Business
B3
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 22, 2017 extrastory2000@gmail.com
Piñol decries sugar protests, dares critics By Anna Leah E. Gonzales AGRICULTURE Secretary Em-
EASTWEST LISTING. East West Banking Corp. marks the listing of P2.7 billion worth of Long-term Negotiable Certificates of Time Deposit
due 2022 with a bell ringing ceremony on March 21, 2017, at the Philippine Dealing System Holdings Corp. office in Makati City. EastWest Bank chairman Jonathan Gotianun (third from left) and president and chief executive officer Antonio Moncupa Jr. (fourth from right) lead the ceremonial ringing of the bell, with (from left) Unicapital president Ricardo Fernandez, Philippine Depository and Trust Corp. president and chief operating officer Ma. Theresa Ravalo, PDS president and CEO Cesar Crisol, EastWest Bank senior executive VP and COO Jose Emmanuel Hilado and PDEX president and COO Antonino Nakpil.
manuel Pinol denied Tuesday that he is favoring big beverage companies and dares those accusing him to show proof that he is corrupt. Piñol made the statement after protesters accused him of receiving bribe from makers of Coca Cola and Pepsi soft drinks brands. “Without even presenting proof, placards hoisted by the well-organized and obviously well-funded demonstrators called me “Money Piñol,” insinuating that I received money from Coca Cola and calling me anti-farmer,” Piñol said. “They cited that because of the massive use by Coca Cola (also Pepsi Cola) of high fructose corn syrup, the prices of sugar dropped from P1,800 per bag of 50 kilos to only P1,300 per bag last week,” he said. The protesters were reacting to Pinol’s recent pronouncement that
he wanted to suspend the implementation an order regulating the entry of HFCS. “The problem with SRA’s (Sugar Regulatory Administration) Sugar Order No. 3 is it regulated the importation of HFCS used by Coke in producing their soft drinks. They appealed because any change in the type of sugar that they will use in production will involve changing their machineries and equipment,” Piñol said. He said the protesters called for a boycott of Coca Cola products, which Negros Occidental Governor Alfredo Marañon supported by ordering a ban on the sale and sponsorship of Coca Cola in the province in April. “Coca Cola FEMSA Philippines and Pepsi Cola started relying heavily on the use of HFCS about five years ago when the prices of local sugar doubled compared to that of sugar coming from Thailand,” Piñol said.
Renewable energy projects rising By Alena Mae S. Flores
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HE Energy Department has awarded 755 renewable energy projects with a potential generation capacity of 16,948 megawatts as of end December 2016. Latest records from the department showed hydro power obtained the biggest number of approvals with 413 projects and with a potential combined capacity of 10,792.37 MW. Solar projects followed with 150 projects approved with a potential capacity of 4,077.22 MW.
Mining closures hit PPA’s revenue By Darwin G. Amojelar STATE-RUN Philippine Ports Authority revised downward its revenue and cargo growth forecast this year after the Department of Environment and Natural Resources ordered the closure of 23 mining operations in several areas in the country. The port authority anticipated expansion to be nominal this year from the previous year’s exponential growth due to vital developments over the past two months. PPA general manager Jay Daniel Santiago blamed the tapered expectation to the volatility of the Philippine currency as well as the expected drop in the operation of the mining industry in the Philippines. “Last year was a great year for the agency as we were able to post significant figures in terms of cargo volume and revenues,” Santiago said. The PPA in 2016 posted a P6.159-billion net profit, beating the target by 165 percent or P3.836 billion. PPA was able to achieve the feat with strong figures coming from lay-up fees, Ro-Ro fees, berthing fees and remittances from Asian Terminals Inc. The 2016 figure is 8 percent better against the P5.705 billion registered in 2015. “While we expect this condition to be temporary, the authority is bracing for a challenging 2017,” Santiago said. He said this year would be different as PPA anticipated it to be nominal due to several developments, especially in the mining industry. “Based on our, almost all our business aspects have already reduced targets and budgets for 2017 ranging from the original 20 percent to only 3 percent,” Santiago said. “Nonetheless, PPA will remain resilient and committed to carry out its mandate of better connectivity and service amidst these developments,” he added.
Wind projects came next with 58 projects approved and equivalent to a potential output of 1,038.95 MW, and geothermal with 43 projects involving a potential capacity of 684 MW. Biomass followed with 45 projects approved with a potential capacity of 312.38
MW and ocean energy with seven projects approved equivalent to a potential output of 26 MW. The department has nearly 4,000 MW of projects pending approval, indicating continuing interest in the country’s renewable energy industry. Of the pending projects, 201 involve solar with a capacity of 2,130.8 MW, 88 hydro at 1,484.02 MW, 22 wind stations with 260 MW, three geothermal project with a combined 60-MW capacity and six biomass projects with a 43-MW output. A department data showed
the country’s power generation capacity mix remained driven by coal-fired power plants last year but renewable energy was fast catching up. Coal’s share in the capacity mix was placed at 36.5 percent for a total dependable capacity of 4,970 megawatts in 2016. Coal is followed by renewable energy composed of geothermal, hydro, wind, biomass and solar at 27.1 percent or 3,684 MW. Hydro accounted for the bulk of 17.1 percent of dependable capacity, followed by geothermal at 5.7 percent, wind at 2.2 percent, solar at 1.6 percent and
biomass at 0.5 percent. Natural gas power plants provided 24.2 percent of dependable capacity in 2016 at 3,291, MW while oil-based stations accounted for 12.2 percent of dependable capacity at 1,655 MW. “We can still develop more indigenous resources,” Energy Undersecretary Felix William Fuentebella said when asked to comment. Data also showed the Philippines recorded an installed capacity of 21,423 MW as of end2016, while dependable capacity stood at 19,097 MW.
The bulk of the output came from Luzon with an installed capacity of 14,977 MW compared with a dependable output of 13,600 MW. Visayas’ installed capacity reached 3,284 MW against a dependable output of 2,813 MW. Mindanao has an installed capacity of 3,162 MW versus a dependable output of 2,684 MW. The department said the figures excluded off-grid power generators. Installed capacity refers to the capability of the power plants to produce while the dependable capacity refers to the actual output.
River cruise liner offers Asia, Europe travels to Filipinos By Othel V. Campos UNIWORLD Boutique River Cruise Collection, Travel Corp.’s 6-star luxury river cruise line, will start offering travels within Asia and Europe to Filipinos this year. Uniworld Asia manager Henry Yu said Filipinos were starting to mature as travelers and were ready for premium river cruise travel. “This market (Philippines)
has a very big potential. First of all, this is a young market that is willing to travel. Filipinos are now are looking for something different. We think river cruise is a potential product in Asia and I think Philippines is the shining star in the future,” he said. TravCorp, a global travel company that manages tour operations, hotels and cruises worldwide, is looking at the Philippines as an emerging tourism market in the Asia
Pacific region. Collaboratig with Filipino travel company Rajah Travel Corp., TravCorp plans to expand its offerings in the Philippines through some of its key brands. Yu said the current spending capacity in the Philippines and its young population made it an enticing market for travel companies. Uniworld entered the Asian market four years ago and
considers Malaysia, Singapore, Hong Kong, and Taiwan as its top markets. “We explored Malaysia and Singapore since they are English-speaking countries. There is no language barrier and that made it is easier for us to enter. The market in Hong Kong and Taiwan are amazing although they are Chinesespeaking but the people know how to appreciate and they cruise with their family,” Yu
said. Another tours company, Insight Vacations, said the Philippine outbound market had become sophisticated. It saw more middleaged Filipino professionals and their families traveling to more exotic destinations. Insight Vacations-Asia president Evon Ler said the Philippines was now its second biggest market in Asia after Singapore, with double digit growth in recent years.
Sales of DMCI Power up on higher demand
PH-INDIA FORUM. The Board of Investments, the Embassy of India in the Philippines and the Philippine-India Business Council hold March 14, 2017 the Philippines-India Investment Forum at the Dusit Thani Hotel in Makati City. The Philippine panel is headed by Trade Undersecretary Nora Terrado (second from left) and BoI International Investment Promotion Service director Angelica Cayas (right). The Indian panel is led by Embassy of India Chargé de Affairs Ramakrishnan (second from right) and Philippines-India Business Council chairman Johnny Chotrani.
SALES of DMCI Power Corp., the off-grid subsidiary of DMCI Holdings Inc., rose 14 percent to 240 gigawatt-hours in 2016 from 212 gWh in 2015. DMCI Power said in a statement higher power demand and dispatch across all cooperatives accounted for the double-digit sales growth. “We are pleased to serve the growing electricity demand in our service areas. With our continued partnership with local cooperatives, we can deliver reliable electricity to even more off-grid communities,” said DMCI Power president Nestor Dadivas. Palawan registered the highest sales growth of 17 percent to 91.27 gWh from 78 gWh in the previous year due to the increased economic activity in the province and the installation of a satellite plant in Brooke’s Point. DMCI Power’s sales to Ori-
ental Mindoro Electric Cooperative, or Ormeco, increased 11 percent to 51.76 gWh last year from 46.24 GWh due mainly to the full year operations of the power generator’s 15-MW bunker-fired diesel power plant in Calapan City. Dispatch to Masbate Electric Cooperative, or Maselco, rose 11 percent to 94.91 gWh from 85.81 GWh following a five percent uptick in the cooperative’s line connections. DMCI Power has long-term power supply agreements with Palawan Electric Cooperative, Ormeco and Maselco. DMCI Power has been investing in off-grid operations. The company announced last month it was spending P1.2 billion to augment power generation capacity in Masbate, Oriental Mindoro and Palawan this year. Alena Mae S. Flores
PAJ, San Miguel to bare best agriculture journalists tonight THE country’s best agriculture and environment journalists in 2016 will be known in fitting ceremonies tonight at the 2016 PAJ-SMC Binhi Awards, 7 p.m, in Makati. “We are proud to honor once again the winners of the 2016 PAJ-SMC Binhi Awards as our tribute to our colleagues covering the agriculture, environment and agrarian reform beats, including the efforts of writers, editors and broadcast journalists for their respective reportage, ag-
ricultural publications, radio and television programs, and information campaign,” said Roman Floresca, president of the Philippine Agricultural Journalists Inc. (PAJ), and retired business editor of the Philippine Star. Sponsored yearly by San Miguel Corp., the 2016 PAJSMC Binhi Awards will have as main guest and keynote speaker Senator Cynthia Villar, who chairs both the Senate committees on agriculture and food, and environment and natural re-
sources. “We are privileged to have SMC as our title sponsor, and we sincerely thank Mr. Ramon Ang for his continued support and generosity,” said Floresca, adding the PAJ has been conducting the Binhi Awards for agricultural journalism since 1978. This year’s awards feature 22 winners in 14 major and minor categories, who were thoroughly chosen by a five-man board of judges chaired by former agriculture secretary William Dar,
who now serves as founding president of InangLupa Movement, Inc. The other judges are Mary Jane Oconer Llanes, AVP-SMC corporate and media affairs; Fred Gabot, former PAJ and National Press Club president, and currently editor of Farm Book magazine and Philippines Today; Angelo Palmones, former partylist representative and currently AVP for news and current affairs, MBC-DZRH; and Temina Lalani-Shariff, communication
head of the International Rice Research Institute. The 2016 Binhi awardees, led by winners of the three major categories—agricultural journalist, agribeat reporter, and environment journalist—will receive a cash prize of P50,000 and a trophy, while the second and third placers will get P25,000 and P15,000 cash and trophy, respectively, said Noel Reyes, Binhi Awards contest chair and PAJ vice president for internal affairs.