Remittances expanded 3.7% to $2.48b in April, says BSP

By Julito G. Rada

REMITTANCES posted the fastest growth in four months amid the continued reopening of the domestic economy and as Filipinos working overseas sent home more money in time for vacation and Holy Week-related spending.

Latest data from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas on Thursday showed that cash remittances coursed through banks went up 3.7 percent in April to $2.48 billion from $2.40 billion a year ago. This was the fastest growth since December 2022 when inflows rose 5.8 percent.

“The expansion in cash remittances in April 2023 was due to the growth in receipts from land- and sea-based workers,” the BSP said in a statement. This brought cash remittances in the first four months to $10.49 billion, or 3.2 percent higher than the year-ago level of $10.17 billion.

BSP slaps P1-m penalty on BPI over share sale

THE Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas ordered Bank of the Philippine Islands to pay a penalty of P1 million for its failure to comply with Section 10 of Republic Act 8791 or The General Banking Law of 2000 on the disposal of treasury shares related to its merger with BPI Family Savings Bank Inc. The imposition of the penalty was contained in a letter from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas on June 13, 2023.

“BSP imposed a monetary penalty on BPI amounting to P1,000,000.00 for failure to comply with Section 10 of Republic Act No. 8791 [The General Banking Law of 2000] on the disposal of treasury shares, arising from its merger with BPI Family within the six-month statutory period,” BPI said in a disclosure to the stock exchange Thursday.

BPI said that on Sept. 29, 2022 it announced that the proposed amendment to its articles of incorporation to decrease its authorized capital stock by retiring the treasury shares would no longer be pursued.

BPI made the disclosure after BSP did not favorably endorse the bank’s request to dispose of treasury shares arising from its merger with BPI Family Savings Bank Inc. through retirement of said shares.

This was in view of BSP’s opinion that retirement of treasury shares could not be considered as sale or disposition of shares in accordance with Section 10 of RA 8791.

BPI eventually informed the BSP of the approval of the declaration of property dividends as BPI’s mode for disposal of the treasury shares, which, however, would only be completed after obtaining regulatory approvals.

This was the second time this year

BPI was fined by regulators. In February 2023, BPI was fined P30 million for its failure to get regulatory confirmation for its stock purchase and option plan in 2013.

The Securities and Exchange Commission granted the request of BPI to reduce the penalty to P30 million from the previous assessment of P135 million.

BPI remained one of the country’s strongest banks in terms of assets. In the first three months of 2023, it posted a net income of P12.1 billion, up 52 percent year-on-year driven by average asset base expansion, margin growth and lower provisions.

Julito G. Rada

The BSP said higher remittances from the United States, Singapore and Saudi Arabia contributed mainly to the increase in remittances in the four-month period. The US posted the highest share of overall remittances during the period, followed by Singapore, Saudi Arabia and Japan.

“This may have to do with increased OFW remittances sent back home in April 2023 in time to finance holidayrelated spending during the Holy Week, considered the next biggest after the Christmas holiday season,” said Michael Ricafort, chief economist of Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. Ricafort said more people traveled to go back to their respective provinces for

TV5, ABS-CBN in talks over time slot of Tito, Vic and Joey’s show

By Darwin G. Amojelar MEDIAQUEST

Holdings Inc. ex- pressed optimism about the business prospects of TV5 Network Inc. as the television network managed to cut losses and prepares to launch a new noontime variety show to be headlined by the former hosts of “Eat Bulaga”.

MediaQuest chairman Manuel Pangilinan said TV5’s losses were “declining.” When asked about the possibility of breaking even for TV5, Pangilinan said, “there’s always a miracle.” Pangilinan earlier predicted that TV5 would break even in 2019 after a series of manpower reduction in 2015 and the abolition of its entertainment shows in 2016.

Alliance Global looking to expand resort-casino business outside NCR

By Jenniffer B. Austria

ALLIANCE Global Group Inc., the listed holding company of billionaire Andrew Tan, is looking to expand its integrated resort and casino venture outside Metro Manila amid the strong recovery of the domestic tourism and gaming business.

“We are looking at some key tourism hubs all over the Philippines as potential expansion sites for our integrated resort business,” AGI chief executive Kevin Andrew Tan said during the company’s annual stockholders meeting Thursday.

AGI through unit Travellers International Hotel Group Inc. operates two integrated resorts and casino—the Newport World Resorts in Pasay City and Manila Bayshore in Paranaque City.

AGI is also taking full ownership of NWR after buying out joint venture partner Genting Hong Kong’s 40-percent sake in the resort and casino business.

AGI is making an aggressive expansion plan on expectations that domestic tourism and gaming industry would recover as international travel rebounds.

TIHGI returned to profitability with net income hitting P1.1 billion in 2022 as gross gaming revenues reached a record P31.8 billion, driven by sustained VIP business and improvement in mass segment.

Non-gaming revenues hit P5.3 billion, up 86 percent from P2.9 billion a year earlier on the back of higher hotel occupancy and increased MICE ( meetings, incentives, conferences, and exhibitions) activities.

He said MediaQuest was in talks with ABS-CBN Corp. for the possible transfer of It’s Showtime to another time slot to give way to the new show of Tito and Vic Sotto, Joey de Leon and other hosts of the original “Eat Bulaga” to TV5.

“We are in discussion with ABS -CBN because their block time arrangement with us expires on June 30. So it depends also. I don’t have an idea when TVJ [Tito, Vic and Joey] will be ready with the new format for them,” Pangilinan said.

It’s Showtime is the longest-running daily noontime variety show of ABS-CBN.

“We’re open to their schedule and we’re coordinating with ABS-CBN. I believe that TV5 is committed to TVJ for the noontime slot, so it’s either them or Showtime unless ABS-CBN is willing to move to another time slot which we are prepared to give to them. But it’s up to them, not up to us,” he said. the long holiday weekend. He said the relatively high inflation also compelled OFWs to send more money to their relatives in the country. Inflation peaked at 8.7 percent in January 2023 but eased to 8.6 percent in February, 7.6 percent in March and 6.6 percent in April. Despite the successive slowdowns, inflation remained elevated over the target range of 2 to 4 percent. Personal remittances, which include non-cash items, rose 3.8 percent in April to $2.77 billion from $2.67 billion a year earlier, bringing the cumulative four-month tally to $11.68 billion, up 3.2 percent from $11.32 billion a year ago.

MediaQuest earlier signed an agreement with the former hosts of “Eat Bulaga” to produce content for TV5 and other platforms.

The announcement came after the Sotto brothers, de Leon and other hosts of the original “Eat Bulaga” resigned from production company TAPE Inc. controlled by the Jalosjos family.

MediaQuest acquired ABC Development Corp. and its blocktimer MPB Primedia Inc. from a joint consortium led by businessman Antonio Cojuangco Jr. and Malaysia-based broadcaster Media Prima Berhad in 2010.

GRAB SCHOLARS.

Grab Philippines and PHINMA Education announce the first batch of GrabScholars-- six outstanding students from Greater Metro Manila and Iloilo City who have been awarded full-ride college scholarships. Co-facilitated with online human-skills school BagoSphere, the initiative aims to empower disadvantaged Filipinos through inclusive education, fostering upward socioeconomic mobility. Shown during the announcement are (from left) BagoSphere project specialist Arvee Buenaventura; Grab Philippines country marketing head J-Anne Aruta; GrabScholars John Lloyd Villa, Mary Flor Valerie Rull, Cesario Cabuello III, Adrian Ortega; and Gloria Tutanes and Reigner Dawn Sanchez of PHINMA Education.

In Brief

Zamboanga enjoys stable and lower electricity rates

ZAMBOANGA City Electric Cooperative said Thursday the substantial improvements in power stability and lower rates in Zamboanga over the past five years resulted in significant growth for the region’s business and tourism sectors.

“We’ve been working diligently to improve the infrastructure and grid management in Zamboanga for the last five years. It’s great to see that our efforts have translated into positive effects to businesses and tourism in the province,” Zamcelco chief management officer Rommel Agan said.

Zamcelco’s residential power rates have been on a decline for the past several months. Zamcelco rates went down to P11.3119 per kilowatthour in May from P12.309 per kWh in April.

“Since the start of WESM [Wholesale Electricity Spot Market] Mindanao in January, we stopped nominating from embedded genco with the highest cost,” Agan said.

Zamcelco’s customer base reached 125,145, posting a steady increase since 2017.

Agan said that Zamcelco’s efforts to ensure a stable, reliable and affordable electricity supply has created a solid foundation for businesses and the tourism industry to thrive.

Alena Mae S. Flores

First Gen announces management changes

FIRST Gen Corp. of the Lopez Group on Thursday announced management changes with the resignation of some senior executives.

First Gen said in a disclosure to the stock exchange Richard Tantoco would step down as executive vice president effective July 1, 2023 because of medical reasons. Tantoco will remain a member of the board of directors of First Gen, the country’s clean energy leader whose portfolio includes geothermal, hydro, wind, solar and liquefied natural gas.

Tantoco will also step down as president of First Gen subsidiary Energy Development Corp. effective the same date but will remain a member of the EDC board of directors.

Federico Lopez will transition from his role as EDC chairman and chief executive to being solely chairman of the board effective July 1, 2023.

Joaquin Quintos IV tendered his resignation as director of EDC to focus on his duties and responsibilities under the Lopez Group’s healthcare industry, in particular Asian Eye Institute Inc., PiHealth Inc. and the recently-acquired The Medical Services of America (Philippines) Inc.

The remaining directors elected chief operating officer Jerome Cainglet as president and COO and the appointment of Francis Giles Puno, a member of the board of EDC, as vice chairman and chief executive. Alena Mae S. Flores LandBank cuts Instapay transfer fee

State-run Land Bank of the Philippines said it will reduce its transaction rates for fund transfer via InstaPay starting June 15 in line with the government’s financial inclusion campaign. LandBank president and chief executive Lynette Ortiz said in a statement all fund transfer transactions, regardless of the amount, would now be subject to a fixed transaction fee of P15 from the previous rate of P25.

“By lowering the fund transfer rate, more customers will benefit from the convenience and efficiency of our products,” Ortiz said.

“This is part of our commitment to provide accessible and affordable digital banking solutions, and to help expand financial inclusion,” Ortiz said.

Digital fund transfer is facilitated by the LandBank Mobile Banking App and iAccess for retail clients, and weAccess for Corporate Accounts. For the first three months of 2023, the three digital platforms have facilitated transactions amounting to a total of P265.7 billion. Julito G. Rada

Vivant plans to invest P37b in renewable energy and water sectors

By Alena Mae S. Flores

PUBLICLY-LISTED Vivant Corp. is looking at investing P37 billion in renewable energy and water sectors.

Vivant is investing P21 billion in renewable energy projects, making up more than 75 percent of total capital expenditures up to 2030.

Vivant Infracore Holdings Inc―which manages the Vivant Group’s investments in water solutions―plans to invest about P16 billion in several greenfield and brownfield opportunities in water resource utilization and wastewater engineering over the next five years.

Vivant chief executive Arlo A.G. Sarmiento said Vivant aimed to further strengthen its initiatives under the ESG framework to ensure the sustainability of its business endeavors and its communities as it celebrates its 20th anniversary this year. which would develop a 22-megawatt solar power plant in Bulacan province. Another fully-owned subsidiary, COREnergy, contributes to the RE target by growing its rooftop solar business from 2 MW to 6 MW in 2022.

“As we look back at the challenges and achievements that propelled us to continue to improve everyday living for the past 20 years, we put ESG at the forefront of our strategy to achieve long-term sustainable profits,” said Sarmiento.

Meanwhile, Vivant Energy is committed to playing a meaningful role in energy transformation and accelerating growth and improvement of power services in the country, Vivant president Emil Andre Garcia said during the company’s annual stockholders’ meeting.

He said the company was looking at wind and solar technologies to contribute to surpassing the company’s RE targets.

Garcia cited Vivant’s recent acquisition of San Ildefonso Alternative Energy Corp.

COREnergy, a retail company that offers total energy solutions to commercial and industrial establishments, aims to add 18MW of solar rooftop generation capacity by the end of the year.

Vivant’s subsidiary Vivant Energy’s recent acquisition of the shareholding of Gigawatt Power Inc. in several power generation facilities supports the group’s commitment to contribute to the social and economic development in the countryside by providing stable and reliable power primarily in SPUG or offgrid areas.