy the $20,000 Artemis mirror—making it more important that personal data is protected.

“We know we don’t want the whole world to know about what’s going on in the bathroom,” cofounder Chloe Szulzinger said.

The mirror doesn’t need an Internet connection to work, she said. The company says it will abide by Europe’s stronger privacy rules, which took effect in May, regardless of where a customer lives. Customers can choose to share their information with CareOS, but only after they’ve explicitly agreed to how it will be used.

The same applies for the businesses that buy and install the mirror. Customers can choose to share some information—such as photos of the hair cut they got last time they visited a salon—but the businesses can’t access anything stored in user profiles unless users specifically allow them to.

BODILY DATA SOME gadgets, meanwhile, are gathering intimate information.

Yo Sperm sells an iPhone attachment that tests and tracks sperm quality. To protect privacy, the company recommends that users turn their phones to airplane mode when using the test. The company says data stays on the phone, within the app, though there’s a button for sharing details with a doctor.

Owlet, meanwhile, plans to sell a wearable device that sits over a woman’s pregnant belly and tracks fetal heartbeats. The company’s privacy policy says personal data gets collected. And users can choose to share heartbeat information with researchers studying stillbirths.

Though such data can be useful, Forrester analyst Fatemeh Khatibloo warns that these devices aren’t regulated or governed by US privacy law.

She warns that companies could potentially sell data to insurance companies who could find, for instance, that someone was drinking caffeine during a pregnancy—potentially raising health risks and policy premiums. n

EU top court adviser: Google can limit right to be forgotten LONDON—An adviser to Europe’s top court says Google doesn’t have to extend “right to be forgotten” rules to its search engines globally.

The European Court of Justice’s advocate general released a preliminary opinion on Thursday in the case involving the US tech company and France’s data privacy regulator. The case stems from the court’s 2014 ruling that people have the right to control what appears when their name is searched online.

That decision forced Google to delete links to outdated or embarrassing personal information that popped up in searches.

The two sides had sought clarification on a 2015 French decision ordering Google to remove results for all its search engines on request, and not just European country sites like www.google.fr.

Advocate General Maciej Szpunar’s opinion said the court “should limit the scope of the dereferencing that

search engine operators are required to carry out,” and that it shouldn’t have to do it for all domain names, according to a statement.

Opinions from the court’s advocate general aren’t binding but the court often follows them when it hands down its ruling, which is expected later.

The case highlighted the need to balance data privacy and protection concerns against the public’s right to know. It also raised thorny questions

about how to enforce differing legal jurisdictions when it comes to the borderless Internet.

Google’s senior privacy counsel, Peter Fleischer, said the company acknowledges that the right to privacy and public access to information “are important to people all around the world.... We’ve worked hard to ensure that the right to be forgotten is effective for Europeans, including using geolocation to ensure 99 percent effectiveness.” AP

PAOLA MARDO, Filipino American millennial host, producer and creator of “Long Distance,” an independent narrative podcast about the Filipino diaspora, together with FilAm coproducer and voice actor for the podcast Patrick Epino, who recently starred as the black sheep family member Troy in FilAm director’s H.P. Mendoza’s award-winning dark comedy Bitter Melon (an ABS-CBN Cinematografo Original film in collaboration with Ersatz Films and Gravitas Ventures), were among the selected teams in the first company of podcasts to participate in the accelerator portion of the Google Podcasts Creator Program. The program is a collaboration between Google and PRX, a leader in podcast content, training and technology.

According to a press release by PRX, the six winning teams were chosen from thousands of entries and represent perspectives from around the world.

Funded by Google and run independently by PRX, the creator program aims to remove barriers to podcasting, increase the diversity of voices in the industry, and make sure content is available for all audiences through a series of educational programs, including a 20-week podcast training and accelerator program.

The selected teams are: n AfroQueer, Nairobi, Kenya (Maeve Francis, Aida HollyNambi, Selly Thiam): A reported, narrative-driven podcast about queer Africans living, loving, surviving and thriving on the African continent and in the diaspora. n Las Raras, Santiago, Chile (Martín Cruz, Catalina May): This Spanish-language nonfiction podcast tells stories of “The Weird Ones,” the people who live on the margins of society because of their background or life choices, and how these stories challenge social norms. n Timestorm, Bloomfield, New Jersey (Michael Aquino, Dania Ramos): This audio fiction series tells the story of 12-year-old twins, Alexa and Beni Ventura, who travel through time to uncover hidden moments in the history of Puerto Rican culture. n Long Distance, Los Angeles, California (Patrick Epino, Paola Mardo): This reported, narrative podcast uncovers unknown histories and present-day realities about life in the Filipino diaspora. n The Colored Girl Beautiful, Baltimore, Maryland (Aseloka Smith): Explores black women’s concepts of beauty then and now using Emma Azalia Hackley’s 1916 book The Colored Girl Beautiful as a framework. n Who Taught You How To Drive?!, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (Tanikka Charraé, Melissa Tsuei, Tezarah Wilkins): A humorous interview podcast about how we get around told through the stories of drivers, walkers, riders and bikers and their habits on the road.

“The teams selected for the first round show incredible promise, and we couldn’t be more excited to help these producers develop and grow their shows,” says Zack ReneauWedeen, product manager of Google Podcasts, which launched in June 2018. “This program is one of the ways we hope to ensure that our millions of listeners have access to a variety of content for all types of global audiences.”

The all-expenses-paid training program begins with a oneweek intensive course at PRX’s Podcast Garage in Boston later this month, during which teams will receive editorial and production training, with a strong emphasis on developing content for real listeners. Then, armed with assignments and goals, the teams will meet again each month to hone their skills and pitch iterations of their podcast to a panel of experts for feedback. PRX will establish weekly webinars with industry leaders, mentorship through the advisory program and specific instruction on all aspects of podcasting relevant to their team. During the 20 weeks, teams will be developing and testing pilot episodes as well as establishing a production and marketing plan. The program culminates in June with a live launch show which will be open to the public.

Additionally, the Google Podcasts Creator Program will release a series of Podcast 101 education videos featured in multiple languages and will share case studies and key learnings from the first round of training.

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Wednesday, January 16, 2019

Pet Corner BusinessMirror

Inmates battling addiction get an unlikely ally: A puppy INMATE Caitlin Hyland gives a treat to a chocolate lab puppy that lives in her cell at Merrimack County Jail in Boscawen, New Hampshire. The New Hampshire jail is the first in the state to partner prisoners with the “Hero Pups” program to foster and train puppies with the goal of placing them with military veterans and first responders in need of support dogs. AP

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By Michael Casey The Associated Press

OSCAWEN, New Hampshire—Caitlin Hyland’s New Hampshire jail cell looks like those of many of her fellow inmates, featuring family photos, a few books and a cot. But one thing sets it apart: the cage on the floor for a 10-week-old puppy.

Hyland, a 28-year-old from Concord, New Hampshire, who is serving time for a drug conviction, is one of four inmates at the Merrimack County jail who are training puppies.

In a partnership between a group called Hero Pups and the jail, two male and two female inmates, who are all in the jail’s drug treatment program, will raise the puppies for the next two months. They will eventually be handed over to military veterans and first responders who are struggling with posttraumatic stress disorder and other challenges.

“It feels like a second chance,” Hyland said of being chosen to raise the chocolate Labrador retriever mix puppy. She must feed the dog three times a day, walk it every two hours for 20 minutes and is giving it obedience training. The dog stays with her around the clock.

“It’s just amazing to have that unconditional love,” she continued. “I am learning so much about finding the balance. You have to love yourself before you can appreciate the love something else is giving you.”

Justin Martin, another inmate, says his dog has given him a sense of purpose.

“Knowing he is going on to help someone else is totally huge for me,” said Martin, 33, of Barnstead, New Hampshire. “With me and my sobriety and recovery, it’s just really a life-changer. He is really changing two lives.”

The program is the first of its kind in New Hampshire but mirrors similar programs around the country in which inmates raise and care for animals, typically dogs.

NEADS World Class Service Dogs works with inmates at seven facilities in Massachusetts and Rhode Island to train service dogs, while Leader Dogs For the Blind works with prisons in Minnesota, Iowa and Michigan in raising puppies that eventually become guide dogs for people who are blind. At one program at the Erie County Correctional Facility in New York, inmates raise pheasant chicks that are then released into the wild.

Supporters of the programs say the puppies get a dedicated trainer while the inmates learn to be more caring, compassionate and enterprising—skills that can help them once they are released. Several studies suggest that puppy programs in prisons and jails have

Today’s Horoscope

By Eugenia Last

CELEBRITIES BORN ON THIS DAY: Kate Moss, 45; Richard T. Jones, 47; Debbie Allen, 69; John Carpenter, 71.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Look at the positive in life. Walk with the people who are forward thinkers. Take the time to invest in yourself, your personal surroundings and your involvement in things that matter to you. Dedication and determination will lead to success. Don’t live in the past when you should be moving forward. Take control and make things happen. Your lucky numbers are 9, 17, 24, 28, 30, 38, 46.

a

ARIES (March 21-April 19): Take care of business. If you fall short, someone will complain. Channel your energy instead of letting it fuel anger. What you accomplish will make you feel good and prompt you to relax later in the day with someone you love. HHH

b

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Share what’s on your mind. Intellectual interaction will be the key to getting things up and running or putting your plans into motion. Being able to give and take will help you reach your goal faster and without complications. HHH

c

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): A relationship will take a turn that will prompt you to do things differently. Make plans that encourage a closer connection to someone you feel is special. Romance is on the rise and will improve your life. HHH

d

CANCER (June 21-July 22): Try something different, but don’t make a change for the wrong reason. A realistic approach to partnerships, joint ventures and money matters will deter you from getting involved in something that could lead to financial loss, heartache or injury. HHHH

e

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Play time will lift your spirits and help you build enthusiasm to work harder and achieve more. Get physical and join forces with someone who motivates you to be your best. HH

f

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Keep your life simple, your emotions under control and your plans doable. Refuse to let anyone upset your world or tempt you to get involved in something that isn’t in your best interest emotionally, physically or financially. HH

g

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Focus on personal and physical changes that will make you feel good about the way you look, who you are and the relationships you want to nurture. Make a point to distance yourself from those who bring you down. HHHHH

reduced anxiety and depression among inmates and increased morale among staff. Some groups say the programs have lowered recidivism rates, though it’s unclear what role the puppies played.

In New Hampshire, Merrimack County Department of Corrections Superintendent Ross Cunningham said he hopes the puppy program will help inmates undergoing drug treatment to stay clean.

“It’s teaching them some responsibility. It’s

Pawsome time in Araneta Center YOUR best(paw)friend need not miss out on the fun of your staycations. At Novotel Manila Araneta Center (www.novotelmanilaaranetacenter.com), you and your canine companion are welcome to experience modern comforts right at the heart of Quezon City’s lifestyle and entertainment district.

For an additional P1,000 per night, you can both have a pawsome time inside any of the hotel’s 401 rooms prepared with a special Novodog towel, litter bag and door hangers to notify hotel guests and housekeeping of your woofmate.

Feel free to take your dog out for a walk around the hotel’s 2,500-square-meter fully landscaped Versailles Event Garden on the sixth floor with a nearby Pet Relief and Bathing stations.

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Meanwhile, for the fourth consecutive year, Novotel Manila Araneta Center is welcoming the delegates for the Philippine Circuit Show 2019, organized by the Philippine Canine Club Inc. (PCCI).

Dubbed as the biggest dog show in Asia, the Philippine Circuit welcomes participants from all over the world presenting only the “cream of the crop” among a diverse quality lineup of dog breeds.

Moving around the Araneta Center with your pet pals is also possible by simply getting the Araneta Center Pet Pals ID card at www.aranetacenter.net/petpals.

Novotel Manila Araneta Center’s adorable yet reliable #NovoDogK9Crew, namely, Judo, Chevron, Rex and Laica, are all set to welcome guests and make sure they have a safe and fun stay together.

teaching them some structure,” he said, adding that he appreciates how a dog trained in a jail returns to the community and becomes part of a family.

Laura Barker, the board president at Hero Pups, said she had long wanted to work with prisoners, who typically have “dramatically higher rate of success” in training the dogs. Unlike volunteers outside of prison who must juggle other commitments, inmates can more intensely focus on the animals they are training, and they spend the bulk of their time with the dogs, she said.

“These dogs go on to help people,” said Barker, whose group has trained 40 dogs since 2016. “Being able to contribute something positive to the inmate participants just adds another layer of awesomeness.”

The arrival of the puppies at the jail’s minimum security unit last week has reverberated well beyond the four inmates that care for them. On any given day, all 30 inmates in the unit have an opportunity to interact with the dogs and rubber toys can be found in the television room and other common areas. The animals prancing about, snoozing or yelping offer a sense of normalcy in a facility that often feels cold and tense, inmates said.

“It has had a positive impact. When I look on security cameras, I see puppies running around,” said Assistant Merrimack County Department of Corrections Superintendent Kara Wyman. “That lifts the staff.” n

h

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Communication can help solve problems, but arguing will not. Stay calm and address issues intellectually and with facts to avoid being pressured by someone who likes to bait you into a conversation that is upsetting. HHH

i

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Bypass anyone you don’t trust. Stick to the people who share common interests and beliefs.

Positive changes at home will help you put the past behind you. HHH

j

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Share your thoughts with someone you live with or would like to go into partnership with. You may not agree on everything, but with cooperation, you’ll come up with a plan that will satisfy the needs of you both.

HHHHH

k

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Don’t share your secrets or your plans until you have everything in place. Taking proper steps to protect what you want to do will ensure that no one interferes. HH

l

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): Get involved in something that interests you. The people you meet along the way will offer good advice and inside information that will encourage you to make changes to the way you handle your money or pending negotiations. HHHH BIRTHDAY BABY: You are friendly, compassionate and helpful.

You are fashionable and unique.

‘musical interlude’ BY GARY CEE The Universal Crossword/Edited by David Steinberg

ACROSS 1 Spreadsheet figures 5 First-grader, for one 10 Tequila order 14 Makeup maker 15 What a mute button mutes 16 Traditions and such 17 Yin and ___ 18 Governor Howard/Theologian Luther 20 Excessive, as a price 22 “Follow me, Rover!”

23 Got a blue ribbon 24 Senator Rand/Liberator Bolivar 27 Like old chips 29 Sculptor Jean 30 Turkish official 31 Hotel attendant 32 7-Eleven “brain-freeze” drink 35 “Agreed” 36 Novelist Henry/Actor Lautner 38 Gear tooth 39 Abridge 40 They give directions to visitors 42 Little shaver

3 Undergarment with a clasp 4 46 Runner’s sprain site 47 Pitcher Tommy/Banker Rothschild 50 Colorado tribe member 51 Bit of defamation 53 Enthusiastic 54 Director Nicholas/Aviator Lindbergh 58 Mosey about 59 Decorated a cake 60 Cash, in slang 61 Smallest bills 62 Airport terminal figs.

63 Young’s partner 64 Jay’s home DOWN 1 Pampering place 2 Online likeness 3 Get buff 4 Christmas cookie shape 5 Scoundrel 6 Lime green, e.g.

7 Twin Falls’ state 8 ___ closet 9 Capitol topper

0 Canon offering, briefly 1 11 Big trouble 12 Baltimore team 13 Hamilton’s greenback 19 In addition 21 Biblical verse 25 “Suppose so” 26 Grassy wetland 28 Don in a fitting room 31 Quarterback Manning 32 Katey of Sons of Anarchy 33 Generic school grp.

34 Venus neighbor 36 Competed for a position 37 Helper’s offer 38 Touch base with 40 Actor Hugh 41 Grateful Dead bassist Phil 43 Past 44 Martha of the Vandellas 45 Slap cuffs on 47 Box seat holder?

48 Trademarked fiber 49 Packer Rodgers

2 ___ duck president 5 55 Low-risk investments: Abbr.

56 Chicago trains 57 Didn’t participate

Solution to yesterday’s puzzle:

Show BusinessMirror

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GLENN CLOSE (left) and Lady Gaga, winners in a tie for the best actress award, hug in the press room. PHOTOS: AP

n Actress: TIE, Glenn Close, The Wife and Lady Gaga, A Star Is Born n Supporting Actor: Mahershala Ali, Green Book n Supporting Actress: Regina King, If Beale Street Could Talk n Young Actor/Actress: Elsie Fisher, Eighth Grade n Acting Ensemble: The Favourite n Director: Alfonso Cuaron, Roma n Original Screenplay: Paul Schrader, First Reformed n Adapted Screenplay: Barry Jenkins, If Beale Street Could Talk n Cinematography: Alfonso Cuaron, Roma n Production Design: Black Panther n Editing: First Man n Costume Design: Black Panther n Hair And Makeup: Vice n Visual Effects: Black Panther n Animated Feature: Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse n Action Movie: Mission Impossible: Fallout n Comedy: Crazy Rich Asians n Actor, Comedy: Christian Bale, Vice n Actress, Comedy: Olivia Colman, The Favourite n Sci-Fi Or Horror: A Quiet Place n Foreign Language: Roma n Song: “Shallow,” A Star Is Born n Score: First Man, Justin Hurwitz n Drama Series: The Americans

n Actor, Drama Series: Matthew Rhys, The Americans n Actress, Drama Series: Sandra Oh, Killing Eve n Supporting Actor, Drama Series: Noah Emmerich, The Americans n Supporting Actress, Drama Series: Thandie Newton, Westworld n Comedy Series: The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel n Actor, Comedy Series: Bill Hader, Barry n Actress, Comedy Series: Rachel Brosnahan, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel n Supporting Actor, Comedy Series: Henry Winkler, Barry n Supporting Actress, Comedy Series: Alex Borstein, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel n Limited Series: The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story n TV Movie: Jesus Christ Superstar Live in Concert n Actor in a TV Movie or Limited Series: Darren Criss, The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story n Actress in a TV Movie or Limited Series: TIE: Amy Adams, Sharp Objects and Patricia Arquette, Escape at Dannemora n Supporting Actor in a TV Movie or Limited Series: Ben Whishaw, A Very English Scandal n Supporting Actress in a TV Movie or Limited Series: Patricia Clarkson, Sharp Objects n Animated Series: BoJack Horseman AP

Ken Chan signs up with GMA Music THE year is off to a great start for versatile GMA actor Ken Chan as he became the latest artist to join GMA Music’s roster of talents on January 8.

Present during the contract-signing were GMA Artist Center Assistant Vice President and Head for Talent Imaging and Marketing Unit Simoun Ferrer, Senior Talent Manager Tracy Garcia, GMA Music Managing Director Rene Salta and GMA Music A&R Manager Kedy Sanchez.

Ken, who is lauded for his skillful portrayal in the top-rating afternoon series My Special Tatay, shared that he feels overwhelmed and thrilled to mark another milestone in his career, “Sobrang happy po ako dahil ang tagal ko nang wish na makasama sa GMA Music.

Talagang nagpapasalamat po ako sa kanila dahil nagtiwala at patuloy silang nagtitiwala sa akin. Lahat ng pinu-produce nila ay maganda kaya excited ako na makatrabaho sila.”

He also expressed his excitement over his first song, titled “Almusal,” which is a duet with fellow

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ALFONSO CUARON accepts the award for best picture for Roma.

‘Roma’ tops Critics’ Choice Awards; a tie for Gaga and Close S ANTA MONICA, California—Roma is the top winner at the Critics’ Choice Awards, winning best picture, foreign language film and a pair of individual honors for director Alfonso Cuaron.

The 24th annual ceremony held on Sunday at Barker Hanger in Santa Monica, California, also split the top actress award between Glenn Close for The Wife and Lady Gaga for A Star Is Born. The split win comes a week after Close won the Golden Globe Award for best actress in a film drama, an award that many expected Lady Gaga would win.

The Americans and The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel tied for top television winners with three apiece. Maisel won the top comedy honor for the second year in a row, and series star Rachel Brosnahan also was a repeat winner for best actress in a comedy series.

Black Panther and Vice each won three awards, including a pair of acting honors for Christian Bale for his portrayal of former Vice President Dick Cheney.

The best actress prize wasn’t the only award that resulted in a tie: Amy Adams and Patricia Arquette split the best actress in a limited series or movie made for television honor.

Elsie Fisher won the best new actress honor for her breakthrough role in Eighth Grade.

Here are the winners of the Critics’ Choice Awards: n Film: Roma n Actor: Christian Bale, Vice

Wednesday, January 16, 2019

GMA singer and onscreen partner Rita Daniela.

“Simple pero feel good ’yung music at relatable kasi ’di ba tayong mga Pinoy, mahilig tayo sa almusal.

Tsaka kapag may sinusuyo tayo, ’di ba isa sa mga ginagawa natin ay pinaghahanda natin ng almusal? Nag-play na po sa Barangay LS 97.1 and sa RGMA provincial radio stations nationwide ’yung single, tapos nu’ng una kong narinig sobrang sarap sa feeling na finally pinarinig na sa mga Kapuso natin ’yung single namin,” he said.

Meanwhile, Rene Salta enthusiastically welcomed Ken and revealed that they already have quality projects in store for him, “Happy ang GMA Music sa signing na ito especially with Ken Chan because he is one of the network’s most prized talents. In fact, meron na siyang naka-ready na next single. It’s coming soon, and we’re also looking forward to shooting the music video for that.” Fans can listen to “Almusal” on Spotify and download it on Apple Music, iTunes and other digital stores worldwide beginning January 15.

BLIND SPOT BRUCE C.

NO INTERNATIONAL PROJECT

SO it is true that high profile celebrity auditioned for a high profile international project. Contrary to popular belief, she didn’t pass the audition and will not be appearing in the said project. The actress had her hopes up about the project and we honestly feel bad that she did not get it because she is a nice girl. However, perhaps she should stop being so competitive with her arch rival over who does what better. The high profile celebrity is spending a lot of money just so she could appear to be better and richer than her rival. It doesn’t matter, to most people. The effort is not worth it. Instead, she should concentrate on her career and family life.

SCARY SIDE

SO there is an audio recording going around of a celebrity talking to her former staff member in a threatening way, telling him that she will expose him for what he has done. The recording is alternately fascinating and repulsive and, in our opinion, exposes the celebrity for what she is. No wonder the former staff member’s family is so mad at her. In the recording, if it is genuine, the celebrity showed her scary dark side.

TERRITORIAL

BEFORE the non-showbiz girl became the actor’s girlfriend, he had a thriving career as a leading man.

He was not by the typical metrics a superstar but he was doing well. But when he and the non-showbiz girl became a couple, everybody noticed how territorial the girl was and how she would accompany her boyfriend everywhere, including work-related events. She would also make sure that she was in every picture and required the actor to regularly post their couple photos on his Instagram account. Pretty soon, many fans started unfollowing the actor not because he has a girlfriend but because they found all that flaunting too obnoxious. He also unfollowed a colleague and when fans noticed, he argued with one of them on social media.

CREEPY EX

SO the TV star-influencer continues to be bitchy to any girl who is linked to her ex, even though she already has a boyfriend. The new object of her ire is the beautiful young actress who is her ex’s new girlfriend. The thing is that she can’t attack the girl head-on as she is quite feisty. Among the TV starinfluencer’s former victims include a starlet and one of her costars, the daughter of popular senior actor. She has even been catty to a beautiful colleague because her ex once flirted with the girl, who actually has a boyfriend. It was just that the beautiful colleague was drunk at the time and flirted back.

Lady Gaga apologizes for R. Kelly collaboration NEW YORK—Lady Gaga is sorry for her 2013 duet with R. Kelly in the wake of sexual-misconduct allegations against the singer, and she intends to remove the song from streaming services.

“What I am hearing about the allegations against R. Kelly is absolutely horrifying and indefensible,” she said. Posting on social media on Wednesday, Gaga wrote that she had collaborated with Kelly on “Do What U Want [With My Body]” during a “dark time” in her life as a victim of sexual assault. She said she should have sought therapy or other help instead.

“I think it’s clear how explicitly twisted my thinking was at the time. If I could go back and have a

talk with my younger self I’d tell her to go through the therapy I have since then so that I could understand the confused post-traumatic state that I was in,” she wrote. “I can’t go back, but I can go forward and continue to support women, men, and people of all sexual identities, and of all races, who are victims of sexual assault.”

Lifetime’s Surviving R. Kelly series, which aired this month, has brought renewed attention to the singer’s history and allegations that he has sexually abused women and girls. Kelly has denied wrongdoing, and in 2008 was acquitted on child pornography charges.

Gaga’s collaboration with Kelly had been intensely criticized when it was released, in part because of the allegations against him and because of the sexually charged performances they did on Saturday Night Live and the American Music Awards in 2013.

The video was directed by famed photographer Terry Richardson, who also had been accused of sexual misconduct; it was never officially released, but depicts Kelly as a doctor ogling a naked Gaga, the patient.

Richardson has denied allegations of misconduct and said any relationships he had with models were consensual. AP

IN this November 2013, file photo, Lady Gaga and R. Kelly perform “Do What U Want [With My Body]” at the American Music Awards in Los Angeles. Lady Gaga is sorry for her 2013 duet with R. Kelly in the wake of sexual-misconduct allegations against the singer, and she intends to remove the song from streaming services. AP

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Wednesday, January 16, 2019

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Same dog, New Year, new tricks: Part 2 SUI GENERIS CARLO ATIENZA

biblisko@gmail.com

A

RISTOTLE once said, “We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence is not an act, but a habit.” And to become excellent, we need to make it a habit to perfect whatever we do. This reminds me of a joke where a musician was asked how to get to Carnegie Hall. His answer?

Practice, practice, practice.

Great accomplishments are not a result of one cosmic event. It is a confluence of little choices we do everyday. You do not just become a great musician.

You must practice, practice, practice until it is no longer practice but becomes a part of you. And in time, you will discover that you have achieved your goals all because you started choosing good habits to improve yourself.

Can you still remember your New Year’s resolutions? Hopefully you have listed them down because I will share some tips and tricks to make your resolutions stick.

First and foremost, you need to identify what you want to change in yourself this year. Once you have identified them, ask yourself if you are doing it for others or if you are doing it for yourself. Chances are, if you are doing it for someone else, the moment that person is no longer in the picture, you will lose your resolve to cultivate that habit. Sure, you can recruit people to help you and cheer you on, but at the end of the day you will still have to live with yourself. And that is a pretty long time. So make sure you are doing it for yourself to make yourself happy and not for others. After all, your happiness matters more than their criticisms.

Charles Duhigg, author of the book The Power of Habit and a renowned behavioral psychologist, says people are unsuccessful at forming new habit because they do not know how habits are formed and developed. In his book, he says habits develop from cues triggering a routine and reinforced by a reward.

The cue-routine-reward is called the habit cycle, from which habits form.

Last week I cited the example of coffee in the afternoon and how it became a habit from being a trial cup to being the go-to wake-me-upper. The cue is feeling sleepy, the routine is getting a cup of coffee, and the reward is feeling invigorated. If you want to get rid of coffee in the afternoon, replace the routine with an alternative.

I suggest an apple not only because “an apple a

day keeps the doctor away” but also because research has shown that an apple has natural sugars (fructose) that the body slowly uses, thus keeping you awake longer. It has other side benefits from the phytonutrients, antioxidants and flavonoids that are known to improve health. Replace coffee with apple and you will gradually find yourself no longer hankering for coffee.

The important thing here is to understand what you do everyday and look for the triggers that make you do the things you do. Replace the routine with something better and healthier and you’re on your way to building habits that will help you achieve your New Year’s resolution to become the better you.

Duhigg sums this up when he said, “The difference between who you are and who you want to be is what you do.” So start moving!

How long before it becomes a habit? The easy answer is however long it takes. But behavioral research has shown you need a minimum of 21 day to develop a habit. But for habits that are harder to break, it could take months to develop routines that replace them.

Which leads me to an important part in getting rid of bad habits —your willpower. Willpower is a curious

REESE FERNANDEZ-RUIZ joins Bayo in its Movement of Sustainability.

thing. There are those who can get rid of a habit cold turkey. They seemingly have this super power to switch off their cravings and go on as if nothing had happened. For the rest of us ordinary folk, it takes weeks or even months to get off a bad habit. Luckily for us, there are scientific researches that help us understand how we can get rid of debilitating habits.

James Clear, in his book Atomic Habits, says that in order to create new habits, you need to apply four things. Your new habit needs to be obvious, attractive, easy and satisfying if you are going to adopt good ones. Conversely, if you want to get rid of bad ones, you need to make it invisible, unattractive, difficult and unsatisfying.

Let’s take smoking when stressed, for example. A simplistic approach to applying these principles is to identify factors that push you to smoke and avoid them (obvious); find an alternative that is better, like talking to your friends or reading a good book (attractive); set realistic goals like lessening the number of sticks you smoke each day until it becomes zero (easy); then reward yourself every time you meet your target daily goals (satisfying). Of course, James Clear explains it more in detail in his book and if you are serious about developing good

THE artisans weaving the upcycled fabrics into a work of art.

Bayo promotes sustainability y FROM being a purveyor of modern design and style, the apparel brand Bayo has transformed to become an empowering leader and social game changer in the fashion industry by initiating a movement of sustainability.

Bayo expands its influence and takes on the new cause with a Gift with Purchase (GWP) initiative, with the aim of addressing its issue on waste management and sustainability, while still adhering to its value of uplifting Filipino communities through craftsmanship.

“We were inspired to take this next step because I see mountains of cut fabrics in our factories just waiting to be thrown in the dumpsites and this would take so many years before it would decompose,” begins Louie Lagon, managing director of Bayo Foundation. As a conscious fashion producer, Bayo strives to lessen its environmental impact and ensures that their scraps do not end up in landfills.

Rags2Riches participated in this initiative to upcycle fabric scraps from Bayo’s manufacturing sites to create bags, designed and handwoven by

the artisans of the foundation. Lagon continues, “Climate change has always been a daunting problem all over the world. Through our responsible waste management efforts, Bayo is making sustainability its thrust. Bayo aims to lead the industry in helping alleviate its environmental impact.”

Discover an array of beautifully crafted bags that are chic and stylish, perfect for the modern woman.

For ladies who like to keep it hands-free, there’s the nifty backpack that is fitted with straps so it can also be carried as a handbag. On the other hand, women on-the-go can opt for a roomier tote that comes in colors such as khaki, navy, red and black.

You can avail yourselves of these limited-edition bags for free for a minimum purchase of P5,000 at any Bayo store. More than just being a proud patron of local design, you can become an advocate of change and sustainability through this initiative.

With every purchase at Bayo, you can be assured that you’re making a difference. For each bag made of upcycled scraps, you are helping conserve resources.

Patrons are also supporting a fair and ethical

livelihood for the artisans of Rags2Riches.

“This initiative is an ongoing process of learning and improvement for Bayo. We hope to spark a transformation and empower Filipinos to make sustainable fashion a central part of their lives.

We believe that this project will create a big impact not only on our local industry, but the global environment.

We encourage our consumers to join us in this movement and be more conscious about sustainability,” ends Lagon.

ADD this bag to your closet while giving back to the community and the environment.

habits to replace bad ones, I strongly encourage you to get a copy of his book.

One tip that helped me develop good habits was to break down a seemingly insurmountable habit into bite-sized pieces. Last year one of my goals was to exercise regularly. The first week was hilarious because I wanted to do two hours of exercise five times that week. So guess what happened the next week? I did not go to the gym. It became so difficult for me that I simply gave up. After a few days, I reminded myself of my goals but with a realization that the only thing that will help me achieve them was if I do it gradually. And so I did just that. I went to the gym three times a week for an hour for the next months or so and after a year, I have made it a habit to go to the gym five times a week for 90 minutes. The first few months were a struggle but once I had made it easy for me to achieve realistic goals, I was able to add a few more each week until it already became a habit.

You can do it too. What are your goals this year?

Find useful habits to overcome bad ones by breaking them down to realistic goals and add more as you achieve your goals. You might be the same dog but who says you can’t be taught new tricks? n

MEDICARD SPRINT TRI WINNERS

A LEADING health maintenance organization in the country, MediCard (www.medicardphils.com) continues to promote an active and healthy lifestyle through its first beginner-friendly MediCard Sprint Tri in Fontana Leisure Park, Clark, Pampanga. The first HMO-organized triathlon consisted of a 600-meter swim in the Olympic-size pool; a 20-kilometer bike course around the Clark grounds; and a 5-km run on the rolling paths of the resort.

The triathlon also featured a relay category for family, friends or teammates.

The event was organized

by Bike King.

Photo shows (left) MediCard President Dr. Nicky Montoya and (right) MediCard COO Atty. Jon Montoya with winners of male category aged 40 to 44, Brett Petrillo in first place, Ronald Quion in second place and JP Cabero in third place.

Business

E2 Wednesday, January 16, 2019

Real-estate logistics, co-living headline emerging trends in Asia Pacific 2019 Amor Maclang

FIRST DIBS IN REAL ESTATE Part One

F

ORECAST indicates that local asset markets continue to have an abundance of cheap domestic capital. Today marks the largest gathering of real-estate players in the industry as they together confront possible industry headwinds in 2019.

Manila continues to find it hard to attract international investment despite a healthy domestic market that has seen office rents and capital values continue to rise and vacancies fall based in particular on activity from the online gaming and BPO industries, according to the Emerging Trends in Real Estate Asia Pacific 2019, a real-estate forecast jointly published by the Urban Land Institute (ULI) and PwC. Muted interest from foreign funds is due to a combination of factors ranging from internal political concerns, regulatory barriers to entry and, most recently, by the potential economic consequences of capital outflows caused by rising

interest rates, both domestically and in the United States. Another fundamental issue that has long acted as an indirect barrier for foreign capital remains in place—local asset markets are overflowing with cheap domestic capital. Foreign players who demand risk-adjusted returns in the high teens are therefore priced out of the market by local banks able to offer debt at rates as low as 2.75 percent.

Looking at the Asia-Pacific region as a whole, ongoing competition among investors to place capital is continuing to shape how the sourcing of assets is approached. Value-add plays continue to be a focus, with owners looking to upgrade assets by providing more flexibility, better

user experiences, and improvements that leverage design and technology functions. As a result, investors today say they are likely to be more site specific, working from the ground up rather than the top down.

Among the trends in the Asia-Pacific region that the report cites are: Logistics facilities continue to be a go-to investment: The only sector where investor opinions were uniformly bullish, investment allocations to the sector have risen significantly in 2018.

Co-living as a template for future housing: As cities are becoming denser and housing costs rise, more developers are looking to co-living as a way to pack more people into smaller areas.

Capital flows remain strong: The ongoing buildup of liquidity across the Asia-Pacific region still leads to huge sums of money crossing borders, to be invested in foreign realestate assets. Strong outflows in the region seem certain to continue, especially with new reserves from Japan likely to enter the mix in 2019.

“While Manila fails to attract the positive sentiment it held back in 2017, local developers are now increasingly open to working with foreign players in order to lever-

age operational expertise as well as their international connections,” said John Fitzgerald, chief executive, ULI Asia Pacific. “In addition, good opportunities are increasingly available for investors able to find reliable local partners and to think out of the box, in particular by targeting alternative or emerging sectors such as infrastructure, logistics and industrial parks.”

“The Manila real-estate market remains strong,” said Alex Cabrera, chairman and senior partner, PwC Philippines. “The fundamentals we have are solid—even if office rents and capital values have risen at unprecedented rates, vacancies remain low. Also, we will continue to see the interest from foreign players who are making contingency plans to maintain access to key markets like the United States, from alternative exporting bases like the Philippines.”

Santos Knight Frank, ULI Philippines’s presenting partner of the Manila report, shared similar sentiments. “With strong market fundamentals, Asia Pacific’s real-estate markets, particularly the Philippines, are set to even grow larger in 2019 after many years of expansion.

The Emerging Trends in Real Estate Asia Pacific report is a must-read

source of information to your plan real-estate strategy this year,” said Rick Santos, chairman and CEO of Santos Knight Frank.

The Emerging Trends report, which is being released at a series of events across Asia, provides an outlook on Asia-Pacific real-estate investment and development trends, real-estate finance and capital markets, and trends by property sector and metropolitan area. It is based on over 350 survey responses received from real-estate professionals, including investors, developers, property company representatives, lenders, brokers and consultants.

The top 5 markets for investment and development in 2019:

n Melbourne (first in investment, first in development)—Melbourne has jumped ahead of Sydney this year. It offers a constrained office supply pipeline, good yield spread over the cost of debt and sovereign bonds, a deep, liquid, core market and fair prospects for rental growth. n Singapore (second in investment, eighth in development)—An improvement in Singapore’s office market has enabled the city to take the second spot in investment rank-

ings, as it continues to rebound from cyclical lows. n Sydney (third in investment, third in development)—Sydney remains near the top of the rankings for the same reasons as Melbourne.

The city is a favorite of global investors due to relatively high returns and as a safe-haven play. Competition for assets has helped sustain pricing, while low vacancies and growing demand for space suggest rents will continue to rise. n Tokyo (fourth in investment, fourth in development)—Tokyo's move to the fourth spot is somewhat surprising after last year’s drop, but probably reflects what has always made it a favorite for institutional buyers: cheap finance, attractive leverage, a good spread over interest rates and a large stock of investment-grade assets. n Osaka (fifth in investment, sixth in development)—The lack of reasonably priced core assets in Tokyo continues to push investors into regional Japan, where local economies are now increasingly mature and stable. With supply tight in both residential and office sectors, the city is now probably the top market outside the capital.

Leading buy/hold/sell ratings for the various asset classes are as follows:

n Office—buy Ho Chi Minh City and Tokyo, sell Taipei and Auckland. n Residential—buy Ho Chi Minh City and Bangalore, sell Kuala Lumpur and Auckland. n Retail—buy Ho Chi Min City and Mumbai, sell Taipei and Kuala Lumpur. n Industrial/distribution—buy Bangalore and Mumbai, sell Taipei and Kuala Lumpur. n Hotels—buy Tokyo and Ho Chi Minh City, sell Taipei and Beijing.

For a full copy of the report, you may download at https://asia.uli.org/ wp-content/uploads/sites/126/ULIDocuments/ULI-Emerging-TrendsReal-Estate-A sia-Pacif ic-2019_ Final_22-Nov_low-1.pdf.

AboitizLand continues Luzon expansion A

BOITIZLAND continues its northward expansion as it launches Ajoya, a mid-market residential development that offers master-planned communities for families in Cabanatuan, Nueva Ecija, and Capas, Tarlac.

By establishing presence in two new Luzon provinces, the homegrown Cebuano property arm of

Aboitiz Equity Ventures, Inc. boosts its residential portfolio. Early last year, it launched Seafront Residences in San Juan, Batangas.

“With the launch of Ajoya as our flagship mid-market residential product in Luzon, we are excited to finally bring the distinct spirit of AboitizLand communities to our prospective vecinos [neighbors]

in Nueva Ecija and Tarlac,” said AboitizLand First Vice President Rafael de Mesa.

Ajoya Cabanatuan is a 19-hectare property in Barangay Valle Cruz, Nueva Ecija, while Ajoya Capas is a 13-hectare house and lot development in Barangays Talaga and Estrada in Tarlac. Both properties contain 1,000 units of

homes each.

Taking cue from the architecture of the Filipino Bahay na Bato, an Ajoya home features a contemporary rendition that goes beyond aesthetics. To foster community interaction, vecinos are treated to amenities such as a town plaza, a clubhouse, a pool plaza, pocket parks and greenbelts.

“With more than two decades in the industry, we are now ready to aggressively expand our presence nationwide while maintaining our stronghold in Cebu,” added de Mesa. In total, AboitizLand has built 23 communities, industrial, residential and commercial combined, in more than 612 hectares of land in Cebu. In 2014 it expanded

to Luzon with the acquisition of the 485-hectare industrial park Lima Technology Center in Lipa-Malvar, Batangas.

Ajoya Cabanatuan property prices range from P3.2 million to P5.5 million while Ajoya Capas’s are from P1.7 million to P3.5 million.

For inquiries, visit facebook.com/ ajoyaofficial.

sMirror

Wednesday, January 16, 2019 E3

Togetech, Pinnacle sign partnership for payments

By Rizal Raoul S. Reyes

I

@brownindio

N its objective to promote financial inclusion to a big portion of the population through tech-enabled financial solutions for Filipino consumers, Togetech Inc. has recently partnered with Pinnacle Real Estate Consulting Services Inc. to offer property owners assessment and payment of their real property taxes (RPT) or amilyar as part of the former’s Moneygment mobile application.

Jessica Palmiano, CEO of Togetech, commended the natural synergy between Togetech and Pinnacle. “Our tech infrastructure complements Pinnacle’s real-estate expertise to deliver seamless and one-of-a-kind real-estate-related payment services,” she said in a recent press briefing held in Makati City.

Michael Mabutol, the president and managing director of Pinnacle, said the partnership with Togetech makes sense as country’s largest homegrown real-estate consulting and brokerage firm offers an array of services.

“We offer not just brokerage, consulting, appraisal and property-management services, but also titling services and payment services, which makes us Togetech’s ideal partner in the processing of

RPT payments through the Moneygment app,” he said.

By offering this service, Palmiano said Filipinos can now have use another platform that is more convenient and easier for making real-estate property tax payment taking them one step closer to having a more secure future.

The mobile app, according to Palmiano, makes payment processing of RPT seamless and convenient.

She said property owners won’t have to queue in the city or municipal treasurer’s office of the local government unit (LGU) where their property is located, making sure that payment is made on time.

“In the long run, the Moneygment app promotes regularity of RPT payments, thus making Filipinos more responsible and tax-abiding citizens,” she said.

MICHAEL MABUTOL (right), president and managing director of Pinnacle Real Estate Consulting, Inc., and Jessica Palmiano, CEO of Togetech Inc., seal the partnership between Togetech Inc. and Pinnacle Real Estate Consulting Services Inc. and the launch of the Real Property Tax (RPT) payment module of the Moneygment mobile app developed by Togetech. Supported by Pinnacle, the Moneygment app allows property owners to pay RPT online.

The initial rollout of the Moneygment app’s RPT service covers Metro Manila and Cebu. Service to other areas, such as the northern and southern parts of Luzon and Davao, are slated for release later in 2019.

The partnership comes as part of Togetech’s wide array of finance-related offerings and services made possible through the Moneygment app.

How it works

TO use the Moneygment app, users

PA Properties helps ease the housing backlog

O

VER the years, the demand for housing has outstripped supply, driven by rural-to-urban and intercity migration in major cities such as Manila, Laguna, Clark, Cavite and Bulacan where people believe there are better prospects for employment.

According to a 2016 UA&P study, there was an excess of around 253,300 high-end (or open market) houses and 307,740 mid-priced homes in 2015, many of which were situated within the National Capital Region (NCR) and the country’s other urban centers; other housing segments, however, presented a different story. In the socialized, economic and low-cost housing segments, for instance, the housing backlog was so high that it is expected to reach 10.1Mn units by 2030. These housing segments primarily cater to poor to lower-middle-income classes, which comprise 81.3 percent of the population.

With close to 25 years of experience in developing affordable housing and communities, PA Properties is well-positioned to capitalize on the huge housing backlog with 137 hectares of Landbank. For 2017, PA Properties ended the year with P11.8

billion in total assets growing at a 2Y CAGR of 25.3 percent. In the same year, the company infused P835 million in equity, increasing its total equity to P3.1 billion.

“The current housing backlog stands at over 5.9 million countrywide, with socialized and economic housing accounting for the bulk of this requirement. As a result, prevalence of informal settlements that lack basic infrastructure and sustainable service has increased significantly across most towns and cities,” shared Romarico “Bing” Alvarez, chairman of PA Properties.

The government alone cannot meet the rapidly growing demand for decent shelter, particularly in urban areas.

To date, the socialized housing segment has a backlog of 3,032,351 units while the economic housing segment has 2,588,897. And the backlog continues to rise by 168,000 to 190,000 units a year, according to reports. With these figures, addressing the backlog will require investments beyond the capacity of the national and local budgets.

“The government needs to develop the synergies and participation of all stakeholders, including the pri-

vate sector, employers, citizens and development partners in the provision of shelter,” added Alvarez. “For its part, the government knows that policy-making, land acquisition and a successful expropriation plan are critical to meeting the interests of the general public.”

PA Properties completed a total of 40 affordable housing communities with 16 more housing communities under construction. The company also has development plans for 25 future projects estimated to generate up to P25 billion in revenues. In 2017 PA Properties forged a partnership with an Osaka-based real-estate firm, Hankyu Hanshin Properties Corp., to develop three township projects—equivalent to a total of 54 hectares with projected revenue of P11.25 billion.

“People migrating to the cities and who are looking for places to live in are taking matters into their own hands by occupying land—building shacks and makeshift houses on vacant lots. Unless the government and the private sector come up with solutions, the pattern of land occupations and the clamor for decent housing will likely continue,” concluded Alvarez.

can download it from the Apple Store and Google Play. Once installed, they can create an account using their Facebook, Gmail or any other e-mail account, after which they can choose from a wide range of finance-related and payment services available: Pag-IBIG, PhilHealth and SSS contributions; bills and other utilities; loan application and payment; and personal income and real property taxes, among others.

To pay for RPT, users need to have their properties assessed first.

To do this, they will be asked to fill in needed information, such as title number, full name of the owner as stated in the title and the local government unit. Afterward, they will be asked to fill in the tax declaration number. Upon confirmation and payment of the processing fee, users will then be asked to e-mail copies of pertinent documents to customercare@moneygment.ph. They can track the progress of the assessment by tapping the History tab.

Users will receive an e-mail once

property assessment is complete.

Once the amount has been carefully reviewed, they can then proceed with payment via the different options available. Once paid, they will receive an update that Pinnacle is processing the filing of their RPT. They will then receive their official receipt and statement of account upon completion. All of this can be done without going to the city or municipal treasurer’s office of the LGU where the property is located.

The ideal office address for today’s employees

STRATEGICALLY located at the corner of Edsa and Quezon Avenue, Centris Cyberpod Five cultivates creativity and efficiency as it offers space for flexible configurations to ensure smooth work flow.

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OCATED at the corner of Edsa and Quezon Avenue, Centris Cyberpod Five in Eton Centris is ready to serve the needs of the growing businessprocess outsourcing (BPO) sector, multinational and local companies. The 25-story, fully provisioned building is designed to cultivate creativity and efficiency, with space for flexible configurations to ensure smooth work flow and overall employee well-being.

A complete range of amenities and other modern conveniences will be available to enable business

responsiveness and uninterrupted operations.

The ideal location of the development within the Centris complex is attractive to employees because of its easy access to transportation hubs, train, buses, cabs, shuttles and jeepneys. Outside, professionals can enjoy wide green spaces, restaurants, shops, fitness centers, an events center and a supermarket, assuring no shortage of lifestyle options for those pursuing their careers here.

With the complex’s direct connection to the Metro Rail Transit,

workers can easily reach Quezon City’s shopping, dining and entertainment destinations, as well as schools, hospitals, churches and government offices.

With the right office space, companies can poise themselves for bigger growth in the country. Eton Properties’s strategically located offices already house the local offices of some of the world’s biggest businesses, and will continue to expand to meet the growing need for more strategically located, secure and modern offices in the Philippines.

BusinessMirror E1 | Wednesday, January 16, 2019 • Editor : Tet Andolong

MAKATI Office District PANAYNEWS.COM

PHL OFFICE MARKET POSTS HIGHEST RECORD OF 1.1 MILLION SQ M

By Roderick L. Abad

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@rodrik_28

HE year 2018 saw a strong performance of the real-estate industry particularly the office segment with an increase of 22 percent in actual transactions, 1.1 million square meters from 875,000 sq m in 2017—the highest recorded take up in Philippine history.

“I always say that the biggest beneficiary of a good economy is the property market. In 2018, while the country’s gross domestic product [GDP] growth of 6.4 percent was below the forecast of 6.7 percent as at Q3 [third quarter] 2018, the Philippines was still the third fastestgrowing economy in Asia,” Pronove Tai International Property Consultants’s CEO Monique Pronove said at their media briefing held recently at their office in Makati City.

According to her, informationtechnology and business-process management (IT-BPM) remains a top demand driver, accounting for 490,000 sq m or 46-percent share of the total leasing transaction, higher than its take up of just 378,000 sq m last year.

At 312,000 sq m or a 67 percent higher than 2017 transactions, traditional offices had the second strong showing.

Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (Pogo) came in third at 229,000 sq m, a slight decline from last year because of lack of space in their preferred locations.

Flexible workspaces became the fourth demand driver posting a significant growth of 258 percent from 10,000 sq m in 2017 to 37,000 sq m in 2018.

With continued construction activities, 32 new buildings were completed last year with a total office supply of 845,000 sq m—growing the stock by 9 percent year-on-year (YoY).

As of December 31, 2018, the Metro Manila office market has a total stock of 10.6 million sq m.

The City of Makati continues to be the largest office district at 32-percent share or 3.4 million sq m, followed by Taguig City at 21 percent, and Ortigas Center at 16 percent.

“Taguig City delivered the highest supply in the last four years at an annual average of 280,000 sq m,” she said.

Because of strong demand, an overall unhealthy vacancy level of 4 percent in the metropolis was apparent.

In fact, of the seven office districts, only Taguig City at 7 percent had a considerably healthy vacancy level (5 percent to 7 percent).

“Taguig City is certainly inching its way closer to Makati as it continues to build more,” the top executive noted.

Muntinlupa City recorded a 3 percent vacancy, and 1 percent for both Makati City and Ortigas Center.

The Bay Area, however, booked the tightest vacancy at 0.4 percent on the back of strong Pogo takeup.

Meanwhile, Quezon City and Mandaluyong City continued to register high vacancy at 13 percent and 10 percent, respectively.

“We would like to draw attention to Quezon City which ended 2018 with the highest vacancy,” Pronove said. “In 2019, Quezon City is slated to deliver the highest supply of 343,000 sq m of new office buildings

FORT Bonifacio Global City SKF.COM

ORTIGAS Center THOUSANDWONDERS.COM

developed largely by SM, Ayala, Eton and Araneta Group. As such, we see rents and capital values in the district

to be pressured,” she added.

In terms of leasing, the Bay Area was the “best performer” being

the lone business district that has a double digit rental growth of 19 percent YoY.

“Bay Area developers were a case of being at the right place, at the right time, opening up to Pogo quickly,” Pronove said.

The cities of Taguig and Makati registered 7 percent and 8 percent, accordingly.

Founded in 2002 by principals with a combined 40 years of experience in the Philippine and Asian real estate, Pronove Tai has been providing its expertise and quality services that include research and consultancy, landlord and tenant representation, property sales and purchasing, and property portfolio management for the past 15 years.

Throughout this time, it has catered to the real estate needs of government agencies, diplomatic missions, multinational, foreign and local organizations.

To date, the company has had P13 billion worth of transactions in various market segments, such as office, retail, industrial and petrol with over 1.2 million sq m rentable space transacted.

Entrepreneur BusinessMirror

E4 Wednesday, January 16, 2019

Dean & DeLuca serves gourmet food to health-conscious Pinoys

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By Rizal Raoul S. Reyes

@brownindio

Contributor

ER passion for baking and determination to give Filipinos an option for a healthy lifestyle pushed businesswoman Caroline Tanchay to open the New York-based gourmet grocer and food hall Dean & DeLuca in the Philippines.

It was a dream come true for Tanchay to develop and build the brand in the local market, that, after four years in operation, Tanchay is determined to place Dean & DeLuca in the healthy lifestyle market as many Filipinos are gradually adopting the healthy lifestyle.

“Dean & DeLuca is mindful in what it puts in the ingredients so that our customers will be more aware of pursuing a healthy lifestyle,” she told the BusinessMirror in a recent interview held at the Dean & DeLuca outlet at the Bonifacio Global City.

“We went as far as planting our

organic vegetables to ensure everything that we use is healthy. Having our own farm, we do a lot of fermenting food to ensure that every food we serve are enriched with prebiotic elements,” Tanchay added.

In expounding that it is the real deal, Dean & DeLuca is using natural ingredients, such as pure milk, pure butter and freshly milled flour.

For individuals who are sensitive to gluten, it serves pizza, which has fermented sour dough. “We will come up with our coconut milk so that we can serve the lactose intolerant people,” Tanchay said.

To broaden its market base,

Tanchay said they are also serving muscovado, stevia and raw sugar in their dessert menus to enable people with blood sugar issues to enjoy their dessert.

She added the stevia that they use is quite different from the other brands because the Mexican variety has no bitterness.

She admitted she had to hurdle several challenges in building the brand in the local market. Nevertheless, Tanchay remains unfazed by the difficulties facing the business. In fact, this petite lady is a giant in the male-dominated mining industry, as the chief executive and president of a publicly listed mining company, and president of its subsidiaries dealing with hydro power plants, renewable energy and aggregates, among others.

Tanchay recalled that she and her team conducted a yearlong research and development before opening its first branch in Rockwell’s Edades Tower in Makati to learn the rigid processes and apply them in their operations toward building it as the leading croissant in town.

Tanchay is a licensee, not a franchise holder of Dean & DeLuca, so she has more flexibility in managing the business. As a licensee, Tanchay can

introduce her own menu and bakery products that suit the local market, with the guidance and approval of the New York head office.

Furthermore, Tanchay has been given the green light to feature the cuisine of other Dean & DeLuca markets, like, say, fusion sushi, which is the trend these days.

Leaving no stone unturned, Tanchay recruited a former pastry chef from the famous Bouchon Bakery, New York and another baker who worked at the three-Michelinstarred Jean-Georges to train her bakers to become world class.

Moreover, Tanchay tweaked the local setup of Dean & DeLuca by building a coffee shop setup that will allow Filipinos to eat and bond.

For instance, the 100-seat café at the Rockwell branch attracts a big num-

We also import all the ingredients of our products. If I want to produce cheaper products, I would buy the quick shortening material. But we don’t want to do that because it is unfair to our clients.”—Tanchay

Togetech sets sights on PHL’s huge ‘unbanked’ population

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INANCIAL inclusion of millions of Filipinos, notably those belonging to the bottom of the pyramid, is a principal objectives of the government and the private sector to prepare them for the digital economy.

Such, however, is a herculean challenge, as approximately 77 percent of Filipino adults do not have bank accounts, data provided by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) showed.

According to its 2017 Financial Inclusion Survey (FIS), the BSP disclosed that only an estimated 15.8 million adult Filipinos, or 22.6 percent, have bank accounts, while an approximate 52.8 million, or 77.4 percent, remain unbanked.

The government, particularly the BSP, has been encouraging Filipinos to get a bank account to broaden financial inclusion with the onset of modern technology such as the Internet can make the difference in bringing in more Filipinos.

In an e-mail interview with the BusinessMirror, Togetech Chief Executive Officer Jessica Palmiano explains they decided to put up the company when they saw an opportunity to broaden their base through mobile technology.

The mobile app development company that specializes in financial technology focused on connectivity, financial inclusion, and convenience, launched last year the Moneygment app, which is a response to the challenges faced by

self-employed professionals, freelancers, and micro-, small-, and mediumsized enterprises (MSME); homemakers paying for their household helpers or kasambahay; overseas Filipino workers; and the general unbanked population in the payment of government contributions and in the management of their overall finances. These challenges include delays in processing and unposted transactions that lead to postponed benefits.

More than this, the company also delivers other services that support ecommerce and other fintech services. n What are the reasons you put up Togetech?

We put up Togetech as a response to the increasing need for a tool that can help address the challenges faced by self-employed individuals, homemakers, overseas Filipino workers and the general unbanked population. These challenges include lack of available payment channels, unposted, and delayed payments, among others. More than these, Togetech also saw an opportunity in the increasing mobile penetration rate in the country.

These opportunities led to the establishment of the company.

Togetech is geared toward the development of mobile based applications that focus on convenience, financial inclusion and connectivity for the Filipino people. We envision Togetech to make a

PALMIANO significant impact to society through the delivery of these application products. n Does Togetech think or believe that there is a lot to be done to promote financial inclusion among the masses?

Yes, there is a lot to be done to promote financial inclusion. The number of unbanked Filipinos alone still encompass the majority. Lacking formal access to a variety of financial services precludes opportunities that would otherwise uplift the lives of Filipinos. Furthermore, the major gap in the collection of government payments says that we have a long way to go in making financial obligations less difficult to accomplish.

n Describe the first years of operation. Did the company exceed the expectations during its first year?

We realized that many of our potential customers still need assistance in understanding the benefits of paying for SSS, Pag-IBIG and PhilHealth which led us to realign our activities and strengthen educational campaigns to help promote savings in these government facilities. n Describe the challenges in pushing financial inclusion.

We noticed that to really push for financial inclusion means to sit down and talk to each and every individual person on why it is important to properly manage their finances and how they can do this. It is not enough that we send out information. We have to teach and inculcate a culture that does not only promote financial literacy but also enacts it to make Filipinos financially secured in their future. n What makes pushing financial inclusion to the masses exciting?

Seeing how you can help improve the lives of many Filipinos as well as foster improvement in the economy becomes makes working very exciting for us. n What are the objectives of Togetech in 2019?

Togetech intends to gain more partners in providing basic services for the convenience of our customers for the year. Rizal Raoul S. Reyes

World’s largest AI start-up readies $2-B fund-raising

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ENSETIME Group Ltd., the world’s most valuable artificial-intelligence (AI) start-up, is beginning preparations for a new financing round, people with knowledge of the matter said.

The Chinese company aims to raise about $2 billion in fresh funding this year, the people said, asking not to be identified because the information is private. SenseTime, which counts Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. as an investor, is working with advisers on the fund-raising, according to the people.

The Beijing-based firm raised more than $1.2 billion last year including a round announced in May that valued it at more than $4.5 billion. The funding from firms including Fidelity International, Silver Lake Partners and Hopu Capital followed a deal to sell a stake to Qualcomm Inc. in 2017 that valued SenseTime at a more

CAMERAS for SenseTime Group Ltd.’s autonomous driving system are mounted inside a Lincoln Motor Co. MKZ sedan during a test-drive in Hangzhou, China, on September 6, 2018. BLOOMBERG

than $1.5 billion.

Bloomberg News reported in July that SoftBank Vision Fund was also seeking to take a nearly $1-billion stake in the company.

Deliberations are at an early stage, and details of the deal could change, the people said. A representative for SenseTime declined to comment.

Investors are handing billions

ber of people such as families and friends, to enjoy the pizzas, pastas, sandwiches and meals, fresh-baked breads and pastries in the menu.

Such a set up is quite different from a store in New York where people buy and eat their orders outside.

“We also import all the ingredients of our products. If I want to produce cheaper products, I would buy the quick shortening material.

But we don’t want to do that because it is unfair to our clients,” she said.

“Our pastries have high-quality standards. The customers feel they are eating something natural, pure and healthy. They know it’s genuine because it will reflect on the taste,” she said.

Tanchay said Dean & DeLuca plans to open branches in Quezon City and Greenhills this year.

of dollars to Chinese AI start-ups from SenseTime to Face++, hoping to ride a wave of support from a government intent on becoming the world leader in the technology by 2030. But the growing hype is encouraging everything from video services to language schools to claim AI as integral to their business to win funding. Some investors have warned that the sector could experience a downturn if those companies fail to deliver revenue growth.

SenseTime specializes in systems that analyze faces and images on an enormous scale and works with policing bodies, retailers and health-care researchers across China and internationally. The start-up has said it experienced 400-percent growth in past years as it encompassed more industries, from cameras in retailer Suning’s stores to driverless cars for Honda. Bloomberg News

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Technolux bares newest kitchen ovens and chefs’ kitchen rigs

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ECHNOLUX will hold its Business Series featuring Convotherm, Lincoln and Merry Chef ovens to be held at Mall of Kitchens on January 24, from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m.

Technolux said the program seeks to enable businessmen and entrepreneurs to learn the rudiments on starting or growing their food business with hot tips from Technolux’s technical, sales and research and development teams who present the features of the said equipment and conduct a cooking/baking demo to show their proper use to maximize efficiency and profits.

Convotherm, one of the preferred brands of chefs and professional kitchens around the world, is equipped with the latest technology innovation, is user-friendly, and provides an intuitive system of operation. Customers are assured that they can have any type of dish on the menu with utmost consistency and excellent quality.

Meanwhile, the versatile Lincoln conveyor oven also boasts of reliability and durability that culinary professionals can count on. It uses the latest advancement in air impingement technology that allows for rapid heating, cooking, baking and crisping of foods.

Merry Chef, one of the featured brands, innovatively combines three heat technologies (tuned impingement, microwave and convection) allowing the ovens to cook up to 20 times faster than conventional ovens.

Rizal Raoul S. Reyes

Millennial women are pouring into jobs, fueling US labor gains

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ILLENNIAL women are participating in the American job market at levels last seen in 2000 as people like Remya Ravindran dive back into the labor pool.

Ravindran landed a job at Quizlet, a San Francisco-based technology company, in late 2018 after taking two years off to care for her baby. The 29-year-old software quality-assurance engineer says she wanted to become the household’s second breadwinner and use her education in a labor market she describes as “very, very hot.”

Her case is far from unique. The share of 25- to 34-year-old women who are employed or looking has staged a sharp turnaround since 2016. The group since December 2015 has accounted for 86 percent of growth in the work force of prime-working-age women, who are 25 to 54 years old, and for 46 percent of gains in the prime-age labor pool as a whole.

That’s good news for the US economy, as an injection of workers gives overall production more room to run. The phenomenon is also positive for newlyemployed women, because they may be laying the groundwork for higher wages as their careers progress. But it creates a puzzling contrast with young men: that group has posted a comparatively weak labor-market rebound. Their participation rate—though still higher than their female counterparts—has failed to recover to prerecession levels.

The gap between young women who are working or looking and their male peers has narrowed to 12.3 percentage points. That’s down from 16.7 points 20 years ago, and it’s the lowest gender divide the age group has ever seen.

Cultural shifts are probably at play.

Millennial women are now more likely to have a college degree than their male peers, and employment rates climb with education. The age group has also been delaying weddings and kids. That should boost employment for women, who often drop out of work after marriage, even as married men tend to work more.

Men without college diplomas have been struggling to find lucrative jobs, which could itself keep women at work as they choose to supplement household income. And single-mother households have been on the rise, leaving more young women supporting families.

In fact, single mothers have staged by far the biggest comeback in the labor force of any group of young women since 2016, based on an analysis by Ernie Tedeschi at Evercore ISI. Married women without kids come in second.

Still, none of those trends fully

explain why female participation started taking a clear step higher three years ago.

It could be that an uptick in wage growth has tipped the scale: it may be easier for mothers to afford childcare as jobs pay more. And it almost certainly helps that industries doing the most hiring—led by education and health services—include many job titles dominated by women.

Health services

AMANDA WOODRUFF-TRUOG returned to her job as a travel nurse last year shortly after giving birth to her third child. Demand for nurses is so high that the 29-year-old has enjoyed her pick of locations and jobs.

“I just wanted to be back in the field,” she says. Her husband sold his company in Florida to move to Illinois, the location of her current job, and he’s working part-time and helping to take care of the children while Woodruff-Truog works and pursues a master’s degree at Purdue University. “There’s definitely not enough hours in the day, but for some reason we make it work,” she said.

Laura Rosner, senior economist and partner at Macropolicy Perspectives in New York, said it’s “up in the air” whether a greater share of women will continue to join the labor market. But America’s counterparts in advanced economies might offer clues.

Global comparison

PRIME-AGE women in the US used to work nearly as much or more than their peers in Canada, Germany and the United Kingdom. In recent decades, however, their employment rates have slipped behind.

San Francisco Fed economists including Mary Daly—who now runs the regional bank—have suggested that America’s comparatively weak parental leave system could be holding back its female employees vis-à-vis their Canadian counterparts. Still, the fact that America’s young women are staging a reversal—and one driven by mothers—suggests that there may be room for catch-up even absent major policy changes.

“The gap that we see with other countries may not just be structural—there may be a cyclical component here, too,” Tedeschi said.

US employers increasingly offer family-related benefits like paid leave and onsite lactation rooms, Society for Human Resource Management survey data show, changes that could help some women to stay at their jobs.Bloomberg News