IN BRIEF GCash backs data privacy protection SUPPORTING the government’s drive to promote understanding of the Data Privacy Act, GCash, the Philippines’ leading mobile wallet operated by Mynt (Globe Fintech Innovations Inc.), joined the National Privacy Commission in celebrating Privacy Awareness Week on May 25 to 31. Gcash, in a forum with its employees, stressed the need to protect the data privacy not just of GCash customers but also of its data handlers and processors. Mel Megrino, chief security and privacy officer of Mynt, said the systems and processes used by GCash were aligned with the requirements of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas and the Data Privacy Act of 2012. “GCash looks at security and privacy as key pillars that will enable and grow the business. If that is how we see security and privacy, then we want to make sure that we uphold the rights of data subjects,” she said, adding the data privacy team at GCash was constantly examining new regulations on data protection that could affect GCash users.
Business
ABS-CBN goes into theater production ABS-CBN Corp. has ventured into theater production as it teamed up with Ten Bridges Media Corp/Atlantis for three co-productions of award-winning musicals from Broadway. “ABS-CBN’s venture into theater production, a first for a media and entertainment company, is among the company’s efforts in expanding its experience business,” said Bobby Barreiro, ABS-CBN head of integrated events. “It is another step forward in creating new possibilities for local theater, which has grown tremendously over the past few years, with its abundance of talent and opportunities locally,” he added. The partnership kicked-off in March with the staging of the critically acclaimed “Angels In America: Millennium Approaches,” which featured Art Acuña, Pinky Amador, Angeli Bayani, Topper Fabregas, Cherie Gil, Nelsito Gomez, Andoy Ranay and Markki Stroem. This will be followed by “Beautiful: The Carole King Musical,” which will open on June 14. The original Broadway production has been nominated for seven Tony Awards, including Best Musical. Darwin G. Amojelar
TUESDAY, JUNE 11, 2019
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By Julito G. Rada
INAEC CERTIFICATION. INAEC Aviation Corp. receives the International Standard for Business Aircraft Operations (IS-BAO) Stage 1 level certification from Montreal-based International Business Aviation Council. This marks the first time that a holder of an air operator certificate issued by the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines has been accorded such distinction. Shown (from left) are Mark Jayson Hojilla, avionics technician; Carlo Conti, aircraft mechanic; Deecap Pocopio, aircraft mechanic supervisor-fixed wing; Jerome Mendoza, aircraft mechanic supervisor-rotary wing; Donald Hammer, IS-BAO auditor; Reymark Villafuerte, aircraft mechanic; Ghandie Martinez, aircraft mechanic; and Glenn Perez, head, corporate services.
Alsons to spend P21b on two power projects By Alena Mae S. Flores
A
LSONS Consolidated Resources Inc., the publicly-listed company of the Alcantara Group, may invest up to P21 billion until 2022 on two new power projects with a combined power output of 120 megawatts. Alsons is putting up the P4-billion, 15-MW Siguil hydro project in Maasim, Sarangani province and 105-MW coal-fired power plant of San Ramon Power Inc. in Zamboanga City costing P17 billion, “This year, were implementing Siguil, that’s going to be the biggest capex,” Alsons executive vice president Tirso Santillan said Monday.
He said Alsons was spending about P1 billion in equity for the Siguil project and raising the balance through borrowings. “Our first renewable venture—the Siguil Hydro project—is on-track and we expect to go full blast with civil works later this year as we target the start of commercial operations in 2022,” he said. Santillan said the bulk of the spending for the San Ramon coal project would come next year. “We’ve spent about P400 million already on San Ramon. We will spend more in December, when we give our NTP (notice to proceed). Then we’re planning to borrow money by March 2020,” he said. Santillan said the San Ramon project was expected to finally start construction in the fourth quarter of this year after the selection of the engineering, procurement and construction contractor. He said the San Ramon project “has nearly all of their capacity fully contracted,” adding the company had the
foresight to enter into power sales agreements early on when Mindanao was still in the midst of a power shortage. Santillan earlier said he expected better financial prospects for Alsons this year after posting a net income of P563 million in 2018. He said the commissioning of the 105-megawatt portion of Sarangani Energy Corp. power plant this year in Maasim, Sarangani would provide additional revenues to the company. The second unit will start operating later this year and benefit some three million consumers in South Cotabato, Davao del Sur, Zamboanga del Norte, Zamboanga del Sur, Misamis Oriental and North Cotabato. “Actually, good prospects for this year, mainly because of, we have completion of a new project, the SEC 2 which will add 105 MW to our capacity... There will be some additional revenues and income arising from that,” Santillan said.
NET inflows of foreign direct investments in March declined 14 percent to $586 million from $681 million a year ago, due mainly to lower net equity capital investments, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas said on Monday. “This developed on account of the decline in net equity capital investments, as placements dropped to $126 million from $351 million in March 2018,” the central bank said in a statement. Equity capital placements during the month came mostly from Japan, the United States, Singapore and The Netherlands. The placements were largely invested in manufacturing, real estate, accommodation and food service, wholesale and retail trade and arts, entertainments and recreation industries. Meanwhile, non-residents’ investments in debt instruments (consisting mainly of loans extended by parent companies abroad to their local affiliates) rose 36 percent to $399 million from $294 million last year. Reinvestment of earnings increased 14.4 percent to $80 million from $70 million in March 2018. Net inflows of FDI in the first quarter fell 15 percent to $1.9 billion from $2.3 billion a year ago, resulting from the lower net inflows of net equity capital amounting to $295 million from $887 million last year. Equity capital placements declined to $568 million from $996 million, while withdrawals increased to $273 million from $109 million. Equity capital infusions during the period came mainly from Japan, China, the United States, Singapore, and South Korea. These were channeled largely to financial and insurance, real estate, transportation and storage, manufacturing, and administrative and support service industries.
Johnsonville bringing hotdog products to PH
Duterte acted fast in bringing inflation rate under control THE Duterte government is the fastest to act on reining in the inflation rate, taking only 11 months to tame the elevated consumer prices to below 4 percent, the Department of Finance said Monday. Finance Undersecretary Gil Betran said it was the fastest in almost two decades, compared to previous government efforts to check upward price pressures when the rate breached the 4-percent mark. Inflation rate rose to 4.3 percent in March last year and hovered above the 4-percent level until January this year. It dropped after 11 months to 3.8 percent in February and continued its downward trend in March at 3.3 percent, 3.0 percent in April 2019 and 3.2 percent in May, well within this year’s inflation target of between 2 percent and 4 percent. Beltran said in his report to Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III during a recent DoF Executive Committee meeting that the first the four episodes of inflation pushing past the 4 percent level from 2004 to 2019 took former President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo 31 months to pull it down from 4.1 percent in June 2004 to 3.8 percent in January 2007. Over the 2008-2009 period—still on the Arroyo watch—the inflation rate rose to 4.6 percent in January 2008 and dropped to 3.2 percent in June 2009, which meant it took her administration 17 months to pull it down to the below-4 percent mark, Beltran said. The third episode in 2011 took the Aquino administration 13 months to bring it down to below 4 percent, Beltran said, from 4.0 percent in January 2011 to 3.0 percent in February 2012. Julito G. Rada
business@manilastandard.net extrastory2000@gmail.com
BSP: Foreign investments decreased by 14% in March
Cebu Pacific flying to Shenzen July 1 CEBU Pacific on Monday announced the expansion of its operations in China with the launching of the Manila to Shenzhen flight starting July 1. Shenzhen is the fifth Cebu Pacific destination in mainland China, and is the airline’s 27th international destination. The carrier earlier said it was looking to expand in North Asia, including opening significant new routes and possible new destinations in China. The new route is in line with the carrier’s plans to expand its route network in China to cater to increasing demand for leisure and business travel. “We want to provide our travelers a viable option to reach some of the most crucial commercial centers in the world. Our new direct service between Manila and Shenzhen will enable faster movement of people and products providing increased mobility and access in some of the fastest-growing economies in the world,” said Candice Iyog, vice president for marketing and distribution of Cebu Pacific. Darwin G. Amojelar
Ray S. Eñano, Editor Roderick T. dela Cruz, Assistant Editor
By Othel V. Campos
PUERTO GALERA PROTECTION. Shore It Up, Metro Pacific Investments Foundation Inc.’s flagship program, is celebrating another year of elevating environmental awareness and conserving aquatic life in coastal municipalities through this year’s Shore It Up Weekend. Shore It Up has chosen to revisit and deepen its commitment to Puerto Galera, the center of marine biodiversity. MPIFI president Melody del Rosario (second from left) and Puerto Galera Mayor Rocky Ilagan shake hands after signing an agreement that memorializes the beginning of the Marine Protection, Inspection and Conservation Guardians Program in the area. MPIFI committed P1.5 million over three years to provide local Bantay Dagats with the technical knowhow and equipment to better protect and conserve the aquatic natural resources of Puerto Galera.
Meralco, Marubeni on track to distribute power to SEA Games THE joint venture of Manila Electric Co., Marubeni Corp., The Kansai Electric Power Co. Inc. and Chubu Electric Power Co. Inc. is on track to complete a substation that will deliver temporary power in time for the 30th Southeast Asian Games late this year. “Our commitment is on schedule to make available temporary power for SEA Games... Our obligation is to complete the substation which is scheduled for end of June,” Meralco senior vice president Rogelio Singson said Monday. Singson said the company had an agreement with Tarlac Electric Cooperative and Bases Conversion Development authority to sell power. “Our JVC is for distribution only and
we can’t contract yet because the franchise has not been granted to the JVC [joint venture company]. It was only passed by Congress last week,” Singson said. The joint venture is investing P6.3 billion for 25 years to operate and maintain the electric power distribution system in New Clark City. The Meralco-Marubeni consortium and BCDA in April 3 signed the joint venture agreement for the financing, design and engineering, establishment, construction, development and operation and maintenance of the electric power distribution system in New Clark City project. “The transaction is an opportunity for Meralco to participate in the develop-
ment of New Clark City and generate additional revenues in the operation of its electric distribution system there,” Meralco said earlier. Meralco will 60 percent of the company that the Meralco-Marubeni consortium will will form. Marubeni will hold 20 percent, while Kansai Electric and Chubu will own a combined 10 percent. BCDA will take anotherv10 percent. BCDA has already issued the notice of award to Meralco as the power distributor of New Clark City after offering the lowest power supply rate. Meralco and Marubeni submitted the lowest power distribution rate of P0.6188 per kilowatt hour for New Clark City. Alena Mae S. Flores
JOHNSONVILLE LLC of the US plans to bring the production of superpremium sausages to the Philippines through the joint venture company it created with Frabelle Fishing Corp. Joint venture and Frabelle Corp. chief executive Nick Meriggioli said the economics of producing in the Philippines was better than bringing in the product at high tariff. “This is just one of the options we are considering to make Johnsonville products more visible and affordable in the local setting,” he said in a briefing Monday. Johnsonville exports about four sausage lines in the Philippines, with plans to deliver more stock keeping units in the immediate term. The Philippines is one of biggest hot dogconsuming markets in the world. Johnsonville plans to maximize the capacity of the Frabelle facilities in Caloocan City with a rated capacity of 70 metric tons per day and two toll manufacturing plants in Cavite and Pampanga with a combined capacity of almost 200 metric tons per day. The joint venture will sell Johnsonville products and Frabelle products separately under one supply chain. The joint venture was recently approved by the Philippine Competitions Commission after an assessment showed it would not result to market dominance in the domestic sausage and hotdog industry. The joint venture will ensure the efficient production, distribution and sale of chilled and frozen meats, primarily hotdogs and sausages to the Philippines from the Johnsonville production house in the US. Johnsonville has 75 years in sausage manufacturing in different geographies. It has a 51 percent-equity in the Frabelle joint venture.