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Gov’t makes full award of T-bills

By Karl Angelo N. Vidal, Reporter
THE GOVERNMENT once again made a full award of the Treasury bills it offered on Monday, amid robust demand following the decision of the local and US central banks to keep interest rates steady.
The Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) raised P20 billion as planned at its auction on Monday, as tenders received amounted to P30.316 billion, well above the amount it wanted to raise, although slightly lower than the P33.657 billion in offers received a week ago.
Broken down, the Treasury accepted P6 billion as planned for the 91-day papers, out of the P7.344 billion offered by banks and other financial institutions. The average rate climbed by 6.6 basis points (bp) to 5.55% from the 5.3484% quoted in the previous offer.
The government also made a full award of the 182-day debt notes it placed on the auction block, borrowing P6 billion as planned versus total offers amounting to P11.569 billion. The average yield also rose 6.6 basis points to 5.933% from last week’s 5.867%.
The BTr likewise fully awarded the 364-day bills, accepting P8 billion out of the total bids at P11.403 billion. Its average yield climbed 5.9 bps to 5.983% from the 5.924% tallied in the previous auction.
To maximize the strong demand seen during Monday’s auction, the Treasury reopened the over-the-counter sale of the 91-, 182- and 364-day instruments. This was made available to tax-exempt government-owned and -controlled corporations from 2 to 4 p.m. yesterday.
Based on the PHP Bloomberg Valuation Service Reference Rates, the three-month, six-month and one-year papers were quoted at 5.467%, 5.821%, and 5.962%, respectively.
Following the auction, National Treasurer Rosalia V. De Leon said the BTr saw a “very strong demand,” even as yields across all tenors inched up.
“We hope this would continue, this kind of auction, given the very dovish remarks coming from the Fed (US Federal Reserve), and of course the BSP (Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas) put on hold the rates during their first policy meeting last Thursday,” Ms. De Leon told reporters on Monday.
Last month, the Fed opted to keep its borrowing costs stable, saying it will be more patient in raising interest rates amid conflicting signals on the US economy’s outlook.
On the local front, the BSP also kept its benchmark rates steady as widely expected, amid signs that inflation is on a sustained decline and with price increases to return to target soon.
Meanwhile, the national treasurer attributed the slight pickup in yields to the news that the BTr will soon sell retail Treasury bonds (RTB).
“That’s (the RTB sale) anticipated by the market given that we have a P70-billion maturity on Feb. 19. But for now, given that we still have a very strong cash position, that’s still is something that we still have to confirm whether to move ahead,” Ms. De Leon said.
She added that the Treasury will have to take into consideration a slew of factors such as market appetite, the passage of the 2019 national budget and the possible cut in bank reserve requirements, before proceeding with the sale.
Sought for comments, a trader said the rates were within expectations given that the market was being cautious on the possible RTB sale.
“The average rates were still within expectations. However, the highest bids slightly exceeded the market expectations,” the trader said.
For the first quarter, the government is planning to borrow P360 billion. Some P240 billion will be borrowed this quarter through 12 weekly T-bill auctions. On the other hand, P120 billion worth of T-bonds will also be issued through six fortnightly auctions.

Architecture festival brings spotlight to Intramuros

By Arra B. Francia
Reporter
AT a time when conventions and events are increasingly being held in the financial districts of Makati and Bonifacio Global City (BGC), this year’s Anthology Architecture and Design Festival is holding its ground in Manila’s walled city, where a group of architects hope to highlight the origins of the country’s cosmopolitan development.
One of the event’s organizers, WTA Architecture and Design Studio Founding Chairman and Principal Architect William T. Ti, Jr. is passionate about holding the annual architecture festival in Intramuros, saying that it is unlike any other city in Asia.
“I think Intramuros is really something. It’s one of the best-preserved Spanish forts, or walled cities. Even in Spain, I don’t think they have something like this. So that’s something that we should cherish, that we should promote especially in Asia,” Mr. Ti said in a press conference for the architecture festival in Makati on Jan. 30.
The Anthology Architecture and Design Festival has been running since 2016, attracting more than 2,000 guests in its pilot year. At the time, the festival was held inside the Plaza de Roma in Intramuros, just in front of the centuries old Manila Cathedral.
For Rebecca Plaza, founder and managing director of Plaza+Partners and also one of the event’s organizers, the event has breathed new life to this part of the country’s capital, which has mostly been ignored by the younger generation.
“It gives character to this event as well. Even the foreigners who come to the event, they’d go like, ‘Wow, this is a beautiful part of Manila. We didn’t realize this was here.’ It’s not as celebrated as say, BGC, but I think it’s our roots,” Ms. Plaza said in the same press conference.
Mr. Ti added that Manila would still be the Philippines’ best choice when it wants to showcase a city that would represent the country, noting that Intramuros is something “truly ours.”
Anthology Architecture and Design Festival seeks to bring together both architects and non-architects to increase awareness on how architecture and design affect urban societies. The festival also hopes to inspire a design-led approach in addressing political, social, environmental, and economic issues to create better cities.
With the theme “Impact Architecture,” it will feature talks from renowned architecture and design firms such as Shma Company Limited, AK+, School of Architecture at Taliesin, AECOM, KennethCobonpue, Bruce Mau Design, 11th Berlin Biennale for Contemporary Art, SC+DC, Buro Ole Scheeren, Aidea Inc., and Tezuka Architects, among others.
Apart from discussions, the festival will also hold several workshops sponsored by institutions such as the SoFA Design Institute, Shau, Arup, and Arcadis.
The festival will run from Feb. 15 to 17. It will host about 100 local and foreign speakers in a bid to attract 7,000 guests from across the Asian region.

Oops! Gucci pulls sweater slammed for resembling blackface imagery

KERING SA’S Gucci withdrew a sweater resembling blackface images like those currently roiling US politics, becoming the latest fashion brand to get embroiled in a controversy over perceptions of racism.
The Italian luxury label apologized for selling the $890 black turtleneck, whose extra-high collar features a pair of exaggerated red lips around an opening for the wearer’s mouth. Gucci said it removed the item from its online and physical stores.
The brand’s misstep comes as Virginia Governor Ralph Northam resists calls to resign after the revelation of a photo from his 1984 medical school yearbook page, showing one individual dressed in a Ku Klux Klan robe alongside another in blackface. He has also apologized for darkening his skin to dress up like Michael Jackson for a dance contest in that same year.
Gucci is only the latest European fashion brand to trip up. In December, Prada SpA withdrew cartoon figures from window displays after they were called out for a resemblance to racist caricatures. Dolce & Gabbana faced calls for a boycott in China after releasing ads that offended consumers; one of the co-founders later compounded the damage with racist comments. Swedish apparel chain Hennes & Mauritz AB temporarily closed some stores in South Africa earlier this year after protests against an ad that showed a black child modeling a hoodie with the text “coolest monkey in the jungle.”
Gucci has made diversity and progressive values central to the hip reboot that has sparked rapid growth for the brand since designer Alessandro Michele took over in 2015. The brand banned fur from its collections, saying the material was “not modern,” donated to a gun-control march and released an ad campaign with only black models that was inspired by the late 1960s soul music scene.
“Gucci deeply apologizes for the offense caused by the wool balaclava jumper,” the brand said in a statement on Twitter. “We are fully committed to increasing diversity throughout our organization and turning this incident into a powerful learning moment.” — Bloomberg

Rediscount loans hit P14.5B in January

By Melissa Luz T. Lopez, Senior Reporter
BANKS TAPPED the rediscount window of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) as the year opened, with the extra cash meant to support import payments and capital spending.
Peso rediscount loans totalled P14.462 billion in January, coming from the P14.706 billion credit lines secured in December, the central bank said yesterday.
In contrast, lenders did not borrow from the rediscount facility in January 2018.
The BSP’s rediscount window allows banks to get hold of more cash by accepting their collectibles as collateral for short-term credit. The lenders can then use the fresh money supply — either in peso, dollar or yen — to hand out more credit lines for corporate or retail clients and service unexpected withdrawals.
Banks may borrow from the BSP’s rediscount window if their usual supply of cash falls short of client demand. This also allows the central bank to fulfill its duty as lender of last resort.
In a statement, the BSP said bulk of the short-term loans were meant for commercial credits, with 51.6% declared to support import loans.
This comes at a time of a sustained double-digit growth in imports of raw materials and capital goods, which are said to support increased construction activity in the country.
Around 41.96% of the loans were also declared to fund capital asset expenses, followed by trading loans (5.33%) and other services (1.11%).
The higher rediscount borrowings come at a time when market players said they are seeing “tight” liquidity conditions, following a series of interest rate hikes from the BSP last year. Higher benchmark yields made borrowing money more expensive.
However, central bank officials have said that the tightness in money supply may have been temporary, as it came during the seasonal spike in demand for cash during Christmas. BSP Deputy Governor Diwa C. Guinigundo said the eventual return of oversubscription in the weekly term deposit auctions showed that banks are still sitting on excess cash.
Total loan availment reached P71.524 billion in 2018. On the other hand, the dollar and yen rediscount window meant for exporters remained untapped, sustaining a trend observed for the past few years.
For this month, rates for rediscount loans remain unchanged after policy makers voted to keep benchmark yields steady during last week’s rate-setting meeting.
Rediscount rates for peso loans stand at 5.3125% for loans maturing in 90 days or shorter, while those with a 91 to 180-day term are priced at 5.375%. These are based on the 5.25% ceiling of the interest rate corridor plus a premium.
Meanwhile, yields for foreign currency loans went down, tracking movements in global interest rates.
Dollar borrowings will come with a lower rate of 4.7375% for one to 90-day loans; 4.8% for 91- to 180-day loans; and 4.8625% for 181- to 360-day loans, the BSP said.
Rates for yen loans also went slid to 1.91133% for one to 90-day loans, 1.97383% for 91- to 180-day loans, and 2.03633% for 181- to 360-day loans.

Phinma exits energy business

THE Phinma group signed an investment agreement to sell its stake in the energy sector to AC Energy, Inc., marking the former’s departure from power generation and retail electricity and the Ayala-led company’s growing prominence in the said businesses.
“AC Energy, Phinma Corporation (PHN), Philippine Investment Management (Phinma), Inc. (PHI), signed the Investment Agreement on February 8, 2019 for AC Energy’s acquisition of PHN and PHI’s combined 51.48% stake in (Phinma Energy Corp.) via a secondary share sale for approximately P3.42 billion, based on the valuation date of December 31, 2018 and subject to adjustments,” Ayala Corp. said in a disclosure on Monday.
The company said AC Energy will also subscribe to approximately 2.632 billion primary shares of Phinma Energy at a par value of P1 per share.
Separately, Phinma Corp. said the move was a “timely opportunity … to harness value from a business which it established 50 years ago and which [the group] believes it has grown to the extent it can.”
It “believes that it can make meaningful expansions in other sectors such as education and construction materials, and has elected to sell its shares to AC Energy which is fully committed to this sector.” AC Energy is its partner in South Luzon Thermal Energy Corp.
Ayala Corp. said the deal brings AC Energy a step closer to achieving 5 gigawatts (GW) of renewables by 2025.
“The Phinma Energy platform has significant operating and developmental renewable energy assets, and its large diesel capacity will complement the scaling-up of AC Energy’s renewable projects,” the listed conglomerate said.
AC Energy owns around 1.7 gigawatts of generation capacity in operation and under construction based on its equity interest in power generation businesses. It generated 2,800 GW-hours of energy last year, of which 48% was from renewable sources, the company said.
Phinma Energy has an attributable generation capacity of 472 megawatts (MW). It is the third-largest stand-alone retail electricity supplier serving 378 MW of customer demand.
Sought to comment on the deal, 2TradeAsia.com earlier said two possibilities could happen — for AC Energy to proceed with a tender offer, and for Phinma Energy to be merged with the Ayala company.
The online arm of F. Yap Securities, Inc. said the contribution of AC Energy to parent Ayala Corp. as of the third quarter of 2018 was around 7%. It said with the consolidation of equitized earnings from Phinma Energy, “that would still be the same at around 7% (assuming a merger is undertaken here).”
On Monday, shares in Phinma Energy were unchanged at P1.32 each, while those of PPG fell by 4.11%% to P3.50 each. Phinma Corp. closed at P9.36 apiece, or higher by 4.12%. — Victor V. Saulon

‘You gotta be kidding me!’ Why Amazon’s threat worries NYC

BILL MONTANA was schmoozing with real estate brokers Thursday at an industry event in New York, talking about the biggest deal in years: Amazon.com Inc.’s decision to build a major campus in Queens.
By the next morning the euphoria had evaporated. Reports the tech giant was reconsidering its plans amid a fierce public backlash sent a jolt through the real estate community that was pinning their hopes on a significant pickup in activity.
“You gotta be kidding me!” Montana, a senior managing director at brokerage Savills Studley, said when reached by phone Friday. “Amazon would be exceedingly foolish to actually pull out of this deal.”
After a highly publicized search for a second headquarters, Amazon in November announced it was splitting the expansion between the New York neighborhood of Long Island City and Northern Virginia’s Crystal City. The company touted upwards of 50,000 jobs that the deal would create, while the real estate industry salivated over prospects for massive office developments.
They didn’t account for Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the 29-year old freshly elected congresswoman, and other New York politicians who slammed the subsidies the city and state offered. That whipped up a political firestorm that may now be calling the deal into question.
“It would be somewhere between a terrible shame and a devastating loss,” said Michael Cohen, tri-state region president at brokerage Colliers International Group Inc. “It’s not the end of the world, but it’s a self-inflicted wound that will possibly send the signal to others that might have wanted to follow in Amazon’s footsteps.”
Citigroup Inc. said in November it would move about 1,100 employees from its One Court Square building in Long Island City to make room for Amazon. The building’s owner, Savanna, said at the time it had entered into a letter of intent with the tech giant to lease about 1 million square feet. Savanna founder Christopher Schlank declined to comment on Amazon’s reported reconsideration.
EUPHORIC OFFERS
“A lot of euphoric offers have come in for buyers that wanted to be in the area,” said Adelaide Polsinelli, a broker at New York City-based Compass. “People made serious bets on Amazon being there, and there’s not much of a local office market there right now.”
Polsinelli said she’s been contacted by about 20 new buyers showing interest in seeing properties in Long Island City. She said some owners raised prices as much as 20 percent after Amazon’s initial announcement, but expects values to be challenged if the company goes elsewhere.
Without a boost from Amazon, the number of condominium sales in Long Island City will probably slow, said Patrick W. Smith, a Stribling & Associates broker. Since Amazon announced its plans, homebuyers had signed 132 contracts in the neighborhood as of Feb. 3, his data show, up from 40 signed in the same period a year earlier.
“We have to expect that if Amazon did pull out of this deal altogether, that sales velocity might go back to the pre-Amazon number,” Smith predicted.
For now, people are trying to assess whether it’s all just a bargaining tactic. Amazon has used the threat of slowing down its growth to win policy concessions in Seattle, where it’s headquartered and employs tens of thousands of workers.
In May, when the city council was planning a vote on a new tax on large employers to fund homeless services, Amazon said it was halting work on one office tower and considering subleasing another space it intended to occupy downtown. After the threat, local officials scaled back the tax before passing it. Amazon and other area businesses then mounted an effort to overturn the measure at the ballot box. The city council scrapped the tax about a month later.
“The report is probably just a trial balloon being floated to scare people in New York to fall into line,” said Tom Stringer, who works on corporate relocations as a managing director at BDO Consulting. But, he said, “I can tell you definitively that numerous state agencies are watching this closely and are in contact with Amazon and are looking for a chance to poach it.” — Bloomberg

Uncommon depth and capacity to personalize the ravages of war


Valkyria Chronicles 4
PC via Stream/Playstation 4/
Nintendo Switch
CONSIDERING the critical and commercial success of the source material, the release of Valkyria Chronicles 4, a sequel that in large measure represents a technical update, shouldn’t have come as a surprise. Developers Sega and Media.Vision certainly set it up well; in preparation for its rollout on retail and as part of its production process, they saw fit to work on and come up with a remastered version of the original for current-generation consoles. Eight years had passed since the latter went on to gain accolades from various quarters, and they couldn’t help but take advantage of the opportunity to both revive and use the title as a stepping stone for the series’ latest iteration.
Creditably, Valkyria Chronicles 4 boasts of gameplay elements that hark back to its roots while, at the same time, capitalizing on technological upgrades in presentation. For all intents and purposes, it serves as the real followup to the original (which proved to be so rich in possibilities as to spawn adaptations in other media), what with Valkyria Chronicles II and III made specifically for the PlayStation Portable and Valkyria Chronicles D and Valkyria Revolution veering from the storyline of the previous releases.
Valkyria Chronicles 4 takes place at the same time as Valkyria Chronicles and Valkyria Chronicles III do, early on in World War II but in Europa as part of an alternate reality. While its aforesaid predecessors’ perspective was that from within neutral Gallia, however, it highlights moves by the Atlantic Federation against the Imperial Alliance. The narrative follows Squad E of the Edinburgh Army in fulfillment of orders to plow to the North and ultimately invade Schwartzgrad. And, remarkably, it shines in its seamless melding of compelling exposition and immersive game mechanics.
Story-wise, Valkyria Chronicles 4 manages to humanize developments by delving into the motivations of the principal protagonists. Squad E commanding officer Claude Wallace, grenadier Riley Miller, and sargeants Raz and Kai Schulen hail from Gallia and are spurred to action in an effort to protect their home country from Imperial forces. Later on, they are joined by former Squad F commanding officer Minerva Victor, whose role as scout proves crucial to progress. Their richly layered personalities lead to colorful interactions underpinned by unique experiences.
Notably, Valkyria Chronicles 4 makes use of a battle interface that brings to the fore its worth as a tactical role-playing game. During combat, players oversee Squad E via a Command Mode that provides a top-down view of the theater of operations, and then via Action and Target Modes that enable direct control of troop movements and allow for precision aiming, respectively. The length of a given turn is determined by the depletion of command points, and of a given battle by the completion of — or, as the case may be, failure to achieve — mission objectives. To this end, six character classes with distinct sets of strengths and weaknesses offer up a myriad options across large swaths of land. And, needless to say, with victory come the personnel and equipment upgrades required to move the game forward.
In light of Valkyria Chronicles 4’s serious treatment of the subject matter, it fittingly treats players to gorgeous visuals and impressive audio cues that reflect its intricacy and attention to detail. The art style is loosely impressionist with splotches of anime, reflecting its presentation as a wistful retrospective off Claude’s journal. Meanwhile, the soundtrack accentuates the mood of the moment, and is highlighted by outstanding voice acting. The visceral feedback is best elicited on the personal computer, but remains impactful on the PlayStation 4 Pro and even on the Nintendo Switch. Softer tones may be abundant on the latter, but hardly to the point of distraction.
Overall, Valkyria Chronicles 4 stands as a reboot that fans of the series will deem worthy of its name. At the same time, those new to the intellectual property will find their effort rewarded by its uncommon depth and capacity to personalize the ravages of war. It’s not flawless by any means; the story can drag on and combat sequences suffer from uneven play that border on the exploitative. Still, it distinguishes itself as an example that fodder for both brains and brawn can go hand in hand. And regardless of the platform it is enjoyed in, it excels.
THE GOOD:
• Outstanding story and game mechanics
• Remarkable visuals and audio cues
• Stellar voice acting
• Effective update of the acclaimed original
THE BAD:
• Story presentation can drag on
• Uneven gameplay that players can exploit
• Quality-of-life issues crop up on occasion and disrupt the experience
RATING: 8/10
POSTSCRIPT:
ToeJam & Earl: Back in the Groove (Switch) — Humanature Studios’ brainchild has had a complicated past. Announced via a KickStarter campaign back in 2015, it foresaw a two-year turnaround timeline that wound up being delayed for reasons unknown even to backers of the fully subscribed project. Thankfully, the developer’s solid reputation and the success of previous entries in the series enabled it to overcome radio silence and an aborted pivot to publication by Adult Swim Games. After yet another round of delays, it’s seeing the light of day with an eShop release early next month and a physical offering via Limited Run Games in the horizon. And here’s the good news: It’s well worth the wait.
Needless to say, ToeJam & Earl: Back in the Groove features playable characters well known to fans of the original offering in 1991. Which is well and good in and of itself. The clincher is that it highlights gameplay reminiscent of the Sega Genesis classic, in the process mostly eschewing the generic — and, at the time, controversial — underpinnings of sequel ToeJam & Earl in Panic on Funkotron. The result is a veritable throwback certain to please even modern-day gamers, particularly those with a bias for roguelike adventures. The island-hopping rappers are back, making use of power-ups boasting of distinct effects to hold enemies in abeyance, with colorful visuals and retro remixed tracks helping keep the mood vibrant. Cooperative play of up to four characters is a blast as well. Highly recommended. (9/10)
R-Type Dimensions EX — Tozai and Southend Interactive have done extremely well in bringing the shoot-em-up compilation to the Switch. Essentially an enhancement of the port on previous-generation consoles PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, the latest release boasts of faithful representations of the 1987 and 1989 arcade originals and their updated three-dimensional versions. In either case, gamers will relish the polished and, yes, timeless gameplay. Its premise is simple; upgradable ships must shoot and dodge their way through diverse layouts and to imposing bosses at the end of levels, requiring excellent hand-eye coordination from their pilots en route.
As far as shmups go, R-Type Dimensions EX comes up with nothing new. Then again, it doesn’t have to be revolutionary. It’s simply out to be itself, and, in this regard, it thrives. Even after 30 years, its idiosyncratic interface and roster of weapons coupled with maddening but never unfair challenges manage to engross. For gamers with infinite lives and inclined to slow down the pace accordingly, its 14 levels all told won’t take long to master. Of course, the real test is in beating it exactly as the classic mode was set up in coin-op machines. (8/10)
Defense Grid 2 — The popular tower defense game developed by Hidden Path Entertainment following a crowd-funding campaign in 2012 finally makes its way to the Switch. For all the time it took from conception to conversion, it’s right at home in the hybrid console. Your top-down perspective as commander of mankind’s forces tasked to protect various installations against invading aliens dead set on claiming all-important power cores is encompassing at worst. The solid interface likewise allows you to properly strategize on the nature and locations of towers you build in order to combat specific sets of enemies.
Parenthetically, Defense Grid 2 compels you to add to and manage the resources at your disposal wisely amid changing objectives. Included in your continuing assessments are the types and extents of upgrades over over the course of a given scenario. The Switch version likewise contains the five-mission expansion “Aftermath” and allows for collocated competitive or cooperative gameplay in the Story and Defense Modes. It may be long in the tooth and just one in a sea of titles available in the genre, but it has kept its place among the best, and with reason. (9/10)

Valentine Happenings (02/12/19)

Hugs at BGC

BONIFACIO Global City presents Hugs from the Heart: Valentine’s Day featuring a larger-than-life installation of bears made of a thousand red roses which has been set up at 7th Avenue, Bonifacio High Street. Take a selfie showing your best hug and post it on Instagram with the hashtags #BGCHUGS and #ILOVEBHS. BGC will pick a weekly winner who will get a dinner date for two at Wolfgang’s Steakhouse One Bonifacio High Street and Bonifacio High Street Cinema tickets. The installation will be up until Feb. 28. Meanwhile, the Love Street Valentine Concert will be held on Feb. 16, 6 p.m. onwards, at the Bonifacio High Street Amphitheater. The free concert will feature performances by the Let the Elements Music Camp Artists together with Ben & Ben, Leanne & Naara, Reese Lansangan, Kat Agarrado, and more serenade. There will be 100 VIP front seats with Meet & Greet passes to be given away in exchange for single or accumulated purchase receipts worth P2,500 obtained from Feb. 1-16 at any Bonifacio High Street, One Parkade, and Two Parkade, Central Square (Marketplace by Rustan’s is not included), and One Bonifacio High Street establishment. For details on events and promotions, visit the official Facebook pages facebook.com/bonifacioglobalcityph/ and facebook.com/BoniHighStreet.

Say Yes to Love at Araneta Center

THE Araneta Center is spreading the message of optimism and hope with a four-day Valentine “kilig” experience, “Yes to Love,” which runs from Feb. 14 to 17. At the Gateway Mall on the afternoon of Feb. 14, radio personalities DJ Chacha and DJ Jai Ho will dish out advice on how couples can make their relationship stronger, how the heartbroken can effectively move on, and how those who are single can better attract a prospective partner. I Belong to the Zoo (the solo project of Tonight We Sleep’s lead vocalist Argee Guerrero) will serenade mallgoers at Gateway Mall with his viral hits. Upcoming OPM artists will also deliver covers of popular love songs at the Farmers Plaza and Ali Mall. For a single-receipt purchase worth P500, shoppers may enjoy the entertainment provided by these artists and receive a love souvenir. Meanwhile, A 65-inch flat-screen TV with sound bar worth P90,000 from the Mi store and two tickets to The Songbird and the Song Horse concert of Regine Velasquez and Vice Ganda at the Smart Araneta Coliseum on Feb. 16 are also up for grabs for the winners of Araneta Center’s digital promo. For details visit www.aranetacenter.net. For an alternative celebration on Valentine’s Day there is Gateway Cineplex’s 1 Night Stand Live, a variety show with comics and spoken word artists at 6 p.m. at the Gateway Cineplex Cinema 3 that pokes fun at love. Tickets cost P250. Roving musicians will perform love songs in Araneta Center’s three malls until Feb. 17.

Valentine Boys at Shangri-La Plaza

SHANGRI-LA PLAZA’s Valentine Boys will be dispensing roses and tunes to mallgoers.

LOVE IS in the air at Shangri-La Plaza, with Shang’s Valentine Boys returning to the mall on Feb. 14 and 15. They will stroll around the mall, handing out treats while accompanied by musical performers. Mall guests can pose for selfies with the boys, and tag Shangri-La Plaza when sharing on social media to celebrate #LoveAtTheShang. Catch the Manila Philharmonic Orchestra Quartet perform on Feb. 13, the Manila Philharmonic Orchestra Chamber Ensemble on Feb. 14 and 15, and Bamboo on Feb. 17 at the Grand Atrium stage. Meanwhile, the Bernie Pasamba Quartet will perform on Feb. 24 and the UP Singing Ambassadors on Feb. 25 at the Grand Atrium, Level 2.

It’s a date with Ortigas Malls

THE Ortigas Malls — Greenhills, Tiendesitas, and Estancia — are set to treat their patrons with Flowers of Love, with select lucky patrons receiving special roses on Feb. 14 at select dining and shopping outlets. There will also be the Valentine’s Musical Treat, on Feb. 16, with roving musicians serenading mall goers from 4 to 7 p.m. At Tiendesitas, The Ransom Collective caps off the romantic weekend with a live performance at the 2nd floor of Food Village on Feb. 16 at 8 p.m.

BDO raises P35 billion from fixed-rate peso bonds

BDO UNIBANK, Inc. raised P35 billion from the issuance of fixed-rate peso bonds, which will be used to expand its business.
The Sy-led bank listed the bonds, which will mature in a year and a half, at the Philippine Dealing System (PDS) in Makati City on Monday. The bonds carry an interest rate of 6.42% to be paid quarterly until August 2020.
The coupon rate also represented a 25-basis-point spread over the Bloomberg PHP Valuation Service benchmark.
The offering, which is the largest peso bond issuance by a local bank to date, marks the first tranche of BDO’s P100-billion bond program announced in August.
In an interview, BDO Treasurer and Executive Vice-President Dalmacio D. Martin said that the funds raised will be used for the bank’s general business uses and expansion.
“Given the feature that it only attracts 6% reserves, the effective cost is lower for this bond. We intend to pay off or let roll off our expensive liabilities. This will be used partially for that,” Mr. Martin told BusinessWorld yesterday.
Sought for comments on when will the bank issue the next tranche, Mr. Martin said that the bank will be “opportunistic” and look for the best possible time.
“[It will be] depending also on the way the business unfolds for the rest of the year,” he added.
Local banks can now raise fresh funds through corporate bonds with greater ease as new rules no longer require them to secure central bank approval.
Metropolitan Bank & Trust Co., Bank of the Philippine Islands, as well as UnionBank of the Philippines, Inc. have recently issued peso-denominated instruments to diversify funding sources and expand their businesses.
Meanwhile, Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. recently raised P15 billion worth of green bonds to support climate and environmental projects.
Standard Chartered Bank served as the sole arranger and bookrunner of the offer. Meanwhile, BDO, BDO Private Bank, Inc. and BDO Capital & Investment Corp. acted as selling agents.
BDO’s listing brings the total volume of outstanding listed securities to P1.099 trillion, floated by 50 companies.
In May last year, BDO raised P8.2 billion via 5.5-year long-term negotiable certificates of time deposit to be used for liability management. — Karl Angelo N. Vidal

SMC to pay landowners for road acquisitions

THE private concessionaire for the Tarlac-Pangasinan-La Union Expressway (TPLEx) said it will be advancing payments to landowners in behalf of the government for the road acquisitions involving its tollway project.
In a statement on Monday, San Miguel Corp. (SMC) said TPLEx concession holder Private Infra Development Corp. (PIDC) is working with the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) to compensate the property holders for the right-of-way acquisitions made from 2015 to 2017.
“Our wish is for the situation to be remedied as soon as possible. We will advance the payment for the government. We understand the plight of the landowners, and also recognize the position of the government. But we would like to assure them that we are ready to resolve this issue and expedite payment,” SMC President Ramon S. Ang said in the statement.
The company noted that several landowners have complained about the delays in the full payment for their properties, which were obtained by the government for the construction of TPLEx. The DPWH explained the problem is caused by the incomplete documents presented by claimants.
“[T]he DPWH was supposed to send Letter Offers (LO) to purchase their lands at the appraised value. The agency was able to fully accomplish this by March 2018. At present, it is reviewing claimants’ documents to ensure their completeness. But this has proven daunting as many claimants are said to have incomplete documents,” SMC said.
It said the DPWH committed to give the full payment to landowners with complete documents within a month.
The TPLEx is an 89.31-kilometer toll road that stretches from Tarlac City to Rosario, La Union. The 24.42-billion project started construction in 2010, but the entire alignment is targeted to be completed this year.
Last December, the DPWH awarded SMC the original proponent status for its P23.948-billion unsolicited proposal to extend TPLEx from Rosario to San Juan, La Union. The project is still subject for review by the National Economic Development Authority (NEDA). — Denise A. Valdez

VC company Cento Ventures focusing on Asia-Pacific for ‘proptech’ fund

By Vincent Mariel P. Galang
Reporter
VENTURE capital firm Cento Ventures is raising funds for its new “proptech” fund focused on the real estate sector in Asia-Pacific.
Proptech is a term that refers to start-ups offering technologically innovative products and services for the real estate market.
“Cento Ventures’ Proptech fund is a specialized sector fund that looks to invest in high potential startups across APAC (Asia-Pacific) to deliver products or solutions tailored for the APAC real estate sector,” Pauline Chong, principal at Cento Ventures, told BusinessWorld in an email interview last month.
She said Cento Ventures takes a disciplined approach in selecting portfolio companies, with the aim of developing “winners.”
“The investment team combines real estate domain expertise with regional VC experience to ensure a holistic approach to investment selection. What winning proptech business models will have universally is an ability to have a scaled solution, strong revenue sources which eventually translate into quality earnings,” Ms. Chong said.
While the real estate sector in emerging markets has not yet been fully disrupted by technology, Ms. Chong noted there are start-ups offering solutions to make things easier for developers.
“We are seeing solutions focused on helping developers sell their inventory in an easy way, to manage their selling agents and enabling real time bookings to occur via mobile app. We are seeing interesting start-ups address issues around rent-to-own models which target home affordability issues and tackle problems of excess property stock for developers by providing such solutions,” she said.
There are also solutions being developed for property management, which help tenants connect with landlords to request services or schedule tasks.
“As customer expectations increase, real estate owners and operators will need to deliver more to keep up,” Ms. Chong said.
The Asia Pacific region still has to catch up in proptech investments.
“Investment into proptech in APAC was $4-billion in 2018, vs. global proptech funding of $15-billion. APAC is still in the early stages of funding proptech start-ups. Majority of funding did go towards co-living, co-working as initial investment themes for proptech,” she said.
“Consumers and tenants are leading the way for proptech adoption. Businesses are starting to review how to implement technology in their businesses to improve efficiency and enhance customer experience as a result,” she noted.
Cento Ventures has invested in GoQuo, a travel e-commerce solutions provider based in Malaysia; Kalibrr, a job-matching website which is present in the Philippines and Indonesia; and Grain, an on-demand food preparation, marketing, and delivery service based in Singapore.

How PSEi member stocks performed — February 11, 2019

Here’s a quick glance at how PSEi stocks fared on Monday, February 11, 2019.

 
Philippine Stock Exchange’s most active stocks by value turnover — February 11, 2019.

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