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Enjoy music on YouTube without ads interrupting

VIDEO-SHARING platform YouTube has finally brought YouTube Music and YouTube Premium to the Philippines. Both are paid subscription services for ad-free streaming alongside other features and original content.

“YouTube Music is a reimagined, made-for-music app and web player with official songs, albums, thousands of playlists and artist radio plus YouTube’s tremendous catalog of remixes, live performances, covers, and music videos that you can’t find anywhere else — all simply organized and personalized,” a company release said.

YouTube Premium meanwhile is a service that allows users to play songs and videos in the background while they toggle between apps. It also gives users access to exclusive content from YouTube Originals.

While YouTube Music’s app is free-to-download, the free version is ad-supported so one will still have ads interrupting the music listening experience, but for those who want to go ad-free, YouTube is offering the YouTube Music Premium version which also allows for offline downloads.

“Filipinos love music. Every day people use YouTube to access their favorite songs and music videos to accompany them in their day-to-day activities. The launch of YouTube Music here in the Philippines gives them a whole new way to enjoy music they love,” Gabby Roxas, head of marketing at Google Philippines said in the release.

Launched in 2018, YouTube Premium was originally called Music Key in 2014 and offered ad-free streaming of music videos from participating labels on YouTube and Google Play Music. The following year, the service was re-branded into YouTube Red and offered ad-free access to all videos on YouTube and included original content from its content creators including Pewdiepie, the platform’s biggest content creator at 102 million subscribers at the time of this writing.

The premium service underwent another rebranding in 2018 as YouTube Premium and developed an offshoot music service, YouTube Music. Alongside the rebranding, the service was introduced in Canada and several European countries. On Nov. 6, the service entered Hong Kong, Indonesia, the Philippines, Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan, and Thailand.

“At the heart of YouTube, we want to make sure that it’s an experience that consumers like, so for the past few months, we’ve been really doing a lot of research: looking at the interface, ensuring that the playlist is there,” Mr. Roxas said during the launch event.

YouTube Premium is offered at P159 a month from the Google Play Store and P169 from the Apple App Store. It includes membership to YouTube Music Premium. A YouTube Family Plan where a household of a maximum of five family members (plus the account holder) is also available at P239 a month from the Google Play Store and P309 at the Apple App Store.

Premium access to only the YouTube Music Premium app costs P129 at the Google Play Store and P169 from the Apple App Store. YouTube Music Premium Family plan is priced at P199 from the Google Play Store and P259 from the Apple App Store

Student rates are also available for students of select schools. YouTube Music Student is P65 for both Google Play Store and Apple App Store and YouTube Premium Student is P95 for both app stores.

“The pricing for the App Store is different because Apple takes a cut from the transaction,” a note on the release said.

For more information on the premium services, visit youtube.com/premium. — Zsarlene B. Chua

Philippine stocks may pick up into yearend on profits, GDP

KNOCKED off course by a host of negatives, the Philippine stock rally may be set to regain momentum into yearend on improvement in the domestic economy and corporate profits.

The Philippine Stock Exchange Index has breached the 8,000 mark 13 times this year only to fall back through, hurt by factors including the US-China trade war and the MSCI’s index rebalancing. But holiday spending combined with cooling inflation, a stronger peso and a gross domestic product (GDP) boost from increased state spending provide reasons to be hopeful, investors say.

“We could still see a Santa Claus rally,” said Alan Amador, who helps manage P25 billion ($494 million) and this year’s best-performing Philippine equities fund at Insular Life Assurance Co. There’s a “stronger possibility” for the PSEi to reach 8,400 given good third-quarter earnings and “building anticipation that the last quarter could even be better,” he said.

Earnings per share of companies in the benchmark index grew 22.6% in July-September, picking up the pace from 16.7% and 13.5% in the preceding two quarters, according to Rachelle Cruz, an analyst at AP Securities, Inc. She said the third-quarter earnings should help push the PSEi to the 8,200-8,400 range by the end of the year.

“Banks and property could probably still outperform because of earnings visibility,” Insular’s Mr. Amador said. “Consumers names will probably be a mixed bag but still should be a good bet” in the holiday period.

The benchmark gauge has slumped more 4% from its recent peak of 8,216.68 on Nov. 5, as overseas investors were net sellers for eight straight days through Friday. The retreat continued on Monday, with the gauge down for a fourth day, slipping 0.7 even as overseas funds turned net buyers.

The sell-off should taper as international investors complete adjustments related to the MSCI’s increased weighting of mainland China shares at the expense of other markets, said Cristina Ulang, head of research at First Metro Investment Corp.

“This is a temporary and healthy correction brought in part by the MSCI rebalancing,” Mr. Ulang said. “These dips are windows to buy into the 2020 growth recovery story. GDP and corporate earnings are accelerating. The trajectory is clearly upwards. What can hold back investors from coming back is an escalation of the US-China trade war.” — Bloomberg

New York, London, Vancouver losing luster with luxury homebuyers

WEALTHY homebuyers are finding global cities less welcoming — even hostile — to their cash.

Luxury property prices in 45 global cities rose an average of just 1.1% in the third quarter from a year earlier, the weakest annual gain since the end of 2009, according to a report from Knight Frank. They fell 4.4% in New York, 3.9% in London and 10% in Vancouver.

No wonder. There’s uncertainty at every corner, from trade wars to Brexit, Hong Kong pro-democracy protests and a populist backlash in some of the world’s biggest and most affluent cities that are imposing new taxes on the rich.

“The safe havens are becoming less certain,” said Dan Conn, chief executive officer of Christie’s International Real Estate. “It’s becoming much more challenging in the hubs to find a high quality place to deploy capital.”

Global cities like London, Hong Kong and New York, which seemed to defy housing-market cycles year after year following the 2008 financial crisis, are losing their status as safe places for wealthy international buyers to park their cash — or themselves. The reversal has come in part as governments erected barriers to slow runaway price growth driven — at least in part — by all the billionaire investors who came before.

The winners were cities such as Moscow, as rich Russians chose to buy at home, and Taipei, favored over Hong Kong, the world’s most expensive housing market.

Even as the flow of investment has slowed, many developers are delivering projects started when the supply of rich buyers seemed to go on forever. Now there’s a glut of luxury properties and — as anger mounts over wealth inequality — affordable units are in increasingly short supply.

“We’ve had an unprecedented run in high-end real estate and now many of these markets are struggling with excess supply or uncertainty,” said Jonathan Miller, president of appraiser Miller Samuel Inc. “‘Uncertainty’ is the most overused word in real estate right now and probably for good reason.”

TAXES ON RICH
London and New York, among other cities, passed taxes aimed at rich buyers. While the levies effectively raised prices even further, they also provided governments with extra cash for city services, as foreign buyers don’t pay income taxes. On the other hand, rich buyers also spend money on goods and services that boost local economies and sales tax revenue.

Prices got too high and economic conditions changed, said Thomas Veraguth, the Zurich-based head of global real estate strategy for UBS Wealth Management. Waves of Middle Eastern and Russian buyers pulled back, for example, after the oil crash in 2014, he said.

“It’s fatigue,” Veraguth said. “Even the richest will say, ’I’m not going to pay that price anymore.”

Markets are shifting based on local conditions, said Kate Everett-Allen, a partner at Knight Frank in London. The US election may cause buyers to pause in New York while the stability of the Swiss franc will continue to drive demand in Zurich and Geneva, she said.

Moscow had the biggest price increase in Knight Frank’s study, rising 11%. With Russia under international sanctions after its annexation of Crimea, and anti-money laundering measures tightened in London and other cities favored by that country’s elite, many opt to buy property at home. Developers also completed a number of luxury properties in the Russian capital, increasing supply.

RICH RUSSIANS
Russia has plenty of rich people. There are at least 189,500 ultra-high net worth individuals in the country controlling about $1.1 trillion, according to Capgemini estimates. It’s also incredibly unequal. There are 23 Russians on the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, a ranking of the world’s 500 wealthiest people, worth about a combined $271 billion.

In total, there are more than 100 Russians with more than $1 billion.

Chinese buyers have slowed overseas purchases, in part because of government restrictions on getting money out. And buyers everywhere are dodging risk, skipping Hong Kong, the world’s most expensive market and one now with political unrest, in favor of Taipei, which saw an 8.9% price increase in the third quarter.

While Brexit and taxes on second home buyers make London riskier and more expensive, buyers bid up prices by 10% in Frankfurt, which is a banking capital with relatively affordable prices.

When things go sideways around the globe, the US has traditionally served as an island of safety and security, particularly for the world’s wealthy.

The two biggest cities in California, the state with America’s worst affordability crisis, were near the bottom of Knight Frank’s ranking. Los Angeles rose 0.2% from a year earlier and San Francisco was flat.

The US is already home to more Hong Kongers than any country outside of mainland China, and recent data suggest more are looking to leave. Applications for a key emigration document, the “good citizenship card,” are up 54% in the past year, according to official data.

But anti-immigrant political rhetoric, high-profile incidences of gun violence and impending changes to the “investor visa” program have encouraged Hong Kong’s would-be emigres to consider alternatives such as Australia, Canada, Singapore and Taiwan.

“Everybody’s pulling back — it’s a crazy time,” Edward Mermelstein, a partner at One & Only Holdings in New York, which runs family offices for foreigners. “The wealthy have always been an easy target and now that’s a popular theme globally. It’s now so much more difficult.” — Bloomberg

PXP Energy unit inks rig assignment agreement

PXP Energy Corp. said on Monday that its petroleum exploration partner had signed a rig assignment agreement with the owners of a drill ship for the drilling of Peru Z-38 — Marina-1X well in January 2020.

“This prospect will be the first well drilled in Block Z-38,” the company told the stock exchange.

PXP Energy said the disclosure was announced on Nov. 15 by Karoon Gas Australia Ltd., which signed the rig assignment agreement, along with Tullow Oil Peru Ltd., with Stena Drilling Ltd, the owner of drillship “Stena Forth.”

Pitkin Petroleum Ltd., a 53.43%-owned subsidiary of PXP Energy, holds a 25% participating interest in Peru Block Z-38 located in offshore Peru.

“The Marina prospect has an unrisked best estimate prospective resource of 256 mmbbls [million barrels] (64 mmbbls net to Pitkin),” it said.

Pitkin is carried in the cost of Marina-1X and a second future well under a farm-in agreement signed in 2008 with Karoon, an international oil and gas exploration company with projects in Australia, Brazil and Peru.

In its announcement, Karoon said the “Stena Forth” had been contracted to drill one well — the Marina-1 exploration well — in its 40%-owned and -operated Block Z-38 in the Tumbes Basin in Peru. Drilling is scheduled to start early in the first quarter of 2020.

“The drillship assignment agreement provides Karoon with a single well slot from the existing rig contract between Tullow and Stena,” it said.

“Karoon has the objective and commitment to undertake safe and secure operations, which protect employees, local communities, the environment and material assets. Karoon has been operating social and environmental programs in Peru for the past 10 years which includes a commitment to engaging with local communities affected by our operations,” it added.

In early 2018, PXP Energy said Karoon had announced the farm-out of a 35% interest in Block Z-38 to Tullow Peru, a wholly owned subsidiary of Tullow Oil plc.

On Monday, shares in PXP Energy closed higher by 0.49% at P12.26 each. — Victor V. Saulon

Why can’t Taylor Swift perform her own songs? It’s complicated

WHEN Taylor Swift is named the artist of the decade at the American Music Awards later this month, she may not be able to perform the songs that earned her the prize in the first place.

Swift claims her old record label, Big Machine, is blocking her from performing her biggest hits in public, using an obscure provision in most record contracts that prevents artists from rerecording their music. The dispute has rallied millions of Swift’s fans to her side, and opened a debate about the nature of rerecording provisions.

Generally speaking, the rules aren’t used to prevent artists from performing their own songs.

“It’s never used like that,” said John Seay, an Atlanta-based attorney who represents acts including pop group Of Montreal and rapper Bloody Jay.

Record labels created the provision to prevent artists from rerecording songs they made for one label and then selling them — without sharing proceeds with the initial label. Labels don’t usually use them to block artists from performing in public because such appearances bring new attention to those songs, thus increasing the value of the original recordings.

In Swift’s case, she is planning on rerecording her songs in the studio, but only when the clause preventing her from doing so expires next year.

Whether Big Machine can block Swift from performing the old songs in the meantime is unclear. “Despite all the coverage of this, I’m not seeing what mechanism a record label can use to stop an artist from performing her songs live if she is not using the masters,” Matt Pincus, co-founder and chief executive officer of MUSIC, a new company, posted on Twitter.

But Seay says Big Machine may have a case. “Typically, it says you can’t rerecord those for the purpose of making records for anyone else. But records is really broadly defined,” he said.

Swift is doing a documentary with Netflix Inc., and it seems clear that Big Machine has the right to block her old songs from being used in that.

But when it comes to the awards show, is a televised performance a rerecording — or just the equivalent of a concert?

Big Machine has disputed Swift’s version of events, saying that it isn’t stopping her from performing. But it’s not clear if that means she can perform all her songs or just the new ones, which Big Machine doesn’t have the rights to. A representative for the label didn’t respond to a question on that topic.

Instead, Big Machine has framed the dispute around money that Swift owes the label.

“The truth is, Taylor has admitted to contractually owing millions of dollars and multiple assets to our company, which is responsible for 120 hardworking employees who helped build her career,” the label said in a statement.

BIGGEST HITS
Whether or not Big Machine has the right to block Swift, her public plea for support has escalated her fight with her old record label. Swift recorded her first six albums for Big Machine, including 1989, the biggest record of her career.

Earlier this year, Swift criticized Big Machine just hours after the company announced it had been acquired by Ithaca Holdings, a company affiliated with music manager Scooter Braun. Braun represents Ariana Grande and Justin Bieber, and is by most measures one of the most powerful figures in the music business. Swift accused Braun and Scott Borchetta, Big Machine’s founder, of blocking her efforts to buy back her music, claims Borchetta rejected.

Swift’s fight with Big Machine has reignited a decades-old debate in music. Most artists don’t own the rights to their recordings. For decades, labels have signed young artists before they were famous, providing upfront capital to support the recording of new music.

When the music is released, the label promotes it, tapping relationships with radio stations, record stores and, now, streaming services. The label recoups its investment and then splits the resulting profits, if there are any, with the musicians.

A handful of artists have protested this system, including Prince, who compared it to slavery. While the internet has made it easier for artists to replicate many label functions on their own, especially promotion, most artists still sign to record labels. Swift, for example, inked a new deal last year with Republic Records, a division of Universal Music Group, the world’s largest music company.

But many established artists can demand ownership of their songs, and Swift has those rights under her current deal. Not content to own her future music, Swift has said she will rerecord her old songs as soon as her contract allows it, potentially undermining the value of Big Machine’s best assets.

When she’s free to rerecord those songs, that will open up new questions. Will radio stations and streaming services play the old versions of her hits or the new ones? And what will listeners prefer?

But given the intensity of the dispute, the fight with her old label is likely to come to a head long before that. — Bloomberg

Robinsons Malls to host QC Business Centers

THE Quezon City government will soon open business centers in three Robinsons malls in Quezon City, namely Robinsons Galleria , Robinsons Magnolia and Robinsons Novaliches.

Robinsons Land Corporation (RLC), represented by Quezon City Mayor Maria Josefina G. Belmonte, recently signed a memorandum of agreement (MOA) for its QC Business Centers to become part of the Robinsons Malls Lingkod Pinoy Center (RMLPC).

The QC Business Center in Robinsons Novaliches will offer the following services: assessment of current real property tax (RPT) and collection of RPT, business tax, individual and corporate community taxes.

In Robinsons Galleria and Robinsons Magnolia, the satellite offices will offer various services to include collection of RPT and business tax (except on application for new business); assessment and payment of RPT and business permit renewal, individual and corporate community taxes and corporate taxes and issuance of certified tax declaration and verification.

Gov’t makes partial award of 182-day T-bills as rates climb

THE TREASURY made a partial award of its offering on Monday.

THE GOVERNMENT made a partial award of the Treasury bills (T-bill) it auctioned off on Monday as rates on the six-month securities increased.

The Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) only raised P17.99 billion via the T-bills out of the P20-billion program, fully awarding the 91- and 364-day papers while rejecting some bids for the 182-day securities.

This, even as the auction attracted P56.1 billion in bids or more than twice than the offering.

The BTr awarded P8 billion as planned via the three-month papers out of P18.45 billion in tenders at an average rate of 3.168%, which was lower compared to the secondary market yield on the tenor.

For the one-year securities, the government raised P6 billion as planned out of total bids worth P24.93 billion. The tenor fetched an average rate of 3.501%, down by 1.2 basis points (bp) from the previous auction’s 3.513%.

Meanwhile, the Treasury only borrowed P3.99 billion via the 182-day T-bills versus the P6-billion plan, even as the tenor attracted P12.74 billion worth of bids. The paper’s average rate came in at 3.249%, 5.1 bps lower than the 3.198% fetched during the auction last Nov. 4.

At the secondary market on Monday, yields on the three-month, six-month, and one-year T-bills stood at 3.168%, 3.324%, and 3.583%, respectively, based on the PHP Bloomberg Valuation (BVAL) Service Reference Rates.

Following the auction, Deputy Treasurer Sharon P. Almanza said T-bill rates fell within market expectations, with the financial system flush with liquidity given huge maturities of government securities this week.

Ms. Almanza said the rates in the low end of the curve are “converging” with the one-year tenor as the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ (BSP) decision to keep policy rates steady at the Monetary Board’s meeting last week prompted investors to “wait on the sidelines.”

“We’ve been partially awarding…so I think it’s actually converging within the one-year, considering that there’s pronouncement already by the BSP that they will be maintaining the rates. So the market is waiting on the sidelines, so it’s still within [expectations]… It’s just that we don’t want to really make the adjustment, so we try to cap it well within the BVAL,” she told reporters.

A bond trader interviewed yesterday share the same sentiment, adding there might be a “resurgence of investors coming back to the Philippines” after the BSP’s decision and better-than-expected gross domestic product (GDP) growth data released earlier this month.

“You’re also looking at the peso appreciating again against the dollar after some mild correction last week,” the trader said by phone.

The BSP’s Monetary Board, at its policy meeting last week, kept its benchmark interest rates for the overnight reverse repurchase, overnight deposit and lending facilities at four percent, 3.5% and 4.5%, respectively.

The move was widely expected after BSP Governor Benjamin E. Diokno hinted in separate television interviews that the central bank is “likely done” with rate cuts for the year.

The BSP has cut rates by a total of 75 bps this year, partially dialling back the 175-bp hike it fired off last year in the face of multi-year high inflation.

Meanwhile, the economy expanded at a faster-than-expected rate in the third quarter at 6.2%, picking up from the muted growth in the first and second quarters at 5.6% and 5.5%, respectively.

However, it would take a 6.7% GDP growth print to reach the low end of the government’s 6-7% growth target for 2019, which Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Ernesto M. Pernia said is attainable.

Meanwhile, Ms. Almanza said the committee decided to reject some bids for the six-month papers as rates were higher than the secondary market.

The bond trader explained there was no fundamental reason that drove rates on these securities higher, but it might have been a “matter of preference of what they want or targeted liquidity.”

“I think over the next auctions, lahat na ‘yan (all of the tenors) will be lower but it’s not gonna be a massive yield rally, but overall positive,” the trader added.

PRIZE BONDS READY
Meanwhile, Ms. Almanza said the Treasury’s prize bond offer is “good to go” as it has secured the necessary approvals, but the official mechanics will be announced during the launch, which is “very soon.”

She said firms participating in the offer, where the P500 stubs for the raffle can be availed, are Land Bank of the Philippines, Development Bank of the Philippines, Philippine National Bank, First Metro Investment Corp., China Banking Corp. and BDO Unibank, Inc.

She also confirmed that the raffle will have both cash and non-cash prizes, with one winner receiving P1 million during quarterly draws. — BML

Vista Land bond issue secures top credit rating

VILLAR-LED Vista Land & Lifescapes, Inc.’s (VLL) planned P10-billion bond issuance received the top credit rating from a local debt watcher.

In a statement Monday, Philippine Rating Services Corp. (PhilRatings) said it has assigned a “PRS Aaa” credit rating to VLL, the highest in its scale of creditworthiness.

The rating was also given a stable outlook, meaning it is seen to stay the same in the next 12 months.

PhilRatings said it considered three factors in giving VLL such a rating: the company’s diversified portfolio, its improving profitability and the favorable outlook in the industry.

It said the property developer, whose primary business is in building residential projects for all income segments, has been continuously expanding its footprint to enter mass market retail malls.

PhilRatings noted of VLL’s acquisition of Starmalls, Inc. in 2015, which it said helped diversify the company’s portfolio.

“VLL has built over 400,000 homes, 31 malls, 52 commercial centers and seven office buildings. As of September 30, 2019, the company’s projects were distributed in 147 cities and municipalities in 49 provinces throughout the Philippines,” it said.

PhilRatings also took note of the 11.9% compound annual growth rate of VLL’s consolidated revenues since 2014. It said the company was able to maintain strong margins as its average gross profit margin stood at 59.8% over the past five years.

“Given the steady stream and the performance of its projects, VLL was able to generate positive cash flows from its operations,” it said.

In the first nine months of 2019, VLL’s attributable net income increased 12% to P8.83 billion, as its consolidated revenues grew 9% to P34.36 billion.

PhilRatings said the government’s infrastructure program, which is expected to benefit the real estate industry, is another plus for VLL.

“Colliers believes that there is a strong demand for residential units. It is expected that Metro Manila’s condominium stock will grow by 19.3% to 141,760 units. Leasing demand likewise remains firm,” the debt watcher said, citing real estate consultancy firm Colliers International Philippines.

VLL said last month it filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission an application to issue fixed-rate bonds worth P5 billion with an oversubscription option of up to P5 billion. The company also said it plans to raise up to P40 billion from the bond market to fund its residential and commercial projects. This includes a separate application for the shelf registration of three-year, fixed-rate retail bonds worth P30 billion.

Shares in VLL at the stock exchange were flat on Monday to close at P7.69 apiece. — Denise A. Valdez

Taylor Swift wins some support from singers in feud with old label, and lots of silence

AS Taylor Swift and her former record label traded barbed accusations on Friday about her rights to perform her old songs, she won support from singers like Selena Gomez and Sara Bareilles but silence from many of the big hitters in the music business.

Swift, 29, one of the best-selling names in pop music, said on social media that her performance as “artist of the decade” at the American Music Awards in Los Angeles on Nov. 24 was “a question mark” because her old record label had refused permission for her to sing a medley of her old hits on the show.

Big Machine Label Group, the Nashville, Tennessee-based company that owns the master recordings of Swift’s back catalog, hit back on Friday, saying the singer was giving out “false information” and that the label has no right to limit her live performances.

Under her contract, Swift is not permitted to re-record material from her period with Big Machine until November 2020

Singer-songwriter Bareilles tweeted that the move by Big Machine was “an outrageous abuse of power and completely unforgivable” while Gomez, a close friend of Swift, said in a social media post that she was “sick and extremely angry.”

Camila Cabello, Halsey, and Tinashe also expressed support for Swift on Twitter but many other female stars, including Katy Perry, Adele, Lady Gaga, Rihanna, Cardi B and Beyoncé, were silent on Friday.

Swift signed with Big Machine at age 15, recording some of her biggest hits including “Shake it Off,” and “You Belong With Me,” but left last November for Universal Music Group, a unit of French conglomerate Vivendi.

Swift has taken her disputes with Big Machine public before. In June, she tweeted that she was “sad and grossed out” by the purchase of the independent label by Scooter Braun, who manages Justin Bieber and Ariana Grande. She also accused Braun of bullying her in the past.

In last week’s posts she accused Big Machine executives of exercising “tyrannical control” over her music, and said they also had denied permission for her old songs to be included in an upcoming Netflix documentary in the works.

Big Machine claimed in a statement that Swift owed them “millions of dollars and multiple assets.” That claim was denied by Swift’s publicist, Tree Paine, who said in a statement that Big Machine owed Swift $7.9 million in unpaid royalties.

“Right now, my performance at the AMA’s, the Netflix documentary and any other recorded events I am planning to play until November of 2020 are a question mark,” Swift wrote.

“The message being sent to me is very clear,” she added. “Basically be a good little girl and shut up. Or you’ll be punished.” — Reuters

Citadines Amigo Iloilo opens

CAPITALAND and subsidiary The Ascott Limited is bringing the serviced residence concept to Iloilo City with the opening of the Citadines Amigo.

Citadines Amigo Iloilo, the first international serviced residence in the city, is hoping to attract travellers and long-staying businessmen. It has 121 rooms, a fitness center, function rooms, swimming pool, and all- day dining restaurant.

“We are on track to achieve Ascott’s target of 6,000 units in the Philippines by 2020, as we continue to expand through management contracts, franchises, investments and strategic alliances,” Daniel Wee, country general manager of The Ascott Limited Philippines, said in a statement.

Ascott currently has 25 properties in the Philippines, nine of which are operation and the rest set to open soon.

Mr. Wee said Ascott has an average occupancy rate of close to 80% under its brands, namely, Ascott, Citadines, and Somerset.

Citadines Amigo Iloilo is the second Citadines property outside of Manila, and the fifth overall in the Philippines after Citadines Salcedo Makati, Citadines Millennium Ortigas Manila, Citadines Bay City Manila and Citadines Cebu City.

Won’s revival challenges baht’s strength

THE THAI BAHT’S reign as Asia’s best-performing currency is coming under threat from an unlikely source: South Korea’s won.

The baht has slumped into the bottom half of the regional rankings this quarter after heading the table for three consecutive three-month periods. The won meanwhile has shrugged off its chronic underperformance and rocketed to the top.

The main reason behind the Korean currency’s revival has been the sea-change in sentiment surrounding US-China trade tensions. After the dispute between the world’s two-largest economies heightened through the early part of year, recent rhetoric suggests a phase-one deal is getting closer.

This has been a big fillip to the won as the two countries are by far the largest buyers of South Korea exports. The won has strengthened 2.5% against the dollar this quarter after sliding 6.7% during the first nine months of the year.

The won is also being supported by a brace of domestic factors. Industrial production growth for September was four times the median estimate of economists, while semiconductor inventories for the same month dropped the most in two years, suggesting a prolonged slump in tech demand may be easing. The won may get a further boost if trade data on Thursday backs up these green shoots.

BAHT FALTERS
The baht has tumbled down the regional rankings after Bank of Thailand stepped up measures to cap the currency’s strength. Policy makers cut interest rates for the second time in three months on Nov. 6, lowering the benchmark to match an all-time low 1.25%. They also said they would ease rules on outflows to curb the surging currency.

Measures taking effect Nov. 8 included allowing exporters to keep a larger amount of money abroad, and scrapping most restrictions on outward transfers. The Bank of Thailand will review these policies every three months and take further steps if needed, Deputy Governor Mathee Supapongse said.

While still eking out a modest gain versus the greenback this quarter, the baht has dropped 0.4% from a six-year high set in late October. The currency may remain under pressure Monday as a report is forecast to show economic growth virtually stalled in the third quarter.

The baht-won cross — a synthetic exchange rate calculated from the level of the two currencies against the dollar — has dropped 3.4% from its August high. The pair has broken below an uptrend that has held since the start of the year and there’s every chance its recent losses may be just the start of longer decline. — Bloomberg

8990 Holdings sells P5 billion in receivables

LISTED property developer 8990 Holdings, Inc. has sold P5 billion worth of receivables to free up funds for new projects.

The company told the stock exchange yesterday it has unloaded contract-to-sell receivables to local financial holding firm Dearborne Resources and Holdings, Inc., the same company it sold P2.8-billion receivables to last year.

8990 said it was able to generate the full value of the contracts, as the price of the sale was based on the principal balance of the receivables.

The sale was also made on a non-recourse basis, meaning Dearborne will take the risk.

“This brings the company’s total receivables sold to P15 billion in the past two years,” 8990 said, noting it was able to liquidate P10 billion from selling contract-to-sell receivables last year.

8990 has been selling its receivables in recent years to raise money to fund its projects, as an alternative to taking on debt. The company said its net debt-to-equity has now fallen below its covenant ratio of 1.5x, standing at 0.94x as of end-September.

“[T]he company will spend P4 billion this year on its various projects nationwide. In 2020, the company plans to double its capital expenditure to support its goal of hitting P20 billion by the end of next year…,” it said.

The property developer had P20.9 billion in receivables as of the first nine months of the year, which will be reduced following the P5-billion sale to Dearborne and the completion of its P2.5-billion securitization deal before the year ends.

Securitization is the process of transforming an illiquid asset into a security through quantitative analysis.

8990 is expecting to start generating revenues from its Urban Deca Homes Ortigas project by next year. This is its largest development in Metro Manila with more than 19,000 condominium units.

In the first nine months of the year, 8990 posted a 23% increase in earnings to P4.21 billion, driven by a 21% jump in revenues to P10.51 billion.

Shares in 8990 at the stock exchange shed 0.50 point or 0.51% to close at P97.50 each on Monday. — Denise A. Valdez

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