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Trina Solar mulls foray into minigrid business in PHL

By Victor V. Saulon, Sub-editor
TRINA Solar Energy Development Pte. Ltd. is looking at entering the minigrid business in the country and has tapped the services of lawyers to study the details of a regulation being drafted by government agencies covering the so-called “distributed power.”
“It’s actually a good market to penetrate. So that’s something that we are looking into. There are certain legal things that we need to abide with because I think for you to do that, I think you need to be certified to sell electricity,” said Junrhey Castro, Trina Solar country manager, in an interview after the company presented its plan in the Philippines.
“So there’s an RES (retail electricity supply) process. You need to be RES — there’s a certificate that you need to obtain,” he said, referring to the license being issued by the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) on entities that plan to sell electricity to “contestable” customers or those whose average monthly consumption in the past year reach a set threshold.
A minigrid or a microgrid acts as a single controllable grid and can connect and disconnect from the national grid to enable it to operate in both grid-connected or island mode. It has clearly defined boundaries.
“That’s a good part of the business and we’ve been looking into that. Actually what we have done is we’ve worked with another company who’s doing that business specifically. Though we are only supplying equipment to them. And we are giving technical advice, that’s already a good kickstart for us for that market,” Mr. Castro said.
“The grid is a big issue and if you can deliver products, services, basically the idea of that business is you become a utility provider on a small scale, a mini utility provider on the small scale,” Mr. Castro said.
For now, the company is looking into partnerships with local entities for projects that will give it a headstart in the minigrid business.
“We have to build a local company, where of course you have to abide with the 60-40 rule,” he said, referring to the limitation under Philippine laws that limit the ownership stake of a foreign entity to 40%.
Mr. Castro said it has started the process of creating a new company, which will have to be registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
“We have hired a legal lawyer to look into the technicalities of the draft and how we can penetrate into that market so we’re still on a discussion with them,” he added.
In the near term, Trina Solar is targetting to install 5-6 megawatts (MW) of solar rooftop energy systems in Filipino homes each year as it sets its sights on the local residential market.
“We have quite a bit of aggressive target in the Philippines,” Mr. Castro said. “Usually we are given the task of at least 10% market share.”
Mr. Castro, who is also Trina Solar senior sales head for Australia and Southeast Asia, said the installation would cover both residential and commercial market segments, and distributed as “a few kilowatts here and there.”
Trina Solar, which describes itself as a global leader in total energy solutions, recently launched its Trinahome solutions brand that focuses on residential consumers. The parent firm has previous projects in the Philippines but mostly industrial scale development.
Mr. Castro said Trinahome is a “plug and play” residential solutions that come with warranties and backed by an internationally bankable supplier.

Aboitiz property unit plans to launch projects in Pampanga, Davao

By Vincent Mariel P. Galang
ABOITIZLAND, Inc. is expanding its mid-market residential brand Ajoya in Pampanga and Davao City next year.
John A. Amon, AboitizLand vice-president for customer acquisition and innovation, said the company is launching new Ajoya communities in Acacia, Buhangin in Davao City and in Suclaban, Pampanga by the second quarter of 2019. The company is planning to launch a total of 400 units.
Mr. Amon told BusinessWorld via e-mail that the company is allocating a capital expenditure of P1.4 billion for the Davao project, and P2.7 billion for the Pampanga project.
This is part of the P7.5-billion capex the company has allotted for four Ajoya projects, including existing ones in Nueva Ecija and Tarlac.
AboitizLand expects P550 million in sales from the Davao development, and P450 million in sales from the Pampanga development.
Mr. Amon said the Ajoya brand generally targets professionals with families.
“The advancing professionals and their families live in the same house their parents gave them. With a growing family, they are beginning to feel the need for some improvements. They dream of a home that offers more than the usual — a home with a fresh and unique living experience, one that allows lasting connections and a truly enjoyable environment,” he said.
Mr. Amon said the Ajoya projects also cater the employees of business process outsourcing (BPO) companies, overseas Filipino workers (OFW) families, and the local residents.
The Ajoya brand is currently present in Cabanatuan, Nueva Ecija, and Capas, Tarlac. Both projects were launched in September 2018.
Ajoya Cabanatuan is a 19-hectare development in Barangay Valle Cruz with units ranging from 60 square meters (sq.m.) to 75 sq.m., and are priced between P3 million to P4.7 million.
On the other hand, the 13-hectare Ajoya Capas in Barangays Talaga and Estrada offers units ranging from 45 sq.m. to 60 sq.m., and are priced from P1.8 million to P2.5 million.
The Cebu-based property firm launched Seafront Residences in San Juan, Batangas in 2017.

After the holidays, some art to cleanse one’s palate


WHILE THE recent holiday nearly bankrupted us as we splurged on gifts and food and travel abroad, let’s usher in the New Year with new experiences that don’t break the bank — unless you buy a piece of good art (which is an investment!). Here is a list of some of the galleries in the metro that offer good Filipino art — and entrance is free (or very nearly).
THIS IS HOW TO BE A WOMAN OF THE WORLD
1335 Mabini
When we have a misogynist and bigoted President, artworks that champion women and feminism not only talk back to the current oppression, but enlighten everyone about the struggles that women face every day. The title of artist Nikki Luna’s solo exhibition called This is how to be a woman of the world is a direct quote from Duterte.
To raise awareness on the rights and plight of women and girls all over the world, Ms. Luna’s works feature the systematic violence — physical, emotional, and mental — that women experience.
For the exhibit, Ms. Luna cast women’s clothes in resin, “creating a wardrobe that tells the story of the violence done against them under regimes that traffic in abuse and misogyny. These vestments are a memorial to the way they have responded and resisted, a statement stripped of its fashion to lay bare the strength in vulnerability,” says an artist’s statement.
Among them are Senator Leila de Lima, who has been in detention since 2017, and has been the object of Mr. Duterte’s scorn; Judy M. Taguiwalo, who was arrested and tortured during Marcos’s Martial Law, was insulted by Senator Tito Sotto during a confirmation hearing in 2017 for being a single mother; Emma Sulkowicz, who lugged around a 50 lb. mattress around her university campus as an act of protest after being raped in her dorm; and Charlie Jean, a pregnant 15-year-old who was killed by police during a raid.
As an activist, the artist conducts art therapy workshops in conflict zones in the Philippines. Ms. Luna said in a statement: “I believe that art is something that you can share. It feeds your soul.”
“Art is a powerful tool. Art can tell peoples’ stories, retell history, incorporating the voices from the margins and continue sharing art to engage, provoke action and to promote healing in communities… It never crossed my mind not to speak of the injustice from the thousands of EJKs [extrajudicial killings], rape culture, misogyny under this administration. I will continue to use my art to show the lives of the people wronged by the system,” she said.
The exhibit is on view until Jan. 19 at 1335 Mabini gallery at Unit C1B Karrivin Plaza, 2316 Chino Roces Ave Ext., Makati.
AFTERWORLD OBLITERATION
Alliance Francaise de Manille
Alliance Française de Manille, in partnership with Centre Intermondes and 1335 Mabini Gallery, presents Afterworld Obliteration, a solo art exhibition by artist Dexter Sy.
The Philippine Artist Residency Program 2017 winner has shaped his own style, combining Persian rugs, painting, and ink and pen drawings. In France, he created works evoking the violence and terrorism that can hit both France and the Philippines. There are cut-outs in the form of robots representing evil, as robots are often perceived in Asia as destructive beings. The drawn parts represent hell and the victims of violence and terrorism intertwined with graphics from the tradition of Indigenous Filipino groups. The use of the Persian rug echoes the significant presence of the Muslim community in the Philippines, which makes up more than 20% of the population. His works also make use of Christian symbolism as Christianity is major religion in the Philippines.
The exhibition opens on Jan. 17, 6:30 p.m., and will run until Feb. 23.
CONTINUING SPIRIT: ALFRED ESQUILLO
Areté gallery
Thirty-seven works make up this retrospective show which celebrates 25 years of Alfred Esquillo’s art. Curator Renato Habulan chose works that “highlights Esquillo’s every aesthetic milestone,” according to the Web site of the Ateneo de Manila University’s Areté gallery. “Apart from winning paintings from national and international competitions, the exhibit also features his creative experiments weaving two canvases into mat patterns, his appropriation and face cut-outs of archival photos using different media, and his tragicomedy series.”
The opening of this special exhibition last November coincided with the launch of Mr. Esquillo’s self-titled book that chronicles his struggles and triumphs both in life and art.
The exhibit is on view until Jan. 20 at the Alicia P. Lorenzo, Elizabeth Gokongwei, and Ambeth R. Ocampo Galleries at the 3/F Ateneo Art Gallery, Arts Wing, Areté, Ateneo de Manila Campus, Katipunan Ave., Quezon City.
SA DAGAT AT BUNDOK
Metropolitan Museum of Manila
Artist Wynn Wynn Ong, best known for her stunning jewelry, presents the gems of the Philippines in the exhibition called Sa Dagat at Bundok. As the title suggests, the exhibit highlights the Philippines’ diverse fauna and flora and the country’s endangered and newfound species.
The exhibit is on view until February at the Metropolitan Museum of Manila beside the Bangko Sentral, Roxas Blvd., Malate, Manila. The museum is open Monday to Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., and the admission fees are P100 for adults and students and P80 for Senior citizens and persons with disability.
TRANSPERSONAL, INSTRUCTIONS
UP Vargas Museum
“Transpersonal” means the transcendence beyond the physical identity, which then means that the exhibition on view until Feb. 1 at the UP Vargas Museum talks about metaphysical boundaries. Discussions include spiritual experiences: near-death phenomena, nomophobia (the fear of being without your phone), and political isolation.
The exhibit was part of an “evolving transnational research project that engages with public lectures, exhibition making, education, sonic scores and publishing in contemporary art,” according to the museum’s Web site..
The participants in the exhibition are Filipino and foreign intellectuals, artists, and members of the academe: Merlinda Bobis, Patrick D. Flores, Eisa Jocson, The Karrabing Film Collective, Dana Klisanin, Leslie Kulesh, Andy Lacey, Russ Ligtas, Raquel de Loyola, Elizabeth A. Povinelli, Mark Salvatus, Evelyn Taocheng Wang, Oreet Ashery, Revital Cohen & Tuur Van Balen, and César H. Villanueva.
Transpersonal, instructions was curated by Dr. Stephen Wilson in conjunction with the University of the Philippines, Visiting Professor Program.
The UP Vargas Museum is in the University of the Philippines Diliman campus in Quezon City.

PDS Group may raise listing target

THE PDS Group will be re-evaluating its listing target for 2019, possibly adjusting upwards the previously set P200 billion, a company official said.
“We base our target to some projections, because for [2018] we projected mga P189 [billion] for new listing. So the target was really for [2019] was set when we did our planning was P200 [billion],” said Ma. Theresa B. Ravalo, officer-in-charge of the PDS Group, the bond exchange’s infrastructure provider.
This comes after the Philippine Dealing & Exchange Corp. (PDEx) ended 2018 with a total of P256.39 billion in new listings, representing a 24% increase from the figure in 2017.
Ms. Ravalo said the total outstanding amount of bonds listed or enrolled in PDEx was expected to hit P1.045 trillion in 2018, 32% higher than the previous year’s figure.
“We have to re-evaluate it in the current condition primarily because of the presence of the bank bonds, so that’s the new ones that were recently approved by the BSP (Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas),” she said, noting this drove up the total value of bonds.
Ms. Ravalo said between November and December around P65 billion was raised.
“We have to sit down, usually we do our re-evaluation mid-year because once we’ve set it that’s already been approved,” she said. “We hope it should be higher sana [than the original P200 billion target].”
“We’re also looking at bringing to the market additional instruments such as there’s perpetuals — perpetual bonds. That could be another source of funding, additional instrument that they could use for funding their requirements,” Ms. Ravalo said.
Factors that would be considered during the re-evaluation of targets would be the funding requirement of companies.
“One is the funding requirement of the industry, and another would be introduce new instruments because there might be some issuer who would like to access the market but the instrument that is available may not be catering to their funding requirement,” Ms. Ravalo said.
She cited for instance, the commercial papers issued by Phoenix Petroleum Philippines, Inc.
“This caters to a very specific need of the issuer because it’s shorter so if we don’t have this before in 2015 that increase will not be there because there is no instrument. So if it’s just the usual vanilla bond, the long-term bond, that would be too expensive for them [because] they want short-term,” Ms. Ravalo said.
Last week, Phoenix Petroleum listed its new commercial papers with an initial tranche of P7 billion of the P10 billion approved for its fund-raising program.
It was the second commercial paper-related listed for 2018, which happens to the 29th and last listing for the year. — Victor V. Saulon

BSP trims term deposit auction volume to P30B

By Melissa Luz T. Lopez, Senior Reporter
THE CENTRAL BANK has slashed the amount of term deposits it will auction off this week to the lowest level in over two years due to weaker demand from banks just before the holiday season wraps up.
The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) will only offer P30 billion worth of term deposits for its first auction for 2019, which is the lowest level seen since the weekly offerings started in June 2016.
The auction volume was slashed for the second straight week coming from the P70 billion offered on Dec. 19 and P50 billion on Dec. 27. The amount is split equally at P10 billion each for the seven-day, 14-day and 28-day term deposits for today’s auction.
Banks wanted to park just P35.219 billion under the term deposit facility (TDF) last week, settling well below the amount the BSP placed on the auction block. The central bank even had to reject P6 billion worth of tenders and accepted only P29.219 billion as the interest rates sought by market players were too high.
More players wanted to maximize the interest rate corridor of the central bank and bid closer to the ceiling of 5.25%, driving average yields higher for both the one-week and one-month papers.
The TDF has been the central bank’s main tool to capture excess money supply in the financial system. By holding these weekly auctions, the BSP can usher market and interbank rates closer to its desired range of 4.25-5.25% by setting the standard for short-term instruments through the yields which they accept.
BSP Deputy Governor Diwa C. Guinigundo has said the higher bids from banks were expected, given that they have less excess cash as they service more withdrawals over the Christmas season.
“Yes, the volume may be reduced based on our liquidity forecasts indicating the higher demand for cash and less propensity to deposit with BSP these days. This is just normal market outturn,” Mr. Guinigundo said in a text message to reporters.
Financial markets will reopen today after a long weekend for New Year’s Day celebrations. The BSP has announced that clearing, settlement and treasury operations will proceed despite a government-wide holiday.

A very full theatrical calendar


LAST YEAR’s theater scene was lively and jampacked. This year is shaping up to be just the same, if not more.
First off, there is Reine Productions and Repertory Philippines presentation of Silent Sky, the critically acclaimed feminist production which was a hit in 2018.
Lauren Gunderson’s play focuses on the little known women who made big contributions to astronomy, focusing in particular on Henrietta Swan Leavitt whose work paved the way for better-known male astronomers like Edwin Hubble. Leavitt and her female colleagues in Harvard made their discoveries despite never being allowed to use the observatory’s refracting telescope.
Original cast members Cathy Azanza-Dy, Caisa Borromeo, Naths Everett, and Topper Fabregas will reprise their roles. Bibeth Orteza will join the cast in this production. Joy Virata again directs this production.
The show will run from Feb. 1-3 and 8-10 at the Carlos P. Romulo Auditorium, RCBC Plaza, Ayala Ave., Makati. For details contact Ria Pangilinan at 0917-537-8313 or e-mail riapangprojects@gmail.com.
Atlantis Theatrical Entertainment Group will once again present Angels in America Part One: Millennium Approaches in March. The production, directed again by Bobby Garcia, marks Atlantis’ 20th anniversary.
The play — the first of Tony Kushner’s epic two-part rumination on the AIDS epidemic — will run from March 22 to April 7 at the Carlos P. Romulo Auditorium.
After the success of Lungs, The Sandbox Collective will present Every Brilliant Thing, a one-woman show about depression. Like Lungs, it’s a Duncan Macmillan play.
Repertory Philippines will restage its original musical Miong, the life story of Emilio Aguinaldo, which was first presented in 1998 when the country celebrated the 100th anniversary of the declaration independence.
Written and originally directed by Rep’s artistic director Joy Virata, Ms. Virata will again direct Miong which features music by Ian Monsod and additional lyrics by Freddie Santos.
While Aguinaldo lived a very long life, the musical takes a look at his youth, from his birth into a middle-class provincial family to the declaration of independence on June 12, 1898, when he was just 29.
It will star Tim Pavino, Noel Rayos, Cara Barredo, Meynard Penalosa, and Elver Esquivel.
It will be presented at Onstage, Greenbelt 1, Ayala Center Makati from Feb. 15 — March 10. For more information, visit www.repertoryphilippines.ph.
Also in Rep’s lineup are Eric Chappell’s Father’s Day, about a troubled family (directed by Rep cofounder Baby Barredo) in March, and Ronald Harwood’s The Dresser, about an actor performing Shakespere’s King Lear and his constant companion, in May. It stars Teroy Guzman and Audie Gemora.
Rep will end the year with the musical The Quest for the Adarna, Luna Giño Inocian’s English adaptation of Ibong Adarna, featuring music by Rony Fortich.
While we’ve finally bid goodbye to PETA’s enduring musical Rak of Aegis, which made use of songs from the popular musical group Aegis, other productions that pay tribute to OPM (original Pilipino music) will return to the stage this year: 9 Works Theatrical and Globe Live’s Eto Na! Musikal nAPO!, Resort World Manila and Fullhouse Theater Company’s Ang Huling El Bimbo, both of which had successful runs in 2018, and Spotlight Artists Centre’s Dirty Old Musical, which was first presented in 2016.
Dirty Old Musical, which runs from Feb. 22 to March 23, is about an all-male band which was popular in the 1980s but had to disband because of problems between the members. Years later, the members — played by Robert Seña, Nonie Buencamino, Bo Cerrudo, Jett Pangan, and Carlo Orosa — get together for a concert to raise funds for an ailing member. Past their prime, the men find themselves dealing with issues about aging, and questions about the concert — Will the audience know them still and support them? Can they still do a concert? Among the OPM classics in the play are “Kastilyong Buhangin,” “Mag Exercise Tayo Tuwing Umaga,” and “Kay Ganda ng Ating Musika.”
For more information about Dirty Old Musical visit www.ticketworld.com.ph.
Eto Na! Musikal nAPO! tells the story of the beginnings of the popular singing group APO, focusing on less well known members, while Ang Huling el Bimbo tells the turbulent story of a group of friends using the music of the Eraserheads.
While no set schedule has been announced for the APO musical, it has been announced that it will be presented around February or March.
Meanwhile, Ang Huling El Bimbo will run throughout March at Resorts World Manila. Tickets are available at TicketWorld.
Broadway is well represented this year. For one, Upstart Productions, which was behind the production of Monty Python’s Spamalot in 2018, is set to produce Stephen Sondheim’s 1970 musical comedy Company, sometime this year, but there are no details as yet on when or where. First presented by Repertory Philippines in Manila in 1997, musical revolves around a man who has major commitment issues.
Atlantis will be presenting two Broadway hits: Beautiful: The Carole King Musical at the Meralco Theater in June; and Stephen Sondheim’s Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street at The Theatre at Solaire in October, which will star Lea Salonga and Jett Pangan.
There’s also the international touring production of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s The Phantom of the Opera to look forward to.
PETA’s line up includes a first on stage: Charot, which is an interactive comedy that will present the current political and social situations of the Philippines. The show will run from Feb. 1 to March 17 at the PETA Theater Center in Quezon City (tickets are available through TicketWorld).
PETA will also co-produce the re-run of Dulaang UP’s Kundiman Party, about a group of women joined together by their connections to an opera diva, who decide whether to get involved in politics.
The UP Playwrights Theater will present Rody Vera’s Nana Rosa, about the life of Rosa Henson, the first Filipina comfort woman to share her story publicly.
Meanwhile Tanghalang Pilipino will present Guelan Luarca’s adaptation of Shakespeare’s bloody drama, Coriolanus. Directed by Carlos Siguion-Reyna, and featuring Marco Viaña, it will run from Feb. 22 to March 17 at the Little Theater of the Cultural Center of the Philippines.
Tanghalang Pilipino will end 2019 with two original pieces: Katsuri, which is Bibeth Orteza’s Hiligaynon adaptation of John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men, and Lam-ang, a musical adaptation of the Ilocano epic poem Biag ni Lam-ang.

CTA denies BIR appeal over Fortune Tobacco’s P2.6-B case

THE Court of Tax Appeals (CTA) denied the Bureau of Internal Revenue’s (BIR) appeal to set aside an earlier ruling that cancelled a P2.6-billion tax deficiency assessment against Fortune Tobacco Corp. (FTC).
In a Nov. 14 resolution, the CTA Special First Division affirmed the earlier decision of the First Division to cancel the BIR’s P2.6 billion deficiency tax assessment against Fortune Tobacco arising from “improperly accumulated earning tax” (IAET) in 2009, as well as review the case.
The resolution, penned by Associate Justice Cielito N. Mindaro-Grulla, dismissed the BIR’s motion for reconsideration due to lack of merit.
The BIR had argued the FTC should not be allowed to file an appeal on the final decision on the tax assessment because the company had presented a new argument — the existence of a syndicated loan agreement — before the court to justify its tax exemption that was not raised during the administrative level claims.
“Even on the assumption that the syndicated loan agreement was not presented before the administrative level… the Court En Banc ruled that the failure to submit documents in support of the taxpayer’s administrative claim is not fatal to the judicial claim, as judicial claims are litigated de novo and decided based on what has been presented and formally offered by parties during the trial,” the CTA said.
According to the Tax Code, corporations are subject to IAET if “for the purpose of avoiding the income tax with respect to its shareholders” by allowing the earnings and profits to accumulate instead of being divided or distributed.
In its Aug. 15 decision, the CTA cancelled the alleged tax deficiency of FTC, despite not being included among those exempted from IAET under the Tax Code, as the corporation proved “reasonable needs” to accumulate its earnings due to the Syndicated Loan Agreement it entered with seven local banks.
In the loan agreement, FTC is required to maintain a certain financial ratio while paying P20-billion loan in five years.
“Thus, if the failure to pay dividends is due to some other causes, such as the use of undistributed earnings and profits for the reasonable needs of the business, particularly compliance with the covenants of the syndicated loan agreement in this case, such purpose would not generally make the accumulated or undistributed earnings subject to the tax,” the CTA said.
In its motion for reconsideration, the BIR contended that FTC accumulated P14.3 billion that gave the impression it did not need to observe the required financial ratios.
However, the CTA said that the appropriation was “merely ‘for standby capital’ and ‘to enable the Corporation to pursue its anticipated investments.’” — V.M. N. Villegas

Robinsons Bank looking to tap peso fixed-rate bonds to raise fresh funds

ROBINSONS BANK Corp. said it is considering offering fixed-rate peso bonds following the central bank’s relaxed regulations on lenders’ fund raising.
Robinsons Bank President Elfren Antonio S. Sarte said the Gokongwei-led lender is “considering” to raise fresh funds through peso-denominated bonds.
However, he said the capital-raising activity is “not approved yet.”
“No decision yet on size and term for the peso bond,” Mr. Sarte said in a text message.
Circular No. 1010 issued by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) in August simplifies the process for universal and commercial banks looking to raise funds via bonds, allowing lenders to issue fixed-rate bonds without having to secure central bank approval.
The reform forms part of streamlined rules designed to deepen capital markets.
UnionBank of the Philippines, Bank of the Philippine Islands as well as Metropolitan Bank & Trust Co. recently raised P11 billion, P25 billion and P10 billion, respectively through fixed-rate securities.
Meanwhile, BDO Unibank, Inc. and Security Bank Corp. also announced their intention to raise more capital by establishing local currency bond programs worth P100 billion and P50 billion, respectively.
In October, Robinsons Bank said it is set to raise P3.5 billion via long-term certificates of deposit (LTNCD) to fund the expected growth of its lending business.
The papers, which will be offered in the first half of the year, will constitute the second tranche of the lender’s P5-billion LTNCD program approved by the central bank.
The Gokongwei-led bank booked a P292.4-million net income in the nine months ended September, 32% higher than the P222.2 million recorded in the same period last year.
Robinsons Bank is licensed as a commercial lender and is the 19th biggest in the industry in asset terms as of June. — Karl Angelo N. Vidal

Fight masterpiece fatigue with 2019’s thrilling new art exhibits


FOR CULTURE vultures, 2019 will hold a dazzling array of museum exhibitions. From London to Los Angeles and Brooklyn to Basel, there are thoughtful, sweeping, and often provocative shows to look forward to.
Here, in chronological order, are some of the most exciting.
Tintoretto: Artist of Renaissance Venice at the National Gallery of Art
March 10 — July 7
Jacopo Tintoretto was born 500 years ago, but until now the master painter has never had a retrospective in North America. Better late than never, particularly when the final product involves a series of spectacular loans that have never been seen before in the US. The exhibition first appeared at the Palazzo Ducale in Venice as part of a citywide celebration of the artist’s birth. For its US debut at the National Gallery the exhibition will be altered and expanded, with close to 50 paintings plus a dozen drawings. It will be further boosted by two component shows on view at the same time — one of Venetian prints and another of Venetian drawings.
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Oscar Rejlander: Artist Photographer at the Getty Center
March 12 — June 9
When photography was in its infancy the camera operator was considered just that: someone who managed a machine and nothing more. A few early proponents, including the Swedish born, UK-based Oscar Rejlander (1813- 1875), made a concerted effort to change that perception. In a comprehensive new show that originated at the National Gallery of Canada, viewers can see the results of Mr. Rejlander’s efforts. This exhibition of 150 works includes his undisputed masterpiece, The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals (1872), which he created by exposing 30 negatives then collaging them together to print a single picture.
J. Paul Getty Museum, Getty Center, Los Angeles, CA
Early Rubens at the Legion of Honor Museum
April 6 — Sept. 8
Peter Paul Rubens was a superstar almost from the beginning of his career. By the time he was in his early 30s he’d already found patronage from the aristocracy of Europe, and in arguably the most fertile period of his career, from 1609 through 1621, Mr. Rubens created a body of work that would solidify his place in the canon. The Legion of Honor Museum in San Francisco has organized a show with more than 30 paintings and 20 works on paper from that period, including some of his notable large-scale, life-size paintings, which have been loaned from institutions across Europe and the US.
The Legion of Honor, San Francisco, CA
Lincoln Kirstein’s Modern at the Museum of Modern Art
March 17 — June 30
If Lincoln Kirstein is remembered at all, it’s for co-founding the New York City Ballet. But Mr. Kirstein, who was born into a prosperous Boston family in 1907, was also a curator, collector, and writer. This exhibition will include more than 200 works from MoMA’s permanent collection. (He was also, for those less interested in New York’s avant-garde, one of the “monuments men” who went into Europe to save Nazi-confiscated art.) There will be works from Mr. Kirstein’s close friend, Walker Evans, paintings by intimates such as Pavel Tchelitchew, costume designs by Paul Cadmus for ballets he commissioned, and Latin American art that Mr. Kirstein acquired for MoMA including works by Antonio Berni and Raquel Forner.
The Museum of Modern Art, New York, NY
Garry Winogrand: Color at the Brooklyn Museum
May 3 — Aug. 18
Mr. Winogrand (1928–1984) is famous for his black and white snapshots of midcentury New York. His lush color photography of the same subjects — commuters, teens, high society, and everything in-between — is more obscure, in large part because it hasn’t been exhibited significantly since 1967. (That year he included 80 color images in MoMA’s New Documents exhibition, which were displayed in a slide projector. However, the projector broke and wasn’t replaced, meaning few if any visitors saw the color photographs even then.) Now the Brooklyn Museum is putting on the first ever dedicated exhibition of Mr. Winogrand’s color photography, with more than 450 images displayed as slide projections.
Brooklyn Museum, Brooklyn, N.Y.
The Venice Biennale’s 58th International Art Exhibition
May 11 — Nov. 24
Every two years much of the art world congregates in Venice for what should, in theory, be a relic from another age: Dozens of countries fill their pavilions in the city’s formal gardens with contemporary art that establishes some approximation of national prestige. The show is augmented by a colossal exhibition in the Arsenale, a warehouse nearby, which this year will be curated by the director of London’s Hayward Gallery, Ralph Rugoff. The whole thing should feel antiquated — a sort of “World’s Fair” style get-together for the culturally minded — but as geopolitics threaten to devolve into a midcentury freeze, the biennial has suddenly taken on a genuine urgency. Culture, in a turn that’s surprised more than a few people, is back on the global forefront for the first time since the 1950s.’
The Venice Biennial, Venice, Italy
Manet and Modern Beauty at the Art Institute of Chicago
May 26 — Sept. 8
In a crowded field, Edouard Manet is probably the greatest portraitist of the 19th century. His proto-modernist depictions of friends, models, and strangers have an otherworldly quality, particularly in his paintings of women. Olympia, probably his masterpiece, has been dissected by thousands of critics for the past 150 years, but his smaller, less monumental portraits are equally enchanting. For the first time in 50 years, the Art Institute is putting on a show of these works, with 54 paintings and 90 works in total, drawn in part from its excellent permanent collection. The art will be supplemented with letters Mr. Manet sent to friends, which he illustrated with pictures of fruit and flowers.
The Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, IL
Women Artists in the Nationalgalerie Before 1918 at the Alte Nationalgalerie
Oct. 11 — Jan. 26
It’s almost absurd to complain about too many famous masterpieces, but anyone who’s been to a blockbuster exhibition is familiar with the fatigue that sets in — it’s hard, if not impossible, to bask in recognizable painting after painting after painting without losing your focus. That’s why exhibitions like this survey of women artists in the permanent collection of Berlin’s Alte Nationalgalerie will be such a treat — there’s depth and variation, in style, content, and talent. There are star artists such as Käthe Kollwitz, along with a host of obscure albeit compelling work; in its totality, it’s as much an historical snapshot as it is an art exhibition.
Alte Nationalgalerie, Berlin, Germany
Nam June Paik: The Future is Now at the Tate Modern
Oct. 17 — Feb. 9, 2020
An exhibition devoted to video art might not have the popular appeal of, say, a Michelangelo blockbuster, but Nam June Paik, the so-called father of the medium, knew how to put on a show. His art isn’t just videos on screens. It’s often sculptures — weird, confusing, occasionally very large sculptures, including a room-sized installation — in which videos and televisions feature heavily. Much of Mr. Paik’s art is half a century old, but visitors will discover that almost all of it feels surprisingly current.
The Tate Modern, London, UK
Sofonisba Anguissola and Lavinia Fontana: Two Models of the Female Artist at the Prado
Oct. 22 — Feb. 2, 2020
It’s always nice when a startling reappraisal of gender, politics, and power intersects with very good art. Happily, the Prado is set to put on just such a show. Sofonisba Anguissola (1535- 1625) and Lavinia Fontana (1552-1614) were both genuinely famous female artists who found royal patronage across Europe. Ms. Anguissola, an aristocratic Italian, rose to fame at the Spanish court in Madrid. Ms. Fontana, also Italian, though markedly lower-born, found fame in Rome. Both are relatively obscure today, but the Prado’s exhibition, which includes more than 60 works, should rectify that quite quickly.
Museo del Prado, Madrid, Spain
Bloomberg

PSEi’s highs and lows in 2018

PSEi’s highs and lows in 2018

Gov’t debt yields end flat

YIELDS ON government securities (GS) traded on the secondary market continued to move sideways as traders awaited the release of government’s planned borrowing program for the first quarter.
On average, GS yields inched up by 1.48 basis points (bp) week on week, according to the PHP Bloomberg Valuation Service (BVAL) Reference Rates as of Dec. 28 published on the Philippine Dealing System’s website.
“The yields were flat last week as market participants were not expecting any market moving news/catalyst,” the First Metro Asset Management, Inc. (FAMI) said.
Traders also remained on the sidelines ahead of the release of the Bureau of the Treasury’s (BTr) borrowing program for the first quarter of 2019.
“So instead of placing/investing the money before the year ends, we expect the market participants to wait for this planned borrowing. There’s even a P70B bonds that will mature in February 2019 so expect more borrowings to refinance it,” said FAMI.
The government wants to shore up funds amounting to P360 billion during the first three months of 2019 — P240 billion via Treasury bills (T-bills) and P120 billion from the sale of Treasury bonds (T-bonds). For the whole year, the state plans to borrow a total of P1.89 trillion to fund its spending program.
“There were trades in the three-, five- and the 10-year papers but not that much to move the yields lower, as the market still expect two more rate hikes for the first half of 2019,” FAMI said.
At the secondary market, yields on the 91-day and 182-day T-bills fell 3.4 bps and 2.2 bps to end at 5.78% and 6.51%, respectively. Meanwhile, the 364-day paper’s rate rose 0.60 bp to 6.78%.
Bonds at the belly of the curve climbed except for the seven-year papers, which saw its yield drop 0.20 bp to 7.06%. The two-year and three-year T-bonds yielded 6.89% and 6.98%, up 4.80 bps and 3.6 bps, respectively. The four-year and five-year papers were quoted at 7.02% and 7.04%, respectively, also 2.1 bps and 0.80 bp higher than week-ago levels.
Longer-termed notes rose, with the 10-year and 20-year bonds ending at 7.07% and 7.49%, up 0.60 bp and 4.3 bps, respectively.
For this week’s trading, Jonathan L. Ravelas, chief market strategist at the BDO Unibank, Inc. said: “The prospect of steady to lower inflation should provide some potential to push yields down.”
He said with the trend in inflation tied up with the Monetary Board’s (MB) decision to keep rates unchanged, “probably next auction [yields will move] sideways to down.”
At its last meeting for 2018, the MB decided to halt its streak of rate hikes as it saw inflation moderating. Key policy rates were kept at a range of 4.25-5.25% as inflation eased to 6% in November from a nine-year high of 6.7% recorded in September and October. — Carmina Angelica V. Olano

How PSEi member stocks performed — December 28, 2018

Here’s a quick glance at how PSEi stocks fared on Friday, December 28, 2018.

 
Philippine Stock Exchange’s most active stocks by value turnover — December 21-28, 2018