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Nation at a Glance — (09/26/19)

News stories from across the nation. Visit www.bworldonline.com (section: The Nation) to read more national and regional news from the Philippines.

Nation at a Glance — (09/26/19)

Common Myths and Facts: Cancer Screening with Dr. Zee Ying Kiat of Parkway Cancer Centre

Dr. Zee Ying Kiat, senior consultant specializing in Medical Oncology at Parkway Cancer Centre in Singapore, discusses the common myths and facts about cancer screening. He also shares the importance of such test in the prevention and early detection of some types of cancer, including colorectal, cervical, and breast cancer.

House body eases foreign retailer rules

THE HOUSE of Representatives Committee on Trade and Industry on Tuesday approved the bill that makes it easier for foreigners to break into the country’s retail space.

The committee invoked Section 48 Rule 10 of the Rules of the House of Representatives — which allows expedited approval of measures that had bagged final-reading fiat in the preceding Congress that ended in early June — in approving House Bill No. 9057, which will amend Republic Act No. 8762 or the Retail Trade Liberalization Act.

“Kung ano yung na-approve sa 17th Congress, ayun ’yung na-approve today (We approved whatever was approved in the 17th Congress),” said Valenzuela 1st-District Rep. Weslie Gatchalian, committee chairman, told reporters after the hearing.

The measure is designed to remove barriers to foreign investments in the retail sector by:

• setting the minimum paid up capital at $200,000 — compared to the current $2.5-million requirement for entities that are fully foreign-owned — and scrap the minimum investment requirement of $830,000 per store;

• removing the $250,000 paid-up capital per store for enterprises engaged in high-end or luxury products;

• reducing the proportion of locally manufactured products required to be carried by foreign retailers to 10% of the aggregate cost of their stock inventory from 30% currently;

• removing other requirements like the $200-million minimum net worth of enterprises with paid-up capital of $2.5-7.5 million and $50 million for those selling high-end or luxury products, as well as the five-year track record in retailing, among others.

A counterpart measure, Senate Bill No. 921, has been filed in the Senate.

“Very important ito sa ating mga foreign investors… para sa gayun ay di na nila kailangan pa makipag-partner (This measure is very important for foreign investors, who will no longer have to team up) with our local companies which are owned by monopolies, oligarchs. Maliit ka man na negosyante (Whether you are a small business) or medium-sized, you can set up shop in the Philippines,” Mr. Gatchalian explained.

In a position paper, the Department of Trade and Industry supported the proposed amendments to the law. “The current foreign equity restrictions on retail trade have contributed to an unfavorable investment environment and effectively shielded domestic enterprises from competition. Efforts at further liberalizing this sector would not only encourage greater investments into the country but also create a competitive environment that encourages continuous innovation,” the department said.

But the Philippine Retailers Association has opposed the reform, arguing in a position paper that “[c]onsequently, foreigners will now be able to engage in and potentially dominate every aspect of Philippine retailing, ironically enough in a region where countries with economies and economic conditions similar to itself extend substantial quantitative and/or qualitative measures meant to nurture and safeguard their respective MSME retailers against outsiders.” — V. A. C. Ferreras

Malacañang warns against irregular fund allotments

PRESIDENT Rodrigo R. Duterte will veto any funds in the proposed P4.1-trillion 2020 national budget that will be proven to have been allocated in an irregular manner, Malacañang said on Tuesday, adding that the President will “scrutinize” the budget as soon as it reaches his table.

“With respect doon sa allegation of ‘pork’, it’s always the President who will decide. The President is a lawyer. If from his legal point of view it is unconstitutional relative to this alleged ‘pork’, then he will veto that as he did prior to this budget,” Presidential Spokesperson Salvador S. Panelo said at a briefing in Malacañang when asked about Senator Panfilo M. Lacson’s allegation that each congressman will get P700 million for his or her district from the proposed 2020 budget, while the 22 deputy speakers will get P1.5 billion each.

Mr. Lacson aired his allegations following a statement by Albay-2nd district Rep. Jose Ma. Clemente S. Salceda, vice-chairman of the House Appropriations committee, that each congressmen will each get P100 million to allocate to projects in his or her district. Senator Juan Edgardo M. Angara, chairman of the chamber’s Finance committee, said this would be acceptable, provided the allocations were “pre-determined.”

“It is his (Mr. Duterte’s) constitutional duty to scrutinize the budget,” Mr. Panelo told reporters.

House Majority Leader Ferdinand Martin G. Romualdez and Capiz 2nd district Rep. Fredenil H. Castro on Tuesday called on Senator Panfilo M. Lacson to name his source, which the latter said was a House insider. “Nalulungkot po kami kasi hindi natin alam kung saan po galing ‘yan… But at this point right now, nobody seems to know where that’s coming from and it would be helpful if the good senator can help us ferret out the truth by revealing to us the sources and the details of this information,” said Mr. Romualdez in a press conference.

In the same briefing, Mr. Castro said: “I do not believe that there is a congressman or there are congressmen responsible for this information. Because similar disinformation was spread during the 2019 budget and not one was presented to prove or verify the alleged information.”

“… [H]ow could there be pork in the General Appropriation Bill just recently approved by the House of the Representatives when it has not even been submitted to the Senate yet for its scrutiny?”

A row between the Senate and the House of Representatives late last year over funds inserted after the spending plan had already been ratified by Congress caused Mr. Duterte to sign this year’s national budget into law nearly four months late on Apr. 15, vetoing P95.3 billion in allocations he said were not in sync with his administration’s priorities and slashing the total to P3.662 trillion.

The House on Sept. 20 approved on third and final reading House Bill No. 4228, or the proposed General Appropriations Act for Fiscal Year 2020, ahead of a self-imposed Oct. 4 deadline.

Senate President Vicente C. Sotto on Tuesday said the House’ early approval of the budget will give the Senate ample time to scrutinize the proposal.

“Ito ang maganda kung matatapos ng maaga ito — let’s say second or last week ng November nag third reading kami; pagpasok ng first week ng December, nagba-bicam na kami. Nandoon na ’yung tinatawag na debate, balasahang mabuti (It is good for us to finish this work early — let’s say third-reading approval in the second or last week of November; and then we can have bicameral conference meetings to harmonize differences in the first week of December. It is there that we will have debate and close examination of the budget),” Mr. Sotto said over radio interview with dzMM.

“‘Yung bicam, alam mo naman yun, matindi ang sikuhin doon… (You know that there is considerable debate in the bicameral conference committee).”

Mr. Angara had earlier said that the chamber targets transmitting the budget to Malacañang for signing into law by Dec. 15. — Arjay L. Balinbin and Charmaine A. Tadalan and Vince Angelo C. Ferrera

Difficulties seen over tax reform differences

THE PROPOSAL to reduce the corporate income tax and overhaul fiscal incentives that was approved by the House of Representatives has some “unacceptable” provisions, a Senate leader said, Tuesday.

“I’m worried about CITIRA (Corporate Income Tax and Incentives Rationalization), really worried about CITIRA,” Senate Majority Leader Juan Miguel F. Zubiri told reporters, following concerns raised by foreign business chambers that the measure could result in 703,000 job losses in the first year.

Still, Mr. Zubiri said that, “[o]n the onset, we support the rationalization of fiscal incentives. We don’t believe that industries that have gotten incentives for the last 30 years should have it for another 30 years.”

American Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines, Inc. Senior Adviser John D. Forbes, who represented the Joint Foreign Chambers (JFC), said tax incentive overhaul under House Bill No. 4157, or the CITIRA, will affect 121,000 direct and 582,000 indirect jobs.

“CITIRA destroys a highly successful incentives system that has brought in foreign investors to create significant industries that export goods and services,” Mr. Forbes said, adding that maintenance of the status quo for fiscal incentives can add one to two million direct jobs and four to eight million indirect jobs.

At the same time, the JFC supported reduction of the CIT but at a faster pace, by lowering the rate to 25% from the current 30% upon enactment and by one percent every year until it reaches 20%.

The House approved on Sept. 13 the bill, which will lower CIT to 20% by 2029, remove tax incentives deemed redundant and make all the rest time-bound and subject to economic benefits they bring.

The measure had hurdled the chamber in the 17th Congress, but hit a dead end in the Senate, where it failed to secure even just committee-level approval.

The Senate Ways and Means committee, chaired by Senator Pia S. Cayetano, will continue deliberating the measure even when Congress takes an Oct. 5-Nov. 3 break. “… [S]hortly after that we will have the budget hearing, so I will not be able to defend anything on the floor, so I want to try to finish the hearings if possible, consolidate the report and if I have enough information then I’ll be ready to come up with a committee report,” Ms. Cayetano said.

Mr. Zubiri said “for the record, unacceptable sa’kin ‘yung House version.”

“What the House passed right now, for us, I’ve spoken to Senator Ralph Recto, I’ve spoken to Senator Villar, other senators, this is unacceptable to us.”

“(Albay-2nd district) Congressman (Jose Ma. Clemente S.) Joey, the chairman [of the House Ways and Means committee], has to bend back. He cannot come into this negotiation with that…”

Mr. Zubiri aired anew his initial proposal for the period for the lower tax on gross income earned (availed of after income tax holidays lapse) of five to seven years (from no limit currently) and a rate of seven percent (from five percent currently). The House version provided for two to five years and maintained the current five percent GIE.

“Based on consultation, we realized that some of the (economic zone) locators may be open to higher GIE for as long as we can lengthen the transition period and the higher GIE can be considered instead of five percent, we can adjust to seven or eight percent,” Trade and Industry Secretary Ramon M. Lopez said in the same hearing.

The proposed CITIRA forms part of the administration’s comprehensive tax reform program, which was among the bills mentioned by President Rodrigo R. Duterte in his July 22 fourth State of the Nation Address, along with other packages which will increase excise tax on alcohol products and e-cigarettes, centralize real property valuation and assessment, and simplify tax structure for financial investment instruments.

The government has already enacted Republic Act No. 10963, which slashed personal income tax rates and increased or added levies on several goods and services; RA 11213, the Tax Amnesty Act, which grants estate tax amnesty and amnesty on delinquent accounts left unpaid even after being given final assessment; and RA 11346, which will gradually increase excise tax on tobacco products to P60 per pack by 2023 from P35 currently.

The proposed tax reform is also among the priority bills that 14 local and foreign business groups pitched last July to the 18th Congress and the Office of the President. — Charmaine A. Tadalan

A is for Aesthetics

The Entrepreneur Of The Year Philippines 2019 has concluded its search for the country’s most successful and inspiring entrepreneurs. Entrepreneur Of The Year Philippines is a program of the SGV Foundation, Inc. with the participation of co-presenters Department of Trade and Industry, the Philippine Business for Social Progress, and the Philippine Stock Exchange. In the next few weeks, BusinessWorld will feature each of the finalists for the Entrepreneur Of The Year Philippines 2019.

Dr. Aivee Aguilar Teo
President and Medical Director
The A — Institute

THE PHILIPPINES is currently witnessing the evolution of aesthetic medicine through the melding of dermatology and technology.

Leveraging on these new methods, is dermatologist, Dr. Aivee Aguilar Teo, the president and medical director of The A — Institute. Her holistic approach to beauty and wellness has helped transform the cosmetic services in our country.

“My vision for the Philippines is to be the center of medical technology. We want to showcase that we are at par with international standards. We want to disrupt the beauty industry in the country, so we make sure that we’re always innovating. We’re always thinking of new concepts,” Ms. Teo explains.

Ms. Teo has always been passionate about uplifting the nation and empowering her fellow Filipinos.

While she comes from a family of government officials and real estate developers, her father insisted that she become a doctor. She took up medicine at the University of Sto. Tomas. After finishing her dermatological residency in 2001, she pursued her fellowship in Singapore’s National Skin Center. This is where she met the man who would become her husband and business partner, Dr. Z’Shen “Z” Teo, who is also a dermatologist.

Upon completing her studies in Singapore, Ms. Teo returned to the Philippines and became a consultant and dermatologist at the Asian Hospital and the Las Piñas Doctors Hospital. Her first out-of-hospital practice was in a small clinic in Bonifacio Global City (BGC) which she shared with two other doctors.

Realizing the need for a bigger space, Ms. Teo took the leap and opened her first Aivee clinic in Burgos Circle, BGC in 2009. “It was my first time to be on my own, so I had to think of something that would differentiate my clinic from the rest. We spent months planning the treatments that we were going to introduce and planning the look of the clinic. We hired a good interior designer because I really wanted a beautiful clinic where my patients would feel comfortable. I didn’t want them to feel like they’re in a hospital.”

Eventually, Ms. Teo’s vision came to fruition with the opening of a health and wellness one-stop-shop. She established the A — Institute in 2017 to address all the medical and cosmetic needs of her patients. It is the largest clinic under the Aivee group, with integrated services such as, dermatology, hair transplant and regeneration, plastic surgery, slimming programs, nutrition, sports medicine, anti-aging and sleep medicine. Ms. Teo said that it is also one of the first clinics in the country to have a Department of Health (DoH)-accredited plastic surgery center.

“We want to make sure that all the latest treatments are available here in the Philippines, so that our clients won’t feel that we’re second class. In fact, most of the time we’re first to acquire the machines. We want our patients to try the new procedures without having to go overseas,” Ms. Teo added.

Her quest for innovation led her to introduce state-of-the-art machines including a physician-assisted hair transplant robot. The clinic is also equipped with painless, non-invasive facelift and body-shaping machines. Recently, they acquired a hyperbaric oxygen chamber that speeds-up the physical recovery of patients.

At present, Ms. Teo balances her time overseeing the five Aivee clinics in the Philippines and one in Singapore. Her clinic employs over 20 doctors consisting of surgeons, dermatologists and other specialists; and over 250 other medical and administrative personnel.

Collectively, her clinics treat over 500 patients daily. She claims that her clientele expanded through word-of-mouth recommendations from her well-known clients or the Aivee Leaguers, as her company has never advertised their services.

She adds, “I can measure the level of our success in the trust that our patients place on our services. We knew our clinic made an impact. People were referring us to their friends and contacts. I was surprised that there was a very positive reception.”

Through Ms. Teo’s expertise, the Aivee group claims to have been recognized by Merz Aesthetics as the best Ultherapy provider in the Philippines for five consecutive years and Asia Pacific for the past two years.

Aside from her clinics, Ms. Teo intends to expand her business into other aspects of health and wellness, starting with nutrition. She has installed a café in every clinic, with a menu consisting of healthy food options and vegan drinks created by chefs and nutritionists. Additionally, the company piloted a prescription food service called “Dr Food” that aims to complement the clinical treatments of patients by providing healthy bespoke meals that will be delivered to them daily. To further improve her leadership and management skills, Ms. Teo enrolled in Harvard Business School’s specialized program for business owners.

Coming from a family of public servants, it was inherent in Ms. Teo to give back to the community. She started a program for indigent patients at the Las Piñas Doctors Hospital, where she would conduct free consultations every Monday, and provide free medication and hospitalization.

Today, her charity work extends to the Aivee group’s Beauty Beyond Borders (BBB) foundation. Ms. Teo founded BBB with the aim to build the confidence and change the lives of underprivileged people who need to undergo dermatological procedures. She and her team of medical professionals conduct quarterly skin medical missions to various barangays and treat approximately 300 to 500 patients. The medical team usually performs consultations, and on occasion conducts minor aesthetic and orthopedic surgeries and emergency procedures. The foundation also partners with other companies who donate medicine and food to their beneficiaries.

Ms. Teo’s commitment to improve the lives of her patients is what inspires her to conceptualize new services and treatments. She is driven to lead by example, because despite her hectic schedule as the company president, she still manages to be hands-on with her patients. And as a woman who has had to forge her own path in creating a unique wellness experience for her clientele, Ms. Teo tells would-be entrepreneurs that “To succeed do not measure yourself by other people’s standards, Run your own race.”

The official airline of the Entrepreneur of the Year Philippines 2019 is Philippine Airlines. Media sponsors are BusinessWorld and the ABS-CBN News Channel.

The winners of the Entrepreneur Of The Year Philippines 2019 will be announced on Oct. 15 in an awards banquet at the Makati Shangri-La hotel.

The Entrepreneur Of The Year Philippines will represent the country in the World Entrepreneur Of The Year 2020 in Monte Carlo, Monaco in June 2020. The Entrepreneur Of The Year program is produced globally by Ernst & Young.

Marriott International bullish on local growth

By Arra B. Francia, Senior Reporter

MARRIOTT INTERNATIONAL, Inc. is bullish on the Philippines’ tourism industry as it looks to have over 5,000 rooms in the country by 2024.

Marriott International Asia Pacific President and Managing Director Craig S. Smith said they recently signed 14 projects which are now under construction, in addition to its four operating properties in the country. This translates to about 3,700 rooms.

They expect to close six to seven more deals before the year ends, for a total of 24 to 25 hotel projects.

“We’ve seen tremendous growth in the Philippines, and this is happening because one, the economy is growing very well compared to the rest of the world and two, because of Chinese travelers increasing all over the Asia Pacific,” Mr. Smith said in a media roundtable in Pasay City on Tuesday.

Marriott International will pursue its expansion by partnering with hotel owners and developers for new hotels, as well as by converting existing buildings into one of its brands.

Some of its hotels in the pipeline include Courtyard by Marriott in Caticlan, which is in partnership with conglomerate San Miguel Corp. (SMC). The project will stand inside a integrated resort with a water park. To note, SMC operates the Caticlan Airport in Aklan.

The company will also open The Westin Manila Sonata Place in 2021, to be developed by Gokongwei-led Robinsons Land Corp. Element, another new brand for the country, is scheduled to open in Puerto Princesa, Palawan by 2024.

It has also partnered with Cebu-based property developer AppleOne, Inc. for a Sheraton hotel in Mactan.

For its conversion strategy, Marriott will oversee the renovation of the Maxims Hotel in Resorts World Manila into The Ritz-Carlton brand by 2021. This includes changing the hotel’s lobby area and the creation of a new executive lounge and fitness center.

It will likewise convert a property in Palawan to be branded as Four Points Palawan Sabang Beach in 2020. Its owners are investing $8 million for the renovation.

“Conversion is a great opportunity for us to grow at a much faster rate, rather than construction which could take at least five years. Conversion takes about 12 to 18 months,” Marriott International for the Asia Pacific excluding China Vice-President Victor Clavell said in the same briefing.

Mr. Smith noted that 30% of its growth in the Asia-Pacific region will be through conversions.

“That means that we are getting hotels into our system quicker, and we’re providing more jobs,” Mr. Smith said, adding that their expansion could generate between 7,000 to 10,000 jobs until 2024.

Marriott’s expansion in the country is in line with its overall strategy in the Asia Pacific, where it runs more than 750 hotels across 23 brands in 23 countries. The company targets to have 1,000 hotels in the region by 2020.

Jollibee closes CBTL deal

HOMEGROWN food giant Jollibee Foods Corp. (JFC) has completed its $350-million acquisition of The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf (CBTL), about two months after the deal was announced.

In a disclosure to the stock exchange Tuesday, JFC said it has completed all the necessary closing conditions for the deal, including the required government approvals stated in the purchase agreement.

The listed firm bought CBTL on a debt-free basis, which means that the latter will have no debt upon acquisition. JFC used its Java Ventures, LLC as the acquiring entity. This is a US-based unit of Singapore-based Super Magnificent Coffee Co. Pte. Ltd., which in turn is a subsidiary of Jollibee Worldwide Pte. Ltd. (JWPL).

JWPL has entered into bridge loans with several financial institutions to finance the acquisition.

CBTL marks JFC’s largest acquisition to date, with presence in 27 countries. The company ended Aug. 31 with 1,180 outlets, 336 of which are company-owned while 844 are franchised. It booked a net loss of $21.38 million in 2018, after revenues of $313 million.

The company will add 14% to JFC’s global system wide sales and 26% to its total store network. It also increases the international business’ contribution to 36% of worldwide sales.

CBTL will also be JFC’s largest business after the Jollibee brand. Including Highlands Coffee, the coffee business will account for 14% of JFC’s worldwide system sales.

“Combined with Highlands Coffee…this acquisition will enable JFC to become an important player in the large, fast growing, and profitable coffee business,” the company said.

Meanwhile, JFC’s worldwide network reached 4,663 stores by end-August, 3,226 of which are in the Philippines. This is under multiple brands such as Jollibee, Chowking, Greenwich, Red Ribbon, Mang Inasal, Burger King, and PHO24.

Shares in JFC slipped 0.09% or 20 centavos to close at P220 each at the stock exchange on Tuesday. — Arra B. Francia

CPG eyes P2B from preferred shares

CENTURY PROPERTIES Group, Inc. (CPG) looks to raise up to P2 billion from the issuance of preferred shares, it said on Tuesday.

The Antonio-led property developer said in a disclosure that its board of directors has approved the plan to offer 10 million preferred A shares with an oversubscription option of up to 10 million preferred shares at P100 each.

The issuance will come from the reclassification of three billion common shares with a par value of 53 centavos each to three billion preferred shares with a par value of 53 centavos apiece.

The share conversion was approved by its stockholders on Sept. 23. This will be subjected to further approval from the Securities and Exchange Commission. The company has already filed an application with the commission for clearance.

Preferred shares typically have no voting rights, but are prioritized in the distribution of cash dividends.

CPG earlier said that the reclassification of the common shares is part of a capital raising activity which should benefit the company since there will be no increase in its debt-to-equity ratio.

The plan to reclassify the company’s common shares into preferred shares dates back to May 2017, which also included the increase in the company’s authorized capital stock to P10.95 billion from P9.54 billion. This had already been approved by CPG’s shareholders.

CPG then revised the plan last August to no longer include the increase in authorized capital stock.

The company is spending P30 billion in capital expenditures over the next three years to expand its leasing assets, in-city residential towers, and affordable housing projects.

CPG’s net income grew 63% to P704.56 million in the first six months of 2019, following a 24% increase in gross revenues to P5.45 billion.

Shares in CPG ended flat at 56 centavos each at the stock exchange on Tuesday. — Arra B. Francia

Globe signs MoU for 150 cell sites in Luzon

GLOBE TELECOM, Inc. has signed its third deal for shareable towers. — REUTERS

GLOBE TELECOM, Inc. has signed its third agreement for shareable telecommunications towers with a wholly owned subsidiary of global infrastructure firm American Tower Corp. (ATC).

In a statement Tuesday, the Ayala-led telco said it inked a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with ATC’s Transcend Towers Infrastructure (Philippines), Inc. to build 150 cell sites in North Luzon.

This comes after the company signed a similar agreement with the joint venture of edotco Group Sdn Bhd and ISOC Infrastructure, Inc. in June for 150 towers in Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal and Quezon (Calabarzon); and with the tandem of Aboitiz InfraCapital, Inc. and Frontier Tower Associates Philippines for a yet-to-be-determined number of towers in July.

“There is a significant need to accelerate our infrastructure build for our customers to fully enjoy the benefit of a digital lifestyle,” Globe Chief Finance Officer Rizza Maniego-Eala was quoted in the statement as saying.

The government is pushing for network operators such as Globe, Smart Communications, Inc. and new industry player Dito Telecommunity Corp. to tap independent tower providers for their telco infrastructure needs.

As opposed to the current practice of operators where they build towers only they can use, building common towers will allow cell sites to be shared by more than one tenant.

The Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) earlier said it wants 50,000 common towers to be built in the next seven to 10 years in order for the country to catch up with the tower density in neighboring countries like Vietnam.

It said every tower in the country caters to more than 7,000 subscribers, against the ideal 1,000 subscribers per tower, and the usual 2,000 subscribers per tower in countries with faster internet.

Tapping independent tower providers is expected to speed up the rollout of cell sites across the country as the DICT committed to support these providers in securing regulatory permits from the national and local government.

The bureaucratic process in obtaining these permits — which reaches about 25 separate documents to put up one tower — is what network operators blame to be the cause of delay in tower rollout.

Globe also said previously that partnering with independent tower providers will help it save some of its capital expenditures, which may be invested in building active telecommunications infrastructure instead.

Shares in Globe went down P58 or 3.08% to P1,826 apiece on Tuesday. — Denise A. Valdez

Samsonite Philippines targets to grow market

LUGGAGE BRAND Samsonite Philippines plans to double its market in the next three years as more Filipinos travel, according to Samsonite Philippines Country Manager Michael C. Corpuz.

During a roundtable discussion on Tuesday, Mr. Corpuz said more fashion-conscious Filipinos are attracted to the brand.

“The Philippine market has been found to be a very fashionable market. The luggage and bags allow them to support whatever they want so much so that when you change clothes we have bags to match it,” Mr. Corpuz said.

“[Mr. Corpuz] is carrying huge growth targets because Philippines is one market which has a population base which is growing, which is fashion conscious, and which is also exposed to life outside Philippines — those are the opportunities for us,” Samsonite Asia Pacific and Middle East President Subrata Dutta said.

He said the Philippine market’s growth has been close to 20% in the past year.

“I think the opportunities in the Philippine market has been identified and established. We share the same aspirations [with Mr. Dutta] of being able to double the market in three years,” Mr. Corpuz said.

Mr. Dutta said this is a commitment to continuous growth.

“That’s a big number we’re almost married to. For a country of Philippines’ stature and size and capability, turnover has to double every three years, and therefore every year it has to grow by 26%,” he said.

To achieve this target, they plan to use their multi-brand strategy within Samsonite to target various demographics and respond to the growth in the Philippine travel market.

“Fortunately, Samsonite has responded quite well to that. We cater to different market segments. The changes of the market, Samsonite has been able to adapt to that,” Mr. Corpuz said.

Samsonite International S.A. has eleven brands, including American Tourister, High Sierra, Kamiliant, and Lipault. — Jenina P. Ibañez

MPTC takes full control of MUN

METRO PACIFIC Tollways Corp. (MPTC) has taken full control of Indonesian infrastructure firm PT Margautama Nusantara (MUN) as it seeks to further expand its toll road business outside the Philippines.

Metro Pacific Investments Corp. (MPIC) told the stock exchange yesterday its tollways unit MPTC — through Singaporean subsidiary Metro Pacific Tollways Asia Corp. Pte. Ltd. (MPT Asia) — bought 100% equity interest in CIIF Infrastructure Holdings Sdn Bhd (CIIF) and CAIF III Infrastructure Holdings Sdn Bhd (CAIF III) in MUN.

MPTC acquired an aggregate 24.98% interest in MUN: 20% from CIIF and 4.98% from CAIF III. It bought a total of 2,124,841 shares from the two companies for $67 million (approximately P3.44 billion), which will be fully paid upon closing of the transaction.

The transaction gives MPTC 100% total equity interest in MUN, as the remaining 74.98% of the company is owned by PT Nusantara Infrastructure Tbk, which MPTC controls through its wholly owned Indonesian subsidiary PT Metro Pacific Tollways Indonesia (PT MPTI).

Late last year, PT MPTI raised its stake in PT Nusantara to 75.89% after increasing it earlier in 2018 to 53.26%, which gave the company control of the Indonesian firm.

MPIC said the recent transaction giving MPTC 100% control of MUN “is expected to enhance (its) profitability and strengthen (its) balance sheet.” MUN is a private Indonesian firm in the business of building and operating toll roads, with four expressways currently in its portfolio.

Aside from its growing presence in Indonesia, MPTC has footprint in Thailand through a 29.45% stake in Don Muang Tollway Public Co. Ltd. and in Vietnam through a 44.9% stake in CII Bridges and Roads.

Locally, the company operates some of the biggest toll ways in and out of Metro Manila, such as North Luzon Expressway (NLEx), Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway and Manila-Cavite Expressway.

It is also building the Cavite-Laguna Expressway, the Cebu-Cordova Link Expressway and the NLEx-South Luzon Expressway Connector Road.

MPIC is one of three key Philippine units of First Pacific, the others being Philex Mining Corp. and PLDT, Inc. Hastings Holdings, Inc., a unit of PLDT Beneficial Trust Fund subsidiary MediaQuest Holdings, Inc., has a majority stake in BusinessWorld through the Philippine Star Group, which it controls. — Denise A. Valdez

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