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Rockwell Land eyes P10-B sales from new residential projects

By Arra B. Francia, Senior Reporter

ROCKWELL Land Corp. will be launching residential projects that could generate over P10 billion in sales for the year, including its first horizontal development in Laguna.

The Lopez-led property developer announced on Wednesday that it is set to launch Rockwell South at Carmelray in Canlubang, Laguna in the fourth quarter of the year. The 63-hectare project is a joint venture with the Yulo family’s Carmelray Property Holdings, Inc. and San Ramon Holdings, Inc.

“We will initially offer over 250 lots ranging from 650 to 1,000 square meters each, carrying the signature vision of Rockwell and featuring generous open spaces and amenities residents can indulge in,” Rockwell Land President and Chief Executive Officer Nestor J. Padilla said during the company’s annual stockholders’ meeting in Makati yesterday.

A square meter is priced at about P30,000 to P40,000, with the entire project seen to deliver net revenues of P3.9 billion.

Rockwell South at Carmelray will be developed in four phases. For the first phase, there are 252 lots for sale, while house-and-lots will be offered for the second phase to be launched in 2020. The company plans to offer townhouses in 2021 for the third phase, and mid-rise condominiums for the fourth phase in 2024.

“We’ve always wanted to have a variety of products for Rockwell Land. We’ve been doing vertical for the past 20 or so years. Speaking to our clients, it’s a product they’ve been wanting us to get into so we found this would be a perfect opportunity,” Rockwell Land Senior Vice-President Valerie Jane Lopez-Soliven said in a briefing after the stockholders’ meeting.

The company will also unveil an eight-tower, mid-rise residential complex in Bacolod which is expected to generate P8 billion in total sales. The 10.9-hectare project will also house retail and activity areas.

Only two towers will be launched in September. This is seen to generate about P2 billion in revenues. Units are sized from 36-100 sq.m., priced at P110,000-120,000 per sq.m.

Rockwell Land is also set to launch Benitez Suites in Quezon City by November, with sales expected to hit P2.8 billion.

Another project to be unveiled in the third quarter is the second tower of East Bay Residences by Rockwell Primaries in Sucat, Muntinlupa, after the company has already sold 86% of the project’s first tower. This is expected to post another P2.7 billion in sales.

“After several launches in the second half of 2019, we are optimistic about more geographic growth in the years after that will allow us to create new Rockwell communities in new markets, including one in Central Luzon,” Mr. Padilla said.

With several projects in the pipeline, Rockwell Land sees P16 billion in reservation sales this year, seven percent higher than 2018’s P15 billion.

Rockwell Land has committed to spend P12-14 billion in capital expenditures this year to support its project development. About 15% of the project will be for expanding its land bank.

Shares in Rockwell Land firmed up 1.48% or three centavos to close at P2.06 apiece on Wednesday.

URC on track for 7-9% sales growth this year

UNIVERSAL Robina Corp. (URC) is tracking a high single-digit topline growth for 2019, as the company banks on the recovery of its coffee business alongside the expansion of its other food and agro-industrial businesses.

The Gokongwei-led food and beverage company said on Tuesday it is looking at a 7-9% increase in sales this year, as its instant coffee business shows “very strong growth momentum.”

URC President and Chief Executive Officer Irwin C. Lee said the company launched three new instant coffee products last January to address gaps in the market, following an assessment of why the segment underperformed in previous years.

“We launched (Great Taste) White Caramel and White Crema to satisfy needs of people discovering different taste profiles…. Early results are working, we are beginning to gain back market share,” Mr. Lee told reporters after the company’s annual shareholders’ meeting in Pasig City yesterday.

Mr. Lee said market share for the coffee business dropped to about 20% last year, but has now started to improve to the mid-20s level.

While the coffee business is leading growth for URC this year, Mr. Lee noted that other food items such as chips, bakery products, chocolates, and noodles are also delivering solid performances.

URC’s brands include Jack N’ Jill, Nissin Cup Noodles, C2, Blend 45, Great Taste, Vitasoy, and Calbee, among others.

Mr. Lee also said the company targets to hold profit margins for the year, which could mean healthy bottom-line growth as well.

“Bottom line is looking good. Our commitment is to hold margins, and by holding margins that means whatever is the topline growth, that will also be the bottom-line growth. But the first quarter has shown that we can do better than that…But I also want to reinvest in the business. If we are making good profits, we will make sure of that,” Mr. Lee explained.

URC earlier said it has allotted P9.1 billion in capital expenditures to expand its business this year. Bulk of the budget will be used for capacity expansion.

So far, the company has already started the P1-billion expansion of its Davao flour mill to 900 tons from the current 300 tons. It is also expanding its sugar mill in Negros Occidental to 14,000 tons from 9,000 tons.

Mr. Lee said URC is also building additional lines for its consumer goods business, after running out of capacity for certain branded snacks such as Piattos and Nova.

URC’s net income attributable to the parent grew three percent to P3.04 billion in the first quarter of 2019, following a seven percent increase in net sales to P33.3 billion.

Shares in URC jumped 2.58% or P4 to close at P159 each at the stock exchange on Wednesday. — Arra B. Francia

Himala: Isang Musikal dominates the 11th Gawad Buhay Awards

 

THE Sandbox Collective and 9 Works Theatrical’s Himala: Isang Musikal dominated the evening, winning eight awards at the 11th Gawad Buhay Awards held on May 28 at Makati’s Onstage Theater in Greenbelt 1.

Himala, a restaging of the original Himala which premiered in 2003, bagged the awards for Outstanding Musical Existing Material for a Musical; Outstanding Stage Director for a Musical (Ed Lacson, Jr.); Outstanding Female Lead Performance in a Musical (Aicelle Santos); Outstanding Female Featured Performance in a Musical (Bituin Escalante); Best Ensemble Performance for a Musical; Outstanding Lighting Design (Barbie Tan-Tiongco); Outstanding Costume Design (Carlo Pagunaling); and Outstanding Set Design (Ed Lacson, Jr.).

Himala: Isang Musikal is a musical adaptation of the 1982 film starring Nora Aunor and written by Ricky Lee. Set in the small town of Cupang, a girl named Elsa sees visions of the Virgin Mary and becomes known as a faith healer. The poor and sick suddenly arrive in town and seek to be healed by her.

The other big winner was 9 Works Theatrical and Globe Live’s Eto na! Musikal nAPO!, an original musical using the songs of the Apo Hiking Society which took home five awards — Outstanding Musical Original Translation or Adaptation; Outstanding Male Lead Performance in a Musical (Jobim Javier); Outstanding Male Featured Performance in a Musical (Jon Abella); Outstanding Original Book (Robbie Guevara); and Outstanding Sound Design (Rards Corpus).

Best Play went to PETA’s ’night Mother.

Ballerina, teacher, and choreographer Felicitas “Tita” Radaic (represented by her daughter Sofia Radaic) and the National Commission for Culture and the Arts’ Head of the National Drama Committee of the Philippine Lutgardo “Gardy” Labad were conferred with the Natatanging Gawad Buhay Lifetime Achievement Award.

Performances during the award show included medleys from Ang Huling El Bimbo, Eto Na! Musikal nAPO! and Himala, Isang Musikal by their respective original cast members.

The evening concluded with a special song number on the “future of Philippine theater” by children of theater practitioners from Ateneo Blue Repertory, students of Trumpets Playshop and the Don Bosco Tulay Performing Arts Group, and scholars of Philippine Opera Company.

There were no nominations, thus no winners in the following categories: Male Featured Performance in a Play, Outstanding Original Script, and Outstanding Original Musical Composition.

The awarding ceremony, themed “Generations,” was hosted by Carlo Orosa and Kakai Bautista. — Michelle Anne P. Soliman

And the winners are…

FOLLOWING is the full list of winners of the 11th Gawad Buhay Awards given on May 28 at the Onstage Theater in Greenbelt 1, Makati.

• Outstanding Musical Original Translation or Adaptation — Eto Na! Musikal nAPO! (9 Works Theatrical and Globe Live)

• Outstanding Musical Existing Material for a Musical — Himala: Isang Musikal (The Sandbox Collective and 9 Works Theatrical)

• Outstanding Play Original Translation and Adaptation — ‘night, Mother (Philippine Educational Theater Association)

• Outstanding Play Existing Material — A Doll’s House, Part 2 (Red Turnip Theater)

• Outstanding Stage Director for a Play — Cris Villonco, A Doll’ s House, Part 2

• Outstanding Stage Director for a Musical — Ed Lacson, Jr., Himala: Isang Musikal

• Outstanding Featured Female Performance in a Play — Sheila Francisco, A Doll’s House, Part 2

• Outstanding Ensemble Performance for a Play — Manila Notes (Tanghalang Pilipino)

• Outstanding Female Lead Performance in a Play — Sherry Lara, ‘night, Mother

• Outstanding Male Lead Performance in a Play — Carlito Siguion-Reyna, A Doll’ House, Part 2

• Outstanding Female Lead Performance in a Musical — Aicelle Santos, Himala: Isang Musikal

• Outstanding Male Lead Performance in a Musical — Jobim Javier, Eto Na! Musikal nAPO!

• Outstanding Female Featured Performance in a Musical — Bituin Escalante, Himala: Isang Musikal

• Outstanding Male Featured Performance in a Musical — Jon Abella, Eto Na! Musikal nAPO!

• Best Ensemble Performance for a Musical — Himala: Isang Musikal

• Outstanding Translation or Adaptation — Ian Lomongo — ‘night, Mother (Philippine Educational Theater Association)

• Outstanding Original Book — Robbie Guevara, Eto Na! Musikal nAPO!

• Outstanding Choreography for a Play or Musical — Dexter Santos, Ang Huling El Bimbo (Full House Theater Company)

• Outstanding Musical Direction — Myke Salomon, Ang Huling El Bimbo

• Outstanding Sound Design — Rards Corpus, Eto Na! Musikal nAPO

• Outstanding Lighting Design — Barbie Tan-Tiongco, Himala: Isang Musikal

• Outstanding Costume Design — Carlo Pagunaling, Himala: Isang Musikal

• Outstanding Set Design — Ed Lacson, Jr., Himala: Isang Musikal

Pilmico takes full control of Gold Coin

THE agribusiness arm of Aboitiz Equity Ventures, Inc. (AEV) now fully owns Singapore-based Gold Coin Management Holdings, Inc., after purchasing the remaining 25% in the firm for $120 million.

In a disclosure to the stock exchange Wednesday, AEV said its wholly owned unit Pilmico International Pte. Ltd. will now have 100% ownership interest in Gold Coin following the execution of a separation and settlement agreement with the latter.

This comes less than a year after the company initially acquired the 75% stake in Gold Coin for $334 million. The acquisition cost was based on Gold Coin’s total enterprise value of $550 million. Pilmico will pay a one-time lump sum at the closing of the deal.

Pilmico said the transaction will expand the Aboitiz Group’s animal feeds business within the Asia-Pacific region, since Gold Coin is one of Asia’s largest privately-owned agribusiness corporations. It operates 20 livestock and aqua feed mills across 11 countries in Asia.

AEV earlier said that it will spend $200 million in the next two to three years to expand and upgrade Gold Coin’s facilities. This will be financed by a combination of loans and internally generated funds.

The company has been expanding its overseas footprint since 2014, when it acquired a 70% stake in Vinh Hoan Feeds (VHF) — one of Vietnam’s major aquafeeds producers. It then raised its stake in VHF to 85% in 2017.

Pilmico also acquired a 70% stake in animal feeds manufacturer Europe Nutrition Joint Stock Co. in 2017.

AEV reported a consolidated net income of P3.5 billion in the first quarter of 2019, 27% lower year on year as it was weighed down by non-recurring losses. This came amid a 28% increase in gross revenues to P47.4 billion in the same period.

Shares in AEV jumped 1.2% or 65 centavos to close at P54.80 each at the stock exchange on Wednesday. — Arra B. Francia

ACCA pushes improvements to country’s cloud-first policy

By Denise A. Valdez, Reporter

THE Asia Cloud Computing Association (ACCA) released on Monday a white paper that proposes fine-tuning of the Philippines’ cloud-first policy, as it said it sees potential in the country to advance the movement of the public sector to the cloud.

The study entitled “From Vision to Procurement: Principles for Adopting Cloud Computing in the Public Sector” identified several points of improvement on Department Circular No. 2017-002 of the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT), or the cloud-first policy of the Philippines.

“We think the cloud-first policy is a good policy. (But) I think the world has moved on since 2017. Therefore, what I’m noticing is there may be some space for refreshing of some of the thinking behind it,” ACCA Executive Director Lim May-Ann said in a media briefing on the white paper in Makati City on Monday.

The report noted one of the challenges in encouraging the public sector to move to the cloud is the doubt on its data security. ACCA Chair for Public Sector Special Interest Group Jarom Britton, who presented the paper, debunked this belief, noting that a cloud-based system is more secure than relying on data servers.

“If you’re developing a cloud-first policy, first recommendation is expressly recognize the generally greater security offered by cloud-based systems over on-premise systems. There is this perception that cloud is somehow less secure than what the public sector does. If that was ever true, it is certainly no longer the case. I think agencies that are coming up with these cloud-first policies need to help refute that perception,” he said.

Another concern that moving to the cloud poses for the public sector is data classification, or determining which assets are “top secret” and may not be for the cloud.

“Let’s take a look at what information you have, recognizing some of it may not be ready to go to the cloud yet. Some of it may not ever be ready to go to the cloud. But let’s talk about the information that can go to the cloud. Let’s not let that information fall victim to the small percentage of information (that cannot),” Mr. Britton said.

He noted for most government agencies, there are usually three levels of security classification of data, and 80-85% of it are classified at the lowest level and may therefore be moved to the cloud. This easily brings advantage to the government by digitizing a big chunk of its data and moving it out of traditional infrastructure servers.

The report also noted how the movement to the cloud “democratizes” information technology, as it would allow the public sector to have access to the same computing resources that are used by more developed countries.

“We always hear people talk about AI (artificial intelligence), blockchain, IoT (Internet of Things). Well you don’t have AI if you don’t have cloud. You don’t have IoT if you don’t have cloud. You don’t have e-commerce if you don’t have cloud… None of those things could happen unless cloud-computing is facilitated,” Mr. Britton said.

After the publication of the report, ACCA said it looking forward to meeting with the DICT to discuss its findings. A June 27 meeting has been scheduled with the government, Ms. Lim said, which would allow the organization to raise its points to the DICT.

“We’re going to have a workshop with them on the 27th of June to concretize a lot of the implementation policy. For example, we were talking about the accreditation. We’re trying to see whether there’s space to negotiate for a more of a registration (format),” she said, referring to the existing cloud-first policy of the DICT which requires cloud service providers to be accredited by a “Philippine GovCloud.”

“Can the Philippines learn? Can we accelerate a little bit more? I think the Philippines is in a better place to do it, because I found the DICT very willing to negotiate and discuss with the private sector. And the policy is flexible enough to achieve that,” Ms. Lim added.

History on a plate

By Joseph L. Garcia, Reporter

OF ALL the facets of culture and history — think language, clothing, art — food is usually relegated to the sidelines. “It’s always going to be there,” we say to ourselves while it disappears from our tables, replaced by global selections that are easy to prepare, easy to eat, and are easily forgotten. Food does not deserve this position, for it is the fuel that forged revolutions, gave sustenance to communities, and, today, continues to build the nation.

The Diamond Hotel gives honor to Filipino heritage food via a food festival which will run from June 19 to 30, priced at P2,990 nett per person, at the hotel’s Cornice restaurant. For this food festival, they tapped chef and food heritage advocate Christopher Carangian.

Mr. Carangian is the Punong Heneral (Head General) of the Culinary Generals of the Philippines, a collective of cooks, food historians, and members of the academe who strive to preserve native cuisine by listening to elders who teach them lost dishes and techniques.

Of the dishes served during a tasting held on National Flag Day, May 28, a clear favorite by all was the Pancit langlang of Imus, Cavite. Mr. Carangian, also an in-house food historian of the GMA Network, says that he had looked long and far for this dish, described in Jose Rizal’s El Filibusterismo. While he conjectured that the detailed recipe of the dish (containing eggs, shrimp, chicken, and then chicken stock, all over a bed of noodles) was a favorite of National Hero Jose Rizal, a letter from the author, doctor, and revolutionary to his sister confirms it to be so. Rizal, it seems, favored lightness and balance in his palate, as exemplified in this dish.

A more exotic offering was the Ciento Quinse (115), named after the 115 chilies that went into the dish of jackfruit and seafood from the Chavacano culture in Mindanao (the dish was toned down for Manila palates). Warik Warik, a dish of charred pork, comes from Northern Luzon, and for its outing in Corniche, was stripped of the pig brains that would usually go into it — liver and mayonnaise sauce was substituted in this variation. The dish, apparently, was part of a ritual to call the ancient gods.

This wasn’t Mamma’s table of homecooked loving — this was history staring at you from the plate. It could be surmised that these dishes are fast approaching oblivion simply because of the fast-paced lives we lead today (how many people take the time to char pigs to offer to the gods?), but Mr. Carangian pointed to something else. According to his studies, “Kung sino yung malapit sa Maynila, siya ’yung nawawala (The ones near Manila are usually the ones lost),” he said. By this he meant that the closer a province is to the country’s near-cosmopolitan capital, the easier it is for their traditional dishes to be lost.

As we’ve mentioned above, food is usually ignored in history, perhaps merely to be seen as novelty; a detail of minutiae as to what this person living centuries ago ate and liked. This is an important detail in itself, for in food lies both motivation for and respite from the work of making history. In some cases, food can be nobler than clothing, or even language, in identifying a culture. Mr. Carangian said in a mixture of Tagalog and English, “Food is also a language. The good thing about food is, you don’t have to talk. Just hand it over, and everyone smiles.”

Mr. Carangian is also set to recreate the Malolos Congress Dinner of 1898, used by the early Philippine government to announce its independence, sovereignty, and well, style. The dinner will be paired with fine wine, and costs P5,000 nett per person, slated for June 21. For inquiries, call 528-3000.

Chelsea inks deal with Japan firm

A JAPANESE shipping company Kumiai Senpaku Co. Ltd. will finance the construction and acquisition of a new passenger vessel for Starlite Ferries, Inc., according to the latter’s parent company Chelsea Logistics and Infrastructure Holdings Corp. (CLC).

The 98-meter passenger ferry is being built in Hiroshima, Japan by Kegoya Dock Co. Ltd. It is set to be delivered by April 2020.

“The vessel will be the subject of a 20-year Bareboat Charter Agreement between Kumiai’s subsidiary, Southern Pacific Holding Corporation as owner, and Starlite Ferries as Charterer. The Bareboat Charter Agreement comes with an irrevocable obligation for Starlite Ferries to purchase the vessel at the end of the 20-year Charter Period,” CLC said in a statement.

Starlite Ferries and Southern Pacific signed the agreement for the passenger ferry on May 26. At the same time, CLC signed a letter of guarantee in favor of Southern Pacific, in connection with Starlite Ferries’ obligations and undertakings under the agreement.

“Our new strategic partnership with Kumiai underscores our long standing and ongoing commitment to shipping modernization, becoming the country’s prime mover of vital goods, cargoes and people. We look to Kumiai as a leader in Japan’s shipping industry, whose excellence can bring our local shipping industry to global standards,” CLC President and CEO Chryss Alfonsus V. Damuy said in a statement.

Kumiai Senpaku had previously financed the acquisition of a 67-meter passenger ferry by CLC subsidiary Trans-Asia Shipping Lines, Inc. The ferry was delivered in November 2018.

To date, CLC operates 16 tankers, 23 RoPax vessels, 11 cargo vessels and 16 tugboats through Chelsea Shipping, Starlite Ferries, Trans-Asia and Fortis Tugs.

Amazon working on a device that can read human emotions

AMAZON.COM Inc. is developing a voice-activated wearable device that can recognize human emotions.

The wrist-worn gadget is described as a health and wellness product in internal documents reviewed by Bloomberg. It’s a collaboration between Lab126, the hardware development group behind Amazon’s Fire phone and Echo smart speaker, and the Alexa voice software team.

Designed to work with a smartphone app, the device has microphones paired with software that can discern the wearer’s emotional state from the sound of his or her voice, according to the documents and a person familiar with the program. Eventually the technology could be able to advise the wearer how to interact more effectively with others, the documents show.

It’s unclear how far along the project is, or if it will ever become a commercial device. Amazon gives teams wide latitude to experiment with products, some of which will never come to market. Work on the project, code-named Dylan, was ongoing recently, according to the documents and the person, who requested anonymity to discuss an internal matter. A beta testing program is underway, this person said, though it’s unclear whether the trial includes prototype hardware, the emotion-detecting software or both.

Amazon declined to comment.

The notion of building machines that can understand human emotions has long been a staple of science fiction, from stories by Isaac Asimov to Star Trek’s android Data. Amid advances in machine learning and voice and image recognition, the concept has recently marched toward reality. Companies including Microsoft Corp., Alphabet Inc.’s Google and IBM Corp., among a host of other firms, are developing technologies designed to derive emotional states from images, audio data and other inputs. Amazon has discussed publicly its desire to build a more lifelike voice assistant.

The technology could help the company gain insights for potential health products or be used to better target advertising or product recommendations. The concept is likely to add fuel to the debate about the amount and type of personal data scooped up by technology giants, which already collect reams of information about their customers. Earlier this year, Bloomberg reported that Amazon has a team listening to and annotating audio clips captured by the company’s Echo line of voice-activated speakers.

A US patent filed in 2017 describes a system in which voice software uses analysis of vocal patterns to determine how a user is feeling, discerning among “joy, anger, sorrow, sadness, fear, disgust, boredom, stress, or other emotional states.” The patent, made public last year, suggests Amazon could use knowledge of a user’s emotions to recommend products or otherwise tailor responses.

A diagram in the patent filing says the technology can detect an abnormal emotional condition and shows a sniffling woman telling Alexa she’s hungry. The digital assistant, picking up that she has a cold, asks the woman if she would like a recipe for chicken soup.

A second patent awarded to Amazon mentions a system that uses techniques to distinguish the wearer’s speech from background noises. Amazon documents reviewed by Bloomberg say the wearable device will take advantage of such technology.

Amazon’s work on a wearable device underscores its ambitions of becoming a leading maker of both cutting-edge speech recognition software and consumer electronics. The Echo smart speaker line and embedded Alexa voice software have popularized the use of voice commands in the home. The company has also added voice control to Fire-branded video streaming devices for television, as well as tablets.

But Amazon’s efforts to create smartphone software to rival Apple Inc. or Google have failed. So the company is trying to make Alexa ubiquitous in other ways. Bloomberg reported earlier this year that Amazon was developing wireless earbuds, similar to Apple AirPods, that are expected to include the Alexa voice software. The company has begun distributing Echo Auto, a dashboard-mounted speaker and microphone array designed to pair with a smartphone, and says it received 1 million pre-orders.

Amazon has also been working on a domestic robot, Bloomberg reported last year. Code-named “Vesta,” after the Roman goddess of the hearth, home and family, the ’bot could be a kind of mobile Alexa, according to people familiar with the project. Prototypes of the robot can navigate through homes like a self-driving car. — Bloomberg

Demand for TDF drops ahead of reserve requirement reductions

BIDS FOR term deposits declined further on Wednesday ahead of the first round of cuts to lenders’ reserve requirement ratios (RRR) taking effect this week.

Tenders for the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ (BSP) term deposit facility (TDF) auction yesterday totalled just P29.155 billion, well below the P40 billion on offer. This was also less than the P39.113 billion in bids seen last week.

Demand for the eight-day papers on offer yesterday stood at P14.98 billion, failing to fill the P20 billion on the auction block and also declining from the P20.455 billion in tenders received for the seven-day tenor last week.

Accepted yields ranged between 4.5% and 4.7679%, slightly below the 4.453-4.76% margin seen the previous week. Thus caused the average rate of the eight-day term deposits to decline to 4.6187% yesterday from 4.6375%.

Meanwhile, total tenders for the 15-day papers amounted to just P6.11 billion yesterday, lower than the P8.286 billion in bids last week for the two-week tenor and also below the P10 billion up for grabs.

Banks asked for returns within 4.5%-4.75%, slightly wider than last week’s range of 4.5-4.7%. The average yield on the 15-day term deposits likewise slipped to 4.591% on Wednesday from the previous week’s 4.5999%.

The 28-day papers, on the other hand, were met with tenders totalling P8.065 billion, down from the P10.372 billion logged a week ago and less than the P10 billion the BSP offered yesterday.

Yields sought by banks for the one-month papers were steady at the 4.5-4.75% range. Still, the average rate dropped to 4.5974% yesterday from 4.638% last week.

The term deposit tenors offered yesterday were adjusted due to the regular public holidays on June 5 and June 12.

The TDF stands as the central bank’s primary tool to shore up excess funds in the financial system and to better guide market interest rates.

Earlier this month, the BSP cut benchmark interest rates by 25 basis points (bp), bringing the interest rate on the central bank’s overnight reverse repurchase facility to 4.5%. The rates on the overnight lending and deposit facilities were also reduced accordingly to 5% and 4%, respectively.

Sought for comment, BSP Monetary Board Member Felipe M. Medalla said in a text message that banks were likely holding on to their funds as they want to deploy these elsewhere.

“They don’t have low appetite (for TDF). They have high needs,” he said. “They plan to deploy the cash that they did not place in the TDF (e.g. make new loans).”

Last week, Mr. Medalla said liquidity in the system was “tight” ahead of scheduled cuts to banks’ reserve ratios.

The BSP will slash the RRR of lenders by a percentage point effective May 31 to 17% for universal and commercial banks, 7% for thrift banks, and 4% for rural and cooperative banks.

The central bank has said that a percentage point cut in big banks’ RRR will unleash P90-100 billion into the financial system, while another P22 billion is seen to be released due to a 100-basis-point cut in the reserve ratios of smaller lenders.

Further reductions will be implemented after this week’s round of cuts to eventually bring big banks’ RRR to 16% and thrift banks’ ratio to 6% by July.

BSP Governor Benjamin E. Diokno has said he wants to reduce big banks’ reserve requirement ratio to single digits by 2023 to put the rate at par with those being implemented in neighboring countries. — RJNI

Talking tequila

DEPENDING on who you ask, the word “tequila” will conjure up an story, most commonly one entailing regret in having had an excess of the spirit. Despite its infamy, tequila in itself is a representation of a multitude of stories and flavors that one has to learn to fully appreciate and feel. It is, after all, a distilled spirit dating back from the 1600s — which means it has a lot of stories.

It was the main topic in the “World of Tequila” Master Class held earlier this month at The Island in Taguig’s Bonifacio Global City, hosted by worldwide Tequila giant Jose Cuervo, and the first of its kind in the Philippines. The master class is being held across Asia.

Jose Cuervo Global Brand Ambassador Stelios Papadopoulus insists it’s much more than a liquid fire in a shot glass raised up high and downed in a matter of seconds.

“What people have in mind is that tequila is all about shots but actually, it is not only about shots… I want people to delete everything they know about tequila and start all over,” he said.

Tequila’s origins can be traced back to the Mexican town it is named after. Located in the western area of Jalisco, Tequila (the town) is the birthplace of the distilled alcoholic drink made from the blue agave plant. Often mistaken for a cactus, the blue agave is actually a member of the lily family. The plant takes more than seven years to reach maturity and demands appropriate desert conditions in order for it to mature. Only the heart of the spiky plant is used to produce tequila.

When mature, the plants’ leaves are removed, leaving a central core referred to as the piña (no relation to the pineapple) which is heated and crushed to release its juice. The juice is then fermented and distilled.

Like the names Champagne and Cognac which can only be used when referring to the drinks made in their namesake places in France, a tequila can only be manufactured in Mexico. A majority of tequila production is still located in Jalisco, but Mexican authorities have given some other Mexican towns the license to produce tequila in limited quantities. Tequila is considered the national drink of Mexico, a statement that the distilled spirit embodies the Mexican spirit.

The rich soil of Tequila is where Don Jose Antonio de Cuervo first grew blue agave in 1758. His son, Jose María Guadalupe de Cuervo, got permission to produce tequila commercially from King Carlos IV of Spain in 1795 — and he called it Vino Mezcal de Tequila de Jose Cuervo. As time passed, the family grew the business, bottling the drink while other producers were still using barrels. Today Jose Cuervo is produced at the La Rojeña distillery in Jalisco, which was founded in 1812.

And just how is Tequila supposed to be appreciated in its purest form? Going back to the tequila masterclass, Mr. Papadopoulus said tequila is best enjoyed neat as one sips it from a special tequila glass. One can truly enjoy the crispness of tequila this way, rather than downing it fast from the typical shot glass. When sipping tequila, one’s mouth should be opened slightly since tequila’s high alcohol content is enough to overwhelm on the first glass. Sipped properly, the sweet notes of the spirit — thanks to the blue agave — can be identified, and one can also detect a smoky kick that depends on how long the tequila has been aged.

In terms of variety, here is the lowdown as discussed during the master class:

• Blanco is a clear tequila that has not been aged and has been packed shortly after being distilled.

• The Reposado is a slightly more golden tequila which has been aged for a year, at most.

• Finally, the Añejo is a darker and more robust tequila that aged for more than a year.

Tequila is a versatile spirit since it can be enjoyed clean or mixed in a cocktail.

A less well-known fact about tequila is that it is a staple in many cocktail recipes and, as Mr. Papadopoulus enthused, “It is a bartender’s best friend.”

It’s easy to misunderstand tequila but being reintroduced to the spirit in the World of Tequila master class, one learns of tequila being a quilt of stories and character.

As Mr. Papadopoulus puts it, “Tequila is not just a spirit; it’s the whole history of Mexico in your glass.” — Gillian M. Cortez

Huawei calls US ban on its 5G gear a ‘dangerous precedent’

HUAWEI Technologies Co. has asked a US judge to rule that a ban on federal agencies and contractors buying its gear violates the constitution, delivering its latest legal riposte to American accusations it aids Beijing in espionage.

China’s largest technology company asked for summary judgment in a filing late Tuesday, arguing the moratorium on its equipment disrupts existing contracts, stigmatizes Huawei and its employees as “tools” of the Chinese government, and threatens its ability to do business in the US. Huawei, which has warned that the ban could kill the company, has repeatedly denied those allegations.

Huawei finds itself in the cross-hairs of the U.S. government just as countries around the world prepare to spend billions on potentially revolutionary fifth-generation wireless technology. The Trump administration has also blacklisted the Chinese company, cutting off the supply of American components it needs to make its smartphones and networking gear.

In challenging the ban, Huawei argues it’s unconstitutional to single out a person or a group for penalty without a fair trial. It’s taking aim at a provision in the 2019 National Defense Authorization Act that bars any executive agency, government contractor or company that receives a government loan or grant from using Huawei equipment, according to its complaint. The Chinese company argues that the provision is a bill of attainder, a legislative punishment without trial that’s prohibited by the US Constitution.

The ban “adjudicates Huawei to be a tool of the Chinese government, imposes vast restrictions on it, and burdens its constitutional rights,” Huawei said in its filing. “In doing so, it tries to drive Huawei out of the country, defames it as disloyal and untrustworthy, and denies it the administrative and judicial process available to others to contest such charges.”

Huawei’s lawsuit signals a more aggressive response from the company toward its US accusers, who have been trying to persuade other countries to ban Huawei gear.

Banning the company “will do nothing to make networks more secure. They provide a false sense of security, and distract attention from the real challenges we face,” Song Liuping, Huawei’s chief legal officer, said in a statement repeating arguments laid out this week in a Wall Street Journal opinion piece. “This sets a dangerous precedent. Today it’s telecoms and Huawei. Tomorrow it could be your industry, your company, your consumers.”

The case is Huawei Technologies v. U.S., 4:19-cv-00159, U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Texas (Sherman). — Bloomberg

Epson Philippines bullish on growth prospects

By Zsarlene B. Chua, Reporter

AFTER clocking in another double-digit growth year in 2018, Epson Philippines Corp. (EPC) remains bullish on its prospects as the company focuses on growing their business-to-business (B2B) segment, according to a company executive.

“We have a very wide portfolio of products, so we’ve been there but now we’re really pushing our B2B because we are putting our core technology like the printheads and we’re putting them into machines of a different form factor for larger, more commercial and industrial use,” Eduardo Bonoan, general manager of the marketing division of EPC told BusinessWorld on the sidelines of the Epson Fusion event held in Discovery Shores, Boracay island on May 20.

During his presentation, Mr. Bonoan said the company’s sales grew by 23% during the 2018 fiscal year compared to the prior year’s 14% growth. For the last five years, he said the company posted 20% growth year-on-year on average.

The growth was attributed to “the very promising performance posted by select strategic products” like their copiers, scanners, label machines, large format printers and mobile point-of-sale systems.

Majority of last year’s sales come from printers and scanners (both consumer and business), contributing 70% to the total, while business systems contributed 14%, visual instruments at 11% and commercial and industrial machines at 5%.

This year, the company will focus on promoting their Replaceable Ink Pack System (RIPS), LIJ printers (large format printers), scanners, label printers, mobile point-of-sale, computer-aided design (CAD) printers, signage and textile printers, as well as its high brightness projectors.

The official however noted that their push towards B2B does not mean they will be sidelining their consumer market.

“We’re still going to be defending whatever we’ve done here but of course, we have to take a look at other avenues and other pastures already,” Mr. Bonoan said.

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