BUSINESS
B3 THURSDAY, DECEMBER 7, 2023
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AIRPORT LEADER. Ricia
Alternergy taps K2M of Denmark to develop 164-MW wind projects
Vinelli Montejo (left), head of international terminal operations and customer experience of the Mactan-Cebu International Airport, bags the 2023 Airport Leader of the Future Award at the recent Airport Honor Awards during the International Airport Summit 2023 in London, the UnitedKi ngdom. A consistent outstanding performer, Ricia joined GMR Megawide Cebu International Corp. (GMCAC) as procurement manager in March 2016.
ALTERNERGY Holdings Corp. and K2 Management (K2M), an energy transition project management and engineering consultancy firm, teamed up to construct two onshore wind power projects with a combined capacity of 164 megawatts. Alternergy said in a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) Wednesday the boards of Alternergy Tanay Wind Corp. (ATWC) and Alabat Wind Power Corp. (AWPC) approved the execution of the owner’s engineer (OE) contract to K2M following a competitive selection process which was participated in by six companies. Alternergy’s project companies are developing the 102-MW Tanay wind project in Rizal and the 62-MW Alabat wind project in Quezon.
“This pair of projects represent excellent progress toward achieving the Philippines’ energy transition goals, and we are excited to be at the forefront,” said Alternergy Wind Group president Knud Hedeager. “We look forward to working with K2M as we seek to ensure that this momentum continues. Leveraging insights from an independent advisor, whose expertise has come from established markets globally, was the natural choice for us as we aim to deliver clean and sustainable power,” he said. K2M, as OE contractor, will support Alternergy in the procurement processes within a muti-contracting framework, followed by construction management, design reviews, site management and quality control measures.
in 2024, with some suggesting as soon as the first quarter. The bank’s statement after next week’s policy meeting will be pored over by traders hoping for clues about decision-makers’ thinking on rates in light of the recent data. “A clear trend of a weakening jobs market can be observed, providing evidence that rate hikes are working their way through the economy,” said Kyle Rodda at Capital.com. But the past few days have seen fears building that the buying may have been overdone, and traders have taken a step back, with Asia particularly struggling.
“The latest US data conveyed a somewhat Goldilocks message,” said Stephen Innes at SPI Asset Management. “Economic growth appears satisfactory (as evidenced by services data), and there are indications that inflation may be poised to moderate further, given the ongoing rebalancing in the job market.” He added that “the potential risk to the Santa rally doesn’t hinge on a catastrophic event (despite elevated geopolitical tensions) or an abrupt negative turn in the economic data. Instead, it revolves around the simple exhaustion of the investment flows that propelled last month’s historic surge. With AFP
By Alena Mae S. Flores
PH stocks end flat as investors await cues P By Jenniffer B. Austria
HILIPPINE stocks ended nearly flat Wednesday amid the lack of market catalysts.
The 30-company Philippine Stock Exchange index shed 3.10 points, or 0.05 percent, to close at 6,305.85, while the broader all-shares index went down by 0.36 point, or 0.01 percent, to settle at 3,351.66 “Philippine shares closed almost flat with investors trying to get more cues from overseas that the world’s largest
economy is still on an uninterrupted path of recovery,” Regina Capital Development Corp. head of sales Luis Limlingan said. He said local investors might be rebalancing their portfolios on the back of betterthan-expected November inflation rate. The peso slightly rose Wednesday to close at 55.30 against the US dollar
from 55.32 Tuesday. Meanwhile, Asian equities rose Wednesday after a tepid start to the week as data pointing to a softening US labor market restoked hopes the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates in the new year. The below-forecast job openings figure bolstered optimism ahead of the closely watched non-farm payrolls report due Friday, which investors hope will confirm the economic slowdown sought by the central bank. Markets rallied in November on growing hope that with inflation continuing to fall and other parts of the economy easing, the Fed will be able to slash rates
Tech firm edamama closes funding round, raises over $35m since launch ONLINE-TO-OFFLINE (O2O) parenting platform edamama closed its Series A+ funding round, raising a total of over $35 million since the platform’s launch. The funding round was led by the Ayala Corporation Technology Innovation Venture (ACTIVE) Fund, the largest venture capital fund in the Philippines, managed by Kickstart Ventures and backed by Ayala Corp. and its subsidiaries. Existing investors Kickstart Ventures, Gentree Fund and Innoven Capital also participated in the round, alongside new investor South Korean retail giant GS Group. “We are excited to strengthen our collaboration with the Ayala ecosystem with this strategic investment from ACTIVE Fund, especially to unlock further synergies across the Ayala Malls network as we expand our physical stores nationwide next year,” edamama cofounder Nishant D’Souza said. “We are immensely grateful for the continued trust from our repeat investors, and are honored to welcome our new partners, GS Group, with their first direct investment in the Philippines.
This funding will accelerate our offline roll-out and private label product development, providing even more value and accessibility to our customers wherever they choose to be - online or offline,” he said. The fund raised from this round will support the company’s expansion strategy, intensifying its offline retail footprint across the Philippines. Following successful pilot pop-up stores in Robinsons Magnolia and Robinsons Manila malls, the company plans to mark another milestone with the launch of a new store at Ayala Vertis North before year-end. “We are truly inspired by the potential of the edamama platform to empower more Filipino parents and families. Building on our outstanding partnership with edamama through Kickstart’s initial investment in 2021, we are delighted to continue supporting them via Ayala Corporation’s ACTIVE Fund to help bring about a frictionless future where affordable, quality products are made easily available to more Filipino families,” said Minette Navarrete of the ACTIVE Fund.
The leadership team of edamama includes (from left) chief commercial officer Rohan Aggarwal, co-founder Nishant D’Souza, offline retail director Donna Manalastas, co-founder Bela Gupta D’Souza and senior commercial director Rachit Gupta.
Meralco refund controversy lingers Out in the Open Ray S. Eñano
ELECTRICITY rates in the Philippines remain a touchy subject because monthly bills make a dent on the household budget. The burden of of consumers does not get lighter if they realize that the Philippines has one of the higher electricity rates in Asia, along with those of Singapore. Prohibitive power costs are blamed for the low level of foreign investments in the Philippines and the laggard growth of the manufacturing sector. A paper prepared by Associate Professor Majah-Leah V. Ravago of Ateneo de Manila University noted that electricity prices in the Philippines were high by regional standards. Ms. Ravago’s paper, commissioned by the World Bank, stressed there is room for cost reduction from the various segments of the power supply chain in the Philippines, starting with the use “of an optimal mix of fuel sources based on the least-cost rule, where cost takes into account the environmental and health costs.” The paper further observed that transmission and distribution losses in the Philippines were also high by regional standards. “Consumers in the Philippines are also taxed for systems losses and subsidies. A reevaluation of the tax base is also needed,” the paper recommended.
The complicated billing statement issued by utilities, including Manila Electric Co., does not help in easing the plight of inflation-weary Filipino consumers. More often than not, they merely glance at their Meralco bills electric bills without examining the details. Consumers would just look at a set of numbers on their electric bills and part away with the chunk of their hard-earned pay to avoid losing power connection. Sad to say, the rest of the entries on consumers’ bills are difficult to understand, or even murky. Meralco, to be fair, has launched a campaign to educate consumers about the components of its bills, but no one really understands or has the time to decipher the figures. Mistaken billings can happen and consumers can’t complain much due to their lack of knowledge on the ins and outs of electric charges. The will to complain and correct mistakes will just wilt with time. One lawmaker, however, has taken notice of a glaring billing mistake. Rep. Dan Fernandez (Laguna, Sta. Rosa) cried out loud—Meralco owes customers at least P200 billion in refunds since 2012. By Fernandez’s computation and with the help of experts in the power distribution field, Meralco owes the money when it collected in excess of what it should charge consumers. It also owes interest on excess collections that rightfully belonged to consumers.
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Meralco’s erroneous billing should not have happened in the the first place, given the supposed strict regulatory environment that protects consumers from abuses. Meralco through a refund mechanism can return the excess collections. Customers will simply welcome the lower billing as Meralco was supposed to have already deducted the excess collection from the current rates. The refund from the outset is logical. But there could be other options worth looking into to mollify the feelings of the aggrieved customers. Fernandez and other lawmakers wondered aloud why Meralco did not return consumers’ money in cash, which could make the process clearer and easier to understand. For the lawmakers, the monthly bill should reflect current charges so as not to burden consumers with the arduous task of looking for where the refund was coming from. Meralco’s erroneous billing should not have
happened in the the first place, given the supposed strict regulatory environment that protects consumers from abuses. The law established the Energy Regulatory Commission to monitor and audit energy prices and yet, the private utility committed the overbill. Did the ERC merely overlook the mistake? A startling testimony by former ERC official Agnes Devanadera at the House of Representatives appeared could provide the answer to the body’s lax supervision, She told legislators that expenses for the audit by ERC staffers were once bankrolled by Meralco. Though the practice has been stopped because it clearly smacked of conflict-of-interest, ERC still has a lot to explain. With a new set of officials, the ERC should take a look at the conduct of its past executives. Let the mistakes of the past serve as a lesson for the new crop of ERC officials. Electric consumers, for one, have been on the receiving end of many power supply deals that they know little, or even nothing, of. They may not have time to complain and pursue such deals with the ERC, but the commission has an obligation to act motu propio in the interest of consumers. The ERC, thus, should start acting as the guardian of consumers. E-mail: rayenano@yahoo.com or extrastory2000@gmail.com