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Rediscount loans rise in 2019

LENDERS did not tap the central bank’s rediscount facility for the second consecutive month in December, with an analyst saying banks likely have enough liquidity due to the reserve requirement reductions implemented in 2019.

Peso rediscount loans totalled P122.167 billion for the the whole of 2019, unchanged for two months since its end-October period “due to non-availment from rediscounting banks in December 2019,” the central bank said on Friday.

However, total availments climbed 70% compared to the P71.524 billion seen in 2018.

The BSP allows lenders to tap additional money supply by posting their collectibles from clients as collateral through the rediscount window.

This gives banks the chance to use fresh cash — which could be in peso, dollar, or yen — to disburse more loans for corporate or retail clients and service unexpected withdrawals.

Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. Chief Economist Michael L. Ricafort said banks may have opted to not tap the rediscount facilities for two consecutive months due to the added liquidity coming from the reserve requirement ratio (RRR) cuts the central bank imposed in 2019.

“Thus, banks have additional peso funds worth more than P200 billion after the RRR cuts took effect for both months,” he said in an email.

To recall, the BSP announced RRR cuts worth 100 basis points (bp) each in September and October which took effect on November and December, respectively.

Last year, reserve requirements were slashed by a total of 400 bps, bringing the RRR of universal and commercial banks to 14%, while that of thrift and rural lenders went down to five and three percent, respectively.

BSP Governor Benjamin E. Diokno has vowed to reduce RRR of lenders to the single-digit level by the end of his term in mid-2023.

Aside from the RRR cuts, the tweaks in the definition for deposit substitutes may have also affected banks’ decision to not tap the rediscounting facilities of the BSP.

“The redefinition of deposit substitutes to exclude interbank borrowings (effectively exempting them from RRR) would have also encouraged banks to get more peso funding through interbank borrowings, as an alternative to tapping the BSP rediscounting facilities,” Mr. Ricafort said.

The Monetary Board in November adopted the new definition of deposit substitutes as amended by the New Central Bank Act which was signed into law in February.

Mr. Diokno has said the tweak in the definition of deposit substitutes may released some P28 billion into the financial system.

According to the statement from the central bank, the bulk of the loans in the past year were utilized for other credits which comprise 65.13% of the total rediscounting loans. Included in this chunk are those that went to capital asset expenditures (38.75%), commercial credits (34.86%), loans to other services (19.62%), permanent working capital (6.72%), as well as housing loans (0.04%).

More than a third (34.86%) of the total borrowings went to commercial credit. Banks utilized this to disburse loans related to importation (24.93%), trading (9.92%), and export (0.01%) of goods or products.

Meanwhile, production credits or those used for agricultural production only made up 0.01% of the total rediscounting loans.

REDISCOUNT RATE REVAMPS
In a circular letter, Mr. Diokno said the Monetary Board has approved revisions to the computation of the rediscount rates for peso, dollar, and yen loans.

Mr. Diokno said that applicable peso rediscount rates will be the overnight lending rate of the central bank which currently stands at four percent plus “a spread depending on the term of the loan” determined by the BSP.

“The spread between these two may change periodically to complement changes in the Bangko Sentral’s monetary policy goals,” he said.

Meanwhile, rates for the dollar or yen-denominated loans will be based on the 90-day London Inter-Bank Offered Rate (LIBOR). If there is no LIBOR, “an applicable benchmark rate, plus an appropriate spread depending on the term of the loan as may be determined by the Bangko Sentral.”

Mr. Diokno said the spread between the rates for dollar and yen rediscount loans may be indicative of the changes in the market interest rates “and to achieve monetary policy objectives.”

For this month, rediscount rates are at 4.5625% for peso loans with a tenor of 90 days or less, while those with a 91- to 180-day term are priced at 4.625%.

These are based on the latest available BSP overnight lending rate plus a premium.

On the other hand, the Exporters Dollar and Yen Rediscount Facility for the dollar credit lines are placed with rates of 3.90838% for loans maturing from one to 90 days; 3.97088% for those with a tenor within a 91- to 180-day time frame; and 4.0338% for those with a term of 181 to 360 days.

Meanwhile, yen loans in January are placed at a rate of 1.95267% for one to 90-day loans; 2.01517% for 91- to 180-day loans; and 2.07767% for loans maturing within a 181- to 360-day period.

These are based on the 90-day LIBOR as of end-December plus 200 basis points, plus term premia. — Luz Wendy T. Noble

Peso inches down on cautious trading ahead of US-China deal

THE PESO moved sideways on Friday as the market was on wait-and-see mode a week before the anticipated signing of the phase one deal between the world’s two biggest economies.

The local unit finished trading at P50.66 a dollar on Friday, shedding less than a centavo from its P50.651 trading close on Thursday, according to data from the website of the Bankers’ Association of the Philippines.

The peso opened at P50.67 against the dollar. Its weakest point for the day was at P50.76, while its best showing against the greenback was at P50.63.

Dollars traded went down to $1.152 billion from $1.582 billion on Thursday.

An analyst said the slight depreciation in the peso may have been due to news on the findings about the aircraft crash in Tehran.

“The peso weakened anew as market worries rekindled after the Boeing aircraft from Tehran heading to Ukraine was reportedly struck by Iranian military operations this week,” the analyst said in an email.

Reuters reported that Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau cited their country’s intelligence findings that point out that the Ukranian airliner crash which killed 176 aboard in Tehran was likely brought down by an Iranian missile.

“We have intelligence from multiple sources, including our allies and our own intelligence. The evidence indicates that the plane was shot down by an Iranian surface-to-air missile,” Mr. Trudeau said.

The US National Transportation Safety Board is set to take part in the investigation of the plane crash.

Meanwhile, Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. Chief Economist Michael L. Ricafort said the sideways trading may be an indication of the market waiting on the sidelines for the phase one trade deal between Washington and Beijing.

“The financial markets are now anticipating the scheduled signing of the phase one deal amid continued easing of US-Iran tensions,” he said in a text message.

On Thursday, US President Donald J. Trump said in an interview with the ABC TV affiliate in Ohio that the deal with China will be signed on Jan. 15.

“We’re going to be signing on January 15th — I think it will be January 15th, but shortly thereafter, but I think January 15th — a big deal with China,” Mr. Trump said, as reported by Reuters.

Chinese Vice Premier Liu He, who leads Beijng’s negotiation team in trade talks, will sign the deal in Washington next week. — L.W.T. Noble

Stocks close lower as investors await US-China trade deal

By Denise A. Valdez, Reporter

THE main index ended lower at the close of the week as investors decided to hold off in anticipation of the signing of the trade pact between United States and China next week.

The Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) tumbled 20.87 points or 0.27% to end at 7,776.77 on Friday, while the broader all shares index dipped 7.66 points or 0.17% to 4,605.17.

“Philippine shares traded weaker as some key events are keeping investors on the sidelines,” Regina Capital Development Corp. Head of Sales Luis A. Limlingan said in a mobile message Friday.

He said investors are waiting for the signing of the first phase of the US-China trade deal on Jan. 15, now that China has confirmed the attendance of Vice Premier Liu He, Central Bank Governor Yi Gang and Commerce Minister Zhong Shan at the signing ceremony in Washington D.C.

Investors are also keeping a close watch on the relationship of US and Iran, now that US has agreed to take part in the investigation of the Ukrainian airplane that crashed Tehran, killing all 176 passengers.

Philstocks Financial, Inc. Research Associate Piper Chaucer E. Tan agreed that the global events have led to the market’s decline on Friday. But he noted the lack of clarity over the fate of water concessionaires Manila Water Co., Inc. (MWC) and Maynilad Water Services, Inc. also affected the market’s weak performance.

“The market has been battered by these uncertainties coming from the geopolitical tensions abroad and the uncertainties coming from the water concessionaires which can have a negative sentiment on the business confidence,” he said in a text message.

The share price of listed investors of the water concessionaires kept slipping on Friday. Shares in MWC lost 2.30% to close at P10.20 each, while shares in Maynilad investor Metro Pacific Investments Corp. dipped 1.58% to end at P3.74 apiece.

Five out of six sectoral indices ended in red territory. Mining and oil slumped 142.41 points or 1.73% to 8,107.64; industrial gave up 54.07 points or 0.57% to 9,364.48; holding firms shaved 31.13 points or 0.41% to 7,635.45; property erased 27.36 points or 0.66% to 4,112.34; and services fell 5.11 points or 0.33% to 1,555.66.

Financials was the sole gainer with an increase of 16.61 points or 0.92% to 1,827.52.

Value turnover on Friday stood at P6.8 billion with 1.11 billion issues changing hands. Foreign investors turned bullish to record a net buying of P465.66 million, putting an end to seven consecutive days of net selling.

Trade deficit narrows in November

The country’s trade-in-goods deficit narrowed in November as both imports and exports declined, the Philippine Statistics Authority reported this morning.

Payments of import goods amounted to $8.94 billion in November, eight percent less than the $9.71 billion in the same month last year. This was lower than the 10.8% decline seen in October, albeit a reversal from the 9.6% growth in November 2018.

The latest reading marked the eighth consecutive month of decline for imports.

Meanwhile, the value of merchandise exports edged down 0.7% annually to $5.60 billion in November from $5.64 billion a year ago. This marked a turnaround from the revised 0.3% uptick recorded in October and the one-percent growth last year.

The decline in both imports and exports led to a narrower trade deficit of $3.34 billion in November, compared to a $4.07-billion gap in the same month in 2018.

To date, the merchandise import bill declined by 4.6% to $99.15 billion from $103.94 billion in 2018’s comparable 11 months, below the two-percent growth target set by the Development Budget Coordination Committee (DBCC) for 2019.

Meanwhile, export receipts decreased by 0.02% to $64.56 billion on a cumulative basis against the DBCC’s one-percent growth target set for the year.

That brought the year-to-date trade balance to a $34.59-billion deficit, smaller than the $39.36-billion shortfall in January-November 2018.

In November, Japan was the Philippines’ top export market with a 16.6% market share at $930.79 million, followed by the United States’ 15.9% ($890.06 million) and Hong Kong’s 13.9% ($776.57 million) market shares.

Meanwhile, China was the country’s top source of imports that month with a 22.9% share in November ($2.05 billion), followed by the 10% and 7.5% market shares of Japan ($894.42 million) and the US ($668.81 million), respectively. – Mark T. Amoguis

World Bank GDP growth projections for select East Asia and Pacific economies

AFTER a projected slowdown in 2019, the Philippine economy is expected to grow faster this year due to strong government spending, but may still fail to meet the official target amid domestic and external headwinds. Read the full story.

World Bank GDP growth projections for select East Asia and Pacific economies

GDP growth seen picking up this year

AFTER a projected slowdown in 2019, the Philippine economy is expected to grow faster this year due to strong government spending, but may still fail to meet the official target amid domestic and external headwinds.

In a report released on Thursday, Moody’s Investors Service said the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) growth will likely stand at 5.8% and 6.2% in 2019 and 2020, respectively, steady from the projections it gave after maintaining the country’s sovereign rating of Baa with a stable outlook in October.

World Bank GDP growth projections for select East Asia and Pacific economies

The World Bank, in the January issue of its Global Economic Prospects report titled “Slow Growth, Policy Challenges” released yesterday, also kept its growth forecasts for the country until 2022 unchanged, noting that while the Philippines’ expansion will remain below official targets, it will continue to grow faster than the whole of East Asia and the Pacific region in the near term.

The multilateral lender said the economy likely grew 5.8% in 2019 — slower than the previous year’s 6.2% clip but steady from the projection it made in October.

This compares to the downscaled official target of 6-6.5%.

For this year, the World Bank said GDP growth may end at 6.1% before picking up to 6.2% next year until 2022 versus the government’s 6.5-7.5% target for these years.

Economic growth in the third quarter of 2019 stood at 6.1%, picking up from the 5.6% and the 5.5% seen in the first two quarters of the year. This brought the nine-month average to 5.8%. The government will release the country’s official fourth-quarter GDP data this month.

However, the country is still seen to expand faster than East Asia and the Pacific’s average growth this year onwards as the region’s projected growth of 5.7% in 2020 is seen easing further to 5.6% in 2021-2022.

“These developments reflect continued domestic and external headwinds, including the lingering impact of trade tensions, despite the phase one agreement between China and the United States,” the World Bank said.

The World Bank noted that slowing global trade and rising uncertainty has affected the region, resulting in “weaker exports, disruptions in cross-border supply chains and declining private investment amid low business confidence.”

These disruptions were more notable in the Philippines, China, Malaysia and Thailand, which also experienced moderated imports due to delays in major public infrastructure projects.

Despite the impact of slowing trade within the region, the World Bank said many countries, including the Philippines, used accommodative monetary policy to mitigate the effects of global headwinds, which for this year could also include a “sharper-than-expected” slowdown in major economies and a sudden reversal of capital flows caused by issues rising from financing conditions or geopolitical relations.

Meanwhile, the World Bank said the Philippines will benefit from “supportive financing conditions” with easing inflation and robust capital flows, as well as from implementation of large public infrastructure projects.

Moody’s likewise said the normalization of government spending this year following the delay of the passage of the 2019 budget will help support GDP expansion.

Moody’s added that it expects government revenues to be supported by the hike in excise taxes scheduled early this year, of which some were part of the current administration’s first package of tax reforms enacted in 2017.

Republic Act No. 10963 or the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion law which covered on some goods and services while slashing personal tax took effect in 2018. Tax collections from the scheme jumped 38% year on year to P290.51 billion in 2018.

A measure to increase excise tax for alcohol products, electronic cigarettes, and other vapor products made it out of the bicameral conference committee before Congress took its break in December and has since been handed to the Palace.

Once signed by the president, the measure is expected to generate P22.2 billion in its first year of implementation.

Aside from the tax regime and the fiscal expansion, Moody’s also thinks that government debt will be manageable in 2020.

“We expect national government debt to remain stable and debt affordability to improve,” the report said. — Beatrice M. Laforga and L.W.T. Noble

World Bank trims 2020 growth forecast amid slow recovery for trade, investment

WASHINGTON — The World Bank on Wednesday trimmed its global growth forecasts slightly for 2019 and 2020 due to a slower-than-expected recovery in trade and investment despite cooler trade tensions between the United States and China.

The multilateral development bank said 2019 marked the weakest economic expansion since the global financial crisis a decade ago, and 2020, while a slight improvement, remained vulnerable to uncertainties over trade and geopolitical tensions.

In its latest Global Economic Prospects report, the World Bank shaved 0.2 percentage point off of growth for both years, with the 2019 global economic growth forecast at 2.4% and 2020 at 2.5%.

“This modest increase in global growth marks the end of the slowdown that started in 2018 and took a heavy toll on global activity, trade and investment, especially last year,” said Ayhan Kose, the World Bank’s lead economic forecaster. “We do expect an improvement, but overall, we also see a weaker growth outlook.”

The latest World Bank forecasts take into account the so-called Phase 1 trade deal announced by the United States and China, which suspended new US tariffs on Chinese consumer goods scheduled for Dec. 15 and reduced the tariff rate on some other goods.

While the tariff rate reduction will have a “rather small” effect on trade, the deal is expected to boost business confidence and investment prospects, contributing to a pickup in trade growth, Mr. Kose said.

Global trade growth is expected to improve modestly in 2020 to 1.9% from 1.4% in 2019, which was the lowest since the 2008-2009 financial crisis, the World Bank said. This remains well below the 5% average annual trade growth rate since 2010, according to World Bank data.

But both trade and overall economic growth prospects remain vulnerable to flare-ups in US-China trade tensions as well as rising geopolitical tensions. World Bank officials said they were not able to estimate the growth effects of a wider US-Iran conflict, but said this would increase uncertainty, which would hurt investment prospects.

EMERGING ECONOMY GAINS
Advanced economies and emerging markets and developing economies also show divergent prospects in the World Bank forecasts. Growth in the United States, the euro area and Japan is expected to decline slightly to 1.4% in 2020 from 1.6% in 2019 — a markdown of 0.1 percentage point for both years — due to continued softness in manufacturing and the lingering negative effects of US tariffs and retaliatory measures.

But emerging market economies are expected to see a pickup in growth to 4.1% in 2020 from 3.5% in 2019, although these are both a half percentage point lower than forecasts made in June.

Much of the emerging market improvement is driven by eight countries, the World Bank said. Argentina and Iran are expected to emerge from recessions in 2020, and prospects are expected to improve for six countries that struggled with slowdowns in 2019: Brazil, India, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey.

DECELERATION IN CHINA
China’s growth rate is projected to decelerate to 5.9% in 2020, a 0.2 percentage point reduction from the June forecast, as the world’s second-largest economy deals with fallout from US tariffs, the World Bank said.

Mr. Kose said the trade war hit China’s manufacturing and exports hard last year, holding growth to 6.1%, a 0.1 percentage point reduction from the World Bank’s June forecast. Tighter regulations on China’s shadow banking sector also dented investment.

China’s outlook could worsen if trade tensions with Washington flare up again, or there is a disorderly unwinding of debt. But Mr. Kose said China had sufficient policy buffers to cushion any deeper slowdown. — Reuters

Philippines eyes more Japanese-funded infrastructure projects

THE Philippine government is eyeing more Japan-funded infrastructure projects this year, as the two countries eased the approval process of loan agreements in a bid to fast-track the implementation of infrastructure projects under the administration’s “Build, Build, Build” program.

“As our ambitious ‘Build, Build, Build’ infrastructure program accelerates this year, we see more opportunities for financing and technical support from the Government of Japan,” Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III said during a bilateral meeting with Japanese Foreign Affairs Minister Toshimitsu Motegi on Thursday. A copy of Mr. Dominguez’s opening statement was provided to the media.

During the meeting, Mr. Motegi said the Japanese government is set to mobilize $3 billion in funding through its recently launched Overseas Loan and Investment Initiative for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in the next three years.

“Let us continue to jointly discuss how to formulate development projects that can be the subject under this initiative,” he said.

Mr. Motegi said the total funding already includes the $1.2 billion in overseas loans and investments for ASEAN members by Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).

He added that the two countries now “enjoy a broad based, multilayered development, including economy, infrastructure development, security, people-to-people exchanges.”

Meanwhile, Mr. Dominguez said the two countries have already agreed to shorten the approval process of loan agreements down to an average of three to four months.

“The high-level committee has shortened the approval process of our loan agreements to an average of three to four months. This demonstrates our shared commitment to work closely to ensure that the Filipino people get the benefit of these projects at the lowest possible costs and the soonest possible time,” the Finance chief said.

Japan has also committed to creating a masterplan to redevelop Subic Bay, which was once the biggest American naval base outside of the United States.

“With the Memorandum of Cooperation for this commitment signed last month in Hakone, we look forward to Japan’s swift creation of the action plan for this project,” Mr. Dominguez said.

“Given what we have achieved in developing the Clark special economic zone, I am confident that the full development of the Subic Bay will provide another important node for knowledge-based industries serving the whole of East Asia.”

To date, Japan is the country’s top source of official development assistance (ODA) with $8.63 billion in loans and grants as of September 2019, making up nearly half or 46% of the country’s total ODA loan portfolio.

Meanwhile, Japan has committed to providing an additional ¥4.4 billion (P2 billion) for the implementation of the second phase of the Metro Manila Priority Bridges Seismic Improvement Project.

“Just moments ago, Minister Motegi and I exchanged diplomatic notes on the Metro Manila Priority Bridges Seismic Improvement Project,” Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro L. Locsin, Jr. said in a briefing in Makati City, Thursday. “The project will reinforce our bridges, bringing them to superior seismic design specifications and making them resilient to large-scale tremors.”

The original loan agreement, worth ¥9.783 billion (P4.5 billion), was signed in August 2015.

The project is aimed at improving the resilience of two major bridges: Lambingan Bridge and Guadalupe Bridge. The additional loan will cover the increase in costs due to changes in construction technology for the Guadalupe Bridge, temporary detour bridges in Guadalupe, and additional work shifts for the construction period, among others.

Since President Rodrigo R. Duterte assumed office in 2016, 10 loan agreements have been signed between the Philippines and Japan.

This includes loans for the first phase of the Metro Manila Subway Project; the second New Bohol Airport Construction and Sustainable Environment Protection Project; Metro Rail Transit Line 3 (MRT3) Rehabilitation Project; the fourth phase of the Pasig-Marikina River Channel Improvement Project; and the North-South Commuter Railway Extension Project. — Beatrice M. Laforga and Charmaine A. Tadalan

PHL has policy space to address challenges — Diokno

THE Philippines has enough monetary and fiscal policy space to deal with the economic challenges it faces, central bank Governor Benjamin E. Diokno said in his first speech of the year.

Driven by domestic demand, the archipelago’s economy is in a position of strength despite global and domestic challenges, Mr. Diokno told the Rotary Club on Thursday in Manila. Authorities are “cautiously optimistic” that this year’s economic performance will be better than last year, he said.

“Similar to other countries, the Philippines is exposed to external headwinds and domestic risks,” he said. “But we are optimistic that robust domestic demand and healthy external payments position will continue to support our economy and serve as buffers against external headwinds.”

The government is forecasting growth of 6.5%-7.5% this year, compared with an estimated 6%-6.5% in 2019.

The central bank lowered its key interest rate by 75 basis points (bps) in 2019 to help support the economy, reversing part of the 175 bps of rate hikes the year before. While Mr. Diokno has said the bank has room to cut more this year, he said Thursday the monetary board believes the current policy settings are appropriate.

“We continue to remain on top of developments, and stand ready to use all possible policy tools in our arsenal to address any external or domestic shocks,” he said.

With tensions between the US and Iran at a boil over last week’s assassination in Iraq of a high-ranking Iranian general, Mr. Diokno said the central bank is prepared to address any external shocks. The standoff could have an impact on remittances from the region — a key support for the Philippine economy — though Mr. Diokno earlier this week said the tensions weren’t likely to have a lasting impact on inflation, and warned against alarmism.

The Middle East is the Philippines’ main destination for land-based workers, with more than one million Filipinos deployed there each year, according to government data. The region is the second-largest source of cash remittances from overseas workers, central bank data show. — Bloomberg

Dark drama Joker leads BAFTA nominations with 11 nods

LONDON — Joker, a dark origins story about the comic book villain, led nominations for the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) awards on Tuesday, but Britain’s top movie honors drew criticism over the lack of diversity in the acting categories.

Netflix film The Irishman, a star-studded gangster drama directed by Martin Scorsese and Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, which won the best comedy/musical Golden Globe on Sunday, got 10 nominations each.

Also fresh from its triumph at the Golden Globes — where it picked up best drama and best director for Sam Mendes — immersive World War One drama 1917 received nine nominations.

The four movies will compete against South Korean director Bong Joon-ho’s darkly comic Parasite for best film at the Feb. 2 awards in London as well as for best director.

Joker, directed by Todd Phillips, won the Golden Lion award at the Venice Film Festival and a Golden Globe acting prize for Joaquin Phoenix, who has received critical acclaim for his transformation from vulnerable loner into confident villain in the movie. Phoenix got a BAFTA leading actor nod.

He will compete against Leonardo DiCaprio in Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood, Adam Driver for Netflix divorce drama Marriage Story, Golden Globe winner Taron Egerton in Elton John musical biopic Rocketman, and Jonathan Pryce in papal drama The Two Popes.

CRITICISM
However, soon after BAFTA announced the acting contenders, online critics lamented the lack of diversity, using the hashtag #BaftasSoWhite on social media.

The leading actress list featured Scarlett Johansson for Marriage Story, Saoirse Ronan for the latest adaptation of Little Women, Charlize Theron for Bombshell, a drama about sexual harassment allegations at Fox News, Jessie Buckley for musical drama Wild Rose, and Renee Zellweger for Judy.

Johansson was also nominated as supporting actress for Jojo Rabbit, a comic satire set during World War Two which in total got six nominations.

She faces competition from Marriage Story co-star Laura Dern, Florence Pugh for Little Women and twice-nominated Robbie for Bombshell and Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood.

Nominees for supporting actor were Al Pacino and Joe Pesci for The Irishman, Tom Hanks for A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood, Anthony Hopkins for The Two Popes, and Brad Pitt for Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood.

Asked about the acting categories “seem(ing) very white,” BAFTA Chief Executive Amanda Berry told BBC Radio 4’s Today program: “I’m going to totally agree with you. That’s how I felt when I first saw the list.”

“This isn’t being disrespectful to anybody who has been nominated because it’s an incredibly strong list… If you look at the director category, where I hoped we would see at least one female director… that is an incredibly strong list,” Berry said, adding women directors were nominated in other categories.

She told Reuters BAFTA was also working on a new scheme for women directors. — Reuters

With a greater online focus, AFC is now AFN

AFTER ALMOST a decade of serving food from the all over the region via cable TV, the Asian Food Channel has now shifted to a “digital-first approach” in order to support its three million-strong online community, hence the need to change its name to Asian Food Network (AFN), according to a channel executive.

“With the change of name, we wanted to showcase the change in nature of the channel: in the past years, Asian Food Channel had already evolved into more than a linear experience,” Anna Pak Budin, vice-president and general manager in Southeast Asia for Discovery Networks Asia-Pacific, told BusinessWorld in an e-mail interview in December.

“We decided to go for a digital-first approach based on research, data, and feedback from our current online community. We saw that they liked the short and snappy type of format, that’s why we decided to give them more,” she added.

The Asian Food Channel was Asia’s first pay-TV food channel. It was created by Hian Goh, an investment banker, and Maria Brown, a BBC journalist, in 2005. In 2013, the channel was bought by Scripps Networks Interactive, which was then brought under the wing of Discovery Inc. when it bought Scripps Networks in 2018.

The channel has featured shows from international chefs like Gordon Ramsay, Nigella Lawson, and Martin Yan, alongside regional chefs like Debbie Wong and Judy Joo.

With the rebranding, Ms. Burdin said that the channel has partnered with “food trend hunters” or food content creators for the website and YouTube channel, who create Asian recipes to complement the TV talents. Among these “creators” are Sarah Huang Benjamin, Sherson Lian, and Illi Soulaiman. Filipino chef and winner of the 2016 AFN’s Food Hero contest Anton Amoncio, also joined the online ranks while having two shows on AFN.

The network will continue to have “a strong lineup of Asian-based cuisine” and as such will have shows such as Luke Nguyen’s Railway Vietnam where Vietnamese chef Luke Nguyen takes viewers on a “culinary railway journey” in his home country for the first quarter of 2020.

“Luke is a talent we are building for our AFN channel and someone that resonates well with our audiences,” Ms. Burdin said.

Also in the show lineup for the year are Diana Chan’s Asia’s Unplated featuring 2017 Master Chef Australia Winner Diana Chan, Comfort Food Recipes Season 2 which will feature “local home-cooked and delicious classics recipes like how grandma used to cook and that kind of content resonates well with our audiences,” according to Ms. Burdin.

Ms. Burdin said the rebranding was also a way to target a younger market despite the continuous growth in ratings for the channel.

“While AFN continues to see healthy viewership growth, the audience has shifted towards the older age group (45 and above), hence the announcement of asianfoodnetwork.com, which audience is relatively younger,” she said.

She added that AFN has had a 6% increase in ratings in Southeast Asia year-on-year and the Philippines has shown “the biggest growth with ratings increasing by 116% since 2016.”

Asian Food Network is available on SkyCable channel 22 (SD) and 248 (HD) and Cignal channel 62. — Zsarlene B. Chua

DoJ files criminal case vs Kapa leaders for illegal securities sale

By Denise A. Valdez

THE Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) said criminal charges had been filed against Kapa-Community Ministry International (KAPA) and its officers for the illegal sale of securities.

In a statement on Thursday, the country’s corporate regulator said the Department of Justice (DoJ) had filed a criminal case against KAPA at the Bislig City Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 29. KAPA is being charged of “willfully, unlawfully and criminally engaging in the selling or offering for sale or distribution of securities to the general public without a registration statement duly filed with and approved by the SEC.”

The DoJ is also charging KAPA Founder and President Joel A. Apolinario, Trustee Margie A. Danao and Corporate Secretary Reyna L. Apolinario of violating provisions of the Securities Regulation Code (SRC) and indicted Marisol S. Diaz, Adelfa Fernandico, Moises Mopia and Reniones D. Catubigan for involvement in the alleged investment scam.

Aside from the case at the Bislig City RTC, the DoJ has filed a case against Ms. Diaz at the Rizal RTC for violation of an SRC provision, and a similar case against Mr. Mopia and Ms. Fernandico at the Quezon City RTC Branch 93.

The SEC said the judges are expected to order the arrest of the officers soon, as a warrant has already been issued by the Quezon City RTC on Dec. 2 against Ms. Fernandico.

“We are committed to see the criminal proceedings against KAPA through to the end. We will pursue everyone involved in the investment scam that played havoc with the future of our fellow Filipinos, including those who continue to attempt to perpetuate it,” SEC Chairperson Emilio B. Aquino was quoted in the statement as saying.

The criminal cases against KAPA and its leaders follow a trail through the efforts of the SEC since 2017 to hold the group liable for allegedly scamming an estimated P50 billion from its members.

KAPA is supposedly operating as a religious group that collects P10,000 per head from its members in exchange of a 30% monthly return for life. The SEC said this is equivalent to an investment contract, which in order to operate legally, KAPA had to secure a separate registration for.

Since KAPA was not able to follow the provisions of the SRC, it is due to be punished with a maximum fine of P5 million or imprisonment of seven to 21 years, or both. But the SEC said the DoJ is pushing for a heavier penalty because of the use of Facebook and YouTube in its investment scheme.

“Considering the use of Facebook and YouTube in the illegal investment scheme, the DOJ recommended that the penalty to be imposed against KAPA, its officers and agents be one degree higher than what is prescribed by the SRC, pursuant to Section 6 of Republic Act No. 10175, or the Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012,” it said.

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