FOR something completely different, there is a concert. Children can come in costumes inspired by their favorite book characters, and enjoy an afternoon at the Tricks and Musical Treats: A PPO Family Concert, on Oct. 28, 3 p.m., at the Cultural Center of the Philippines’ Main Theater. Now on its fourth year, Tricks and Musical Treats will take its audience to a “Journey to the Kingdom of Books,” featuring an afternoon concert with the Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra, under the baton of Herminigildo Ranera. The orchestra will perform a selection of popular classical masterpieces made for children’s ears including Mozart’s Eine Kleine Nachtmusik (Third Movement), Brahm’s Hungarian Dances 5 and 6, Chabrier’s Spanish Rhapsody and other surprise numbers. One of the highlights will be the Sergei Prokofiev’s Peter and the Wolf, a “symphonic fairy tale for children” where the narrator tells a children’s story, while the orchestra illustrates it with different instruments, representing characters in the story. Pre-concert activities will include the musical instruments petting zoo at the Little Theater lobby with a mini-tutorial from members of PPO. There will also be storytelling sessions as well as Trick or Treats at the Main Theater lobby. Tickets are priced at P500, with 50% discount for students and children below 13 years old. For tickets and other inquiries, call the CCP Box Office at 832-3704 or visit www.culturalcenter.gov.ph.
K-POP boy band BTS has climbed to the top of US Billboard charts, appeared on the Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon and is in the middle of a sellout world tour that’s taking them through 12 countries, including the US and England.
But while the energetic dance group may be riding high, other K-pop stars are finding it harder to reach global stardom in a crowded field. Shares of JYP Entertainment Corp., the agency behind girl group “Twice,” slid a record 20% in Seoul Wednesday after an analyst said the company is likely to miss earnings estimates. That spurred declines in other agencies too.
“The downgrade in the analyst’s estimates is sparking a sell-off by investors who want to profit take,” said Lee Seung Hoon, head of equities at DB Asset Management in Seoul. “The sector was the only one in Korea’s stock market that rallied despite the recent rout.”
The $4.7 billion K-pop industry is one of South Korea’s largest cultural exports, and the talent agencies were among the best stock performers in Asia this year. Their gains came crashing down on Wednesday, after Hana Financial Investment Co. analyst Kihoon Lee said new bands may not be as successful as recent groups.
Lee lowered his third-quarter operating profit estimate for JYP, which was worth more than $1 billion in market value yesterday, by 20% from his previous estimate, citing an increase in production costs and smaller-than-expected revenue from fan-meeting events.
YG Entertainment, Inc., manager of girl group “Black Pink,” fell as much as 12%, while SM Entertainment Co. dropped as much as 15%. The declines were the worst for the stocks since at least 2012. BTS is represented by privately-held Big Hit Entertainment Co. — Bloomberg
LAZADA PHILIPPINES will sell the new iPhones and Apple Watch on its website and app, offering same-day delivery for orders made on the Oct. 26 launch date.
In a statement, Lazada said customers can be among the first to get Apple’s latest offerings as it launches at 12 a.m. this Friday the iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max, and the Apple Watch Series 4.
The e-commerce website is offering free Express Delivery to selected areas, promising arrival within four hours of the transaction for orders made from 12 a.m. to 2 a.m. on Oct. 26. It will also offer free nationwide shipping to customers, excluding out of delivery areas.
Lazada is also giving free Apple AirPods worth P8,990 to the first 100 customers who will avail of the iPhone XS 256GB/512GB and iPhone XS Max 256GB/512GB.
Payment options are credit or debit cards, BDO credit card installment, cash on delivery, Paypal, Lazada Wallet and GCash.
According to Apple’s website, the iPhone XS is priced at P67,990 for the 64GB model, P77,490 for 256GB, and P90,490 for 512GB.
Meanwhile, the iPhone XS Max sells for P74,990 for the 64GB unit, P84,490 for 256GB, and P97,490 for the 512GB model.
As for the Apple Watch Series 4, prices start at P24,990. Customers can choose the size of the watch face, as well as the case’s finish and the watch band.
Lazada is an authorized reseller for Apple products, meaning anything bought from its official store on LazMall will come with a one-year official Apple warranty.
WHAT would Halloween be without a scary cupcake or a punkin flavored pie? Here are some of the themed sweet treats one can find around town. Okada Manila has Halloween-themed desserts available at the Lobby Lounge in the Pearl Wing Lobby and the Medley Buffet by the Retail Boulevard, Pearl Wing. These include White Chocolate Cake with Banana and Caramel Ghost and Pumpkin Cheesecake with Pandan and Mango Opera, Chocolate Mud Cake with Rainforest Worms and Creepy Chocolate Mousse with Almond Fingers.
Make your way down to The Peninsula Boutique this October and choose from an assortment of spook-tacular treats by executive pastry chef Xavier Castello. A selection of hauntingly sweet Halloween confections are on offer, from Caramel Pecan Tart to a Double Chocolate Cupcake to a decadent Roasted Pumpkin Cheesecake, and Sweet Corn and White Chocolate Pralines. For inquiries contact 887-2888 or e-mail diningpmn@peninsula.com.
For Halloween, the Andrew Café has more treats than tricks for dessert lovers as it introduces its the Devilish Red Velvet Cake. This Halloween-inspired confection features layers of layers of cocoa-flavored red velvet with cream cheese frosting, decorated with a web of white chocolate topped with fondant spiders. Andrew Café is located at the De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde Taft Campus, corner of Estrada and Leon Guinto Sts, Malate, Manila. It is open Mondays to Fridays from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. and on Saturdays from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m.
By Victor V. Saulon, Sub-editor
ABB, INC. is looking to partner with energy developers in remote areas to provide its technology in the operation of microgrids, an official of the company said.
“There are several companies now looking into the SPUG (small power utilities group) islands. We’re working through them not specifically doing parallel developments. We’re working with this existing network and supply them with technology,” Rucelino R. Musong, the country business development and channel partner manager of ABB, said in an interview.
The local unit of Swedish-Swiss multinational corporation ABB Group has found a business potential in micgrogrids, which recently gained the interest of electric cooperatives and private businesses in view of the government’s drive towards total electrification by 2022.
“We’re looking into several projects right now. We’re exploring at this point,” Mr. Muson said.
He said the projects are in remote areas, or what the National Power Corp. calls SPUG areas. These are mostly islands that are not connected to the national grid — or the interconnected system of transmission lines, towers, substations and related assets.
“We could not disclose yet the specific projects but usually they’re located in remote areas, fishing villages,” he said. “We do have some in the Visayas and also in Mindanao — projects that we are looking into.”
The move towards microgrids is an expansion for ABB, which considers privately owned National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) as its biggest market in the country.
“ABB is traditionally more on the grid side. We’re only slowly venturing into the residential side, commercial side,” he said. “[NGCP is] our biggest customer I think for this year — about 40% of ABB [total revenue] right now are projects from NGCP.”
Mr. Musong describes ABB in the Philippines as more of a technology supplier and an integrator of different systems.
“We integrate different sources of power, so you have wind, solar, diesel or whatever. We put in the control systems to choose which is the cheapest power that you could use to supply to your load. That’s basically the microgrid system,” he said.
Mr. Musong said a “notable” project of ABB is the installation of energy storage systems that connect to the grid and control the fluctuations in power supply because of the entry of renewable energy sources, many of which are intermittent.
“We have this problem with the grid with the increase of renewable energy. There’s a fluctuation, sometimes there’s no power from these sources so you need the batteries to maintain the frequency of the grid,” he said.
ABB works with local partners, some of them start-up companies, that provide ancillary services. These services are offered by power generators to help ensure the stability of the grid by reserving and allocating generating capacity that can be quickly dispatched by NGCP during imbalances in the power system. These imbalances happen when some power plants trip or when capacity is deficient in some areas.
“Some of them (local partners) are already in the power generation side but are also venturing into this new niche market, which is the ancillary services market,” Mr. Musong said.
“It’s like a big UPS (uninterruptible power supply). If one source goes down then this battery kicks in to continue maintaining the frequency of the grid,” he said.
ABB’s “open” technology allows its components to be connected to other brands, making it a good fit for systems built by different providers.
“The thing about our technology is it’s agnostic. So it’s open protocol,” he said. “You’re not tied up with a brand or whatever. As long as you see the value of using our technology, then it’s fine.”
SLF MANAGEMENT Management Systems Inc. and Advanced World Solutions Inc. have launched their first local mobile app that provides a staffing solution for the health care sector.
In a statement, the companies said BackApp connects health care facilities, home-based patients, and staffing agencies that need nurses and caregivers.
BackApp, which was already launched for nursing home facilities in New York City in 2017, provides three types of services: Long-Term Care, which can be used by affiliated staffing agencies; Acute Care, for use by hospital-based nurse managers looking for last-minute staff replacements; and Homecare, which gives users access to private nurses and caregivers for home-based patients.
BackApp targets to be a one-stop mobile marketplace for facilities’ staffing needs and home-based patients looking for reliable services.
“Specifically, the Homecare BackApp aims to keep the Filipino family together by eliminating the need to send your sick family member to the hospital or nursing home. This ultimately reduces hospitalization costs, thus lessening the financial burden on the family,” SLF Management System President and CEO Sally Nuñez was quoted as saying in the statement.
Under the app, all registered nurses and caregivers will receive an alert for urgent requests.
The firm said through the app, it aims to tap the at least 23,800 health care workers deployed across the Philippines, of which 17,538 are nurses, and give them more job opportunities with “competitive compensation.”
All BackApp products run on Android 4.4 (KitKat) and up and on iOS 10 and up. The app also has a back-office system that allows case managers and administrative staff to monitor each nurse or caregiver on duty. Health professionals hired through the mobile app are matched by a case manager and under close monitoring by a patient’s attending physician.
“We are striving towards continuity of care, and in few years’ time, we aspire to bring the Next Generation Electronic Health Record platforms that will cater to all types of health care facilities…by linking fragmented systems of different health care providers and the families and communities they serve,” Advanced World Solutions Software Developer Bryan Bautista said in the statement.
“We will leverage our US presence, know-how, and experience to bring an outstanding level of quality healthcare and innovation in the Philippines,” he said.
SLF Management Systems is a software development and consulting company with a team of healthcare practitioners and IT experts to implement and manage clinical apps.
Meanwhile, Japan-based Advanced World Solutions is a software development solutions and services firm with more than 25 years in the business, operating in the Philippines, Japan, China, and the US.
By Melissa Luz T. Lopez, Senior Reporter
YIELDS FETCHED for term deposits saw mixed movements this week amid cooling demand, with banks still choosing shorter lock-in periods for their excess funds under the central bank.
Bids for the term deposit facility (TDF) amounted to P100.813 billion on Wednesday, down from the P119.08 billion in tenders received last week but still more than the P90 billion which the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) placed on the auction block.
Both the one-week and two-week tenors stood oversubscribed for the fourth straight week, although the month-long papers settled below offer just as the central bank raised the auction amount. This resulted in lower average rates for the shorter maturities and a peak for the one-month notes.
Demand for the seven-day instruments slipped to P53.642 billion from the P66.002 billion received a week ago. Still, it settled above the BSP’s P50-billion offering.
Banks grew a little sober with the returns they wanted for the TDF placements, with the average sliding to 4.7196% from 4.7207% last week.
The same trend was observed under the 14-day deposits, with bids easing to P28.506 billion from P31.273 billion last week, although still well above the P20 billion which the central bank wanted to sell.
The overwhelming demand pulled the average yield down to 4.7553%, coming from 4.765% seen during the Oct. 17 exercise.
In contrast, the 28-day tenor was met by even weaker appetite as it shored up only P18.665 billion tenders, lower than the upward-revised P20-billion offer. Bids eased from the P21.805 billion in tenders received a week ago.
In turn, rates fetched for these longer placements inched up to 4.8493%, higher than the previous week’s 4.8362% average.
Since June 2016, the TDF has been the central bank’s main tool to capture excess money supply and influence short-term rates in the financial system.
The weekly auctions are meant to bring market and interbank rates to within the BSP’s desired range by setting the standard for short-term instruments using the margins that they pay to banks for these placements. Higher TDF placements prod banks to also raise interest rate margins for their products.
Benchmark rates currently range from 4-5% following another rate hike worth 50 basis points (bp) announced by the BSP last month.
Policy rates have gone up by 150 bps since May as the central bank sought to rein in inflation expectations and also boost the peso, which has been depreciating versus the dollar in recent months.
MAX’S Kabisera at Bonifacio High Street
MAX’S GROUP Inc., opens its 196th location with a new concept that targets a market not “typical of a Max’s restaurant,” by combining the casual dining experience with a family restaurant concept the group is known for, according to a company executive.
Max’s Kabisera, formerly Kabisera ng Dencio’s (which then changed to simply, Kabisera), was a well-known dining option in Bonifacio Global City (BGC) among those who looking for bar chow and good beer in what was an upscale version of one of the Max’s Group brands, Dencio’s.
“We felt there was more potential [having] the Max’s brand merging with Kabisera. Kabisera stood well on its own for quite some time — it managed to build its own base and it’s a customer base that wasn’t directly [the customer base] of a typical Max’s restaurant,” Jim T. Fuentebella, chief marketing officer of Max’s Group Inc., told BusinessWorld during the launch Oct. 18.
“By combining what’s good about each [Max’s and Kabisera], then I think we’ll have a more unique corner here in High Street,” he added.
Mr. Fuentebella said the group decided not to change much of the store’s wood and industrial interior but incorporated more greenery and brighter lights to make it look more inviting.
“We value the importance of a high street in a community like Bonifacio [Global City] where the chain stores aren’t what is usually experienced,” he explained, before adding that they didn’t want to “come in heavy-handed in a high street location” where “[existing] Kabisera customers will not be put off by the Max’s brand coming in like that.”
And much of what Kabisera is known for — like its street food (kikiam, chicken balls, fish balls, etc.) and its Adobo Back Ribs, Pugon Lechon Belly, and a full bar — are still on the menu, with the addition of Max’s signature dishes including the fried chicken, crispy pata, and kare-kare.
“We wanted to provide those in BGC with a place that would give them that familiar warmth of Max’s but set in a way that caters more to their lifestyle and taste as we combine it with elements of Kabisera’s elevated and thoughtful aesthetic,” Paolo S. Serrano, national business unit head of Max’s Restaurant, said in a press release.
“It’s [an] execution of how we are able to present Max’s as a brand that is relevant to the community it’s in,” he added.
With this new concept of combining family dining with a casual bar setup, the company has hinted that if it goes well, it might bring the Max’s Kabisera concept to other locations.
“Previously, it was just an idea of combining the two concepts but now that it has come to life and people are actually accepting it, who knows?” Mr. Serrano told BusinessWorld.
Alternatively, Mr. Fuentebella said that if Kabisera’s menu of street food and other local dishes (“with a twist,” said the release) proves to be successful, he might introduce the same items in other Max’s brands.
Mr. Serrano said that in the near-term, the group plans to focus on expanding the franchise network in order to open more stores. As of the second quarter, 32% of the brand’s branches are franchise-owned, something they hope to increase “if their (franchisees’) appetite is as big as ours,” he said.
Max’s Kabisera is located at 7th Ave., Bonifacio High Street, Bonifacio Global City, Taguig. — Zsarlene B. Chua
THE Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is working on fully automating its company registration system (CRS) within the next two months, among other initiatives to promote the ease of doing business in the country.
SEC Chairperson Emilio B. Aquino said they are optimistic the commission’s CRS could be fully automated within a month or two, noting that they are currently using a hybrid manual system to fast-track company registrations.
“I think, the first thing we need to address is the CRS. We’re pushing for the ease of doing business. In a month or two hopefully clean slate na, full swing na tayo on our online system,” Mr. Aquino told reporters on the sidelines of the SEC-Philippine Stock Exchange Corporate Governance Forum at the Philippine International Convention Center on Tuesday.
“We’re investing heavily on online and automation for inclusive growth,” Mr. Aquino added.
The online CRS will include the “full automation and online pre-processing of corporations and partnerships, licensing of foreign corporations, amendments of the articles of incorporation and other corporate applications requiring SEC approval,” according to the SEC’s website.
Entities applying for registration may also verify their company name online, submit documents for internal processing or evaluation, assess and pay the necessary fees online, among others.
The online CRS was launched in 2017 but has since been met with technical challenges such as problems in filling up of corporate information, unstable internet connectivity, and storage and other system readjustments. The SEC then established the Facilitating Automated System Transition (FAST) lane in several satellite offices to address concerns.
Mr. Aquino said they will also be coming out with the Company Investment and Financial Statistics system in the next 18 months.
“That will help in terms of data analytics. From the old database we will be able to migrate it under this new system. Mapapadali lalo ang pagkuha ng data (It will be easier to get data),” Mr. Aquino explained.
After this, the commission will aim to release the extensible business reporting language, a type of computer language used for the electronic transmission of business and financial data.
“We can come up with data coming from a company very quick, compare it with another company or with the industry. Or industry to industry (comparison),” Mr. Aquino said.
The SEC’s commitment to automate its processes forms part of the Ease of Doing Business law signed by President Rodrigo R. Duterte. This will require all government agencies to reduce the processing time for business permits and official documents.
The law is expected to improve the Philippines’ ranking in the World Bank’s Doing Business report. The Philippines landed on the 113th spot among 190 economies in the 2018 version of the annual report, dropping from its 99th rank in 2017. — Arra B. Francia
SECURITY BANK Corp. will launch a remittance service for Japan OFWs.
SECURITY BANK Corp. is set to launch a remittance service in partnership with a financial technology firm for overseas Filipino workers (OFW) in Japan.
In a statement on Wednesday, Security Bank said its partnership with licensed remittance company PisoPay.com will allow fund transfers from Japan to be remitted directly to Security Bank, which can be transferred to any BancNet or Instapay member institutions.
The partnership allows overseas Filipinos in Japan to remit money through remittance centers or online via PisoPay’s application.
Security Bank will receive the funds, which can be disbursed though BancNet or Instapay, an automated clearing house under the National Retail Payment System.
Remittances can also be received through eGiveCash, Security Bank’s own interbank fund transfer facility, and will then be sent to the accounts of participating banks and non-banks.
“Thousands of OFWs residing in Japan regularly send money to the Philippines to support their families. We want to be able to provide a channel that is guaranteed safe, quick and cost-effective,” Security Bank Executive Vice President and Transaction Banking Group Head Daniel U. Yu was quoted as saying in the statement.
“Through the partnership with PisoPay, OFWs can efficiently send money to their families while their families can easily pay bills through [interbank fund transfer], which reduces time spent from hours or days to just minutes.”
Remittances may also be withdrawn at any Security Bank automated teller machines (ATM) nationwide through the eGiveCash service.
Both the sender and the receiver will be notified regarding the transaction through a text message. The receiver can withdraw the money by keying in the passcode in the ATM.
Money sent home by Filipinos abroad reached $2.476 billion in August, 0.9% less than the $.499 billion wired to the Philippines a year ago, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas said last week.
Filipinos in Japan were the fifth-largest source of inflows as of August, behind OFWs in the United States, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates and Singapore.
Security Bank booked a net income of P4.3 billion in the first semester, down by 18% from a year ago primarily due to a continued decline in trading gains.
Security Bank shares stood at P145 apiece on Wednesday, down 4.35% or P6.60. — K.A.N. Vidal
SAN FRANCISCO — Microchip firm Qualcomm Inc. is joining Amazon.com Inc. to spread the use of Amazon’s Alexa voice assistant in wireless headphones, the companies said on Monday.
Under the deal, Qualcomm will release a set of chips that any maker of Bluetooth headphones can use to embed Alexa directly into the device. When the headphones are paired to a phone with the Alexa app on it, users will be able to talk to the voice assistant by tapping a button on the headphones.
The functionality would be similar to Apple Inc.’s AirPods wireless earbuds, which enable users can tap the devices to talk to Apple’s virtual assistant, Siri.
Amazon and Alphabet Inc.’s Google, whose voice assistants have most often been found in their respective smart speakers for the home, are rushing to partner with headphone makers.
Models from Bose Corp. and Jabra feature Alexa built in, and Sony Corp. said earlier this year that a software update will make some of its headphone models work with Alexa. Google Assistant can be used on headphones from Bose, JBL, and Sony, along with Google’s own Pixel Buds.
The Qualcomm partnership could expand that lineup. Qualcomm has developed a pre-made circuit that headphone makers can drop into their device to imbue it with Alexa.
“This radically reduces their [engineering] cost and time to market,” Anthony Murray, senior vice president and general manager of voice and music for Qualcomm, told Reuters in an interview. “It makes it simple for the industry to adopt this.”
Murray declined to comment on whether Qualcomm would make a similar offering for Google Assistant but said the chip firm plans to support other partners in the future.
The move is part of a broader push by Qualcomm to diversify away from its dependence on processor and modem chips for mobile phones. That business proved lucrative for Qualcomm, but its patent licensing model drew regulatory fines and lawsuits from customers such as Apple.
At a conference in Hong Kong, Qualcomm also said it is working with action camera maker GoPro Inc. to put more Qualcomm chips for image processing in the devices. The firm has said it expects about $5 billion in revenue from non-mobile sources this year, or more than 20% of the $22.4 billion in sales that analysts expect. — Reuters
PXP ENERGY Corp. reported a net loss of P31.4 million in nine months to September this year, 37% bigger than year-ago’s P23 million consolidated losses attributable to equity holders of the parent firm as revenues lagged behind the cost and expenses during the period.
In a disclosure to the stock exchange, the upstream oil and gas exploration company said its reported consolidated net loss reached P49.1 million, up 43% from P34.3 million a year ago “due to higher depletion cost and decommissioning, other charge of P11.9 million, and a provision for income tax of P1.6 million.”
The losses were offset by a foreign exchange gain of P30 million during the period, the company added.
PXP Energy directly and indirectly owns oil and gas exploration and production assets located in the Philippines, and indirectly owns an exploration asset located in offshore Peru.
Consolidated petroleum revenues reached P106.1 million, higher by 38.3% from P76.7 million a year ago “resulting from the 38% improvement in crude oil price and the 1% increase in volume,” the company said.
However, consolidated cost and expenses grew by 43.6% to P173.7 million from P121 million because of the higher depletion cost in Galoc and the decommissioning of Tara and Libro wells in Service Contract (SC) 14, the company said, referring to the areas where it has an agreement with the government to explore.
On Wednesday, shares in the company rose 1.11% to close at P16.40 each.
Among the highlights during the nine-month period is the farming-in agreement between Karoon Gas Australia Ltd. of a 35% interest in offshore exploration Block Z-38, Tumbes Basin Peru, to Tullow Peru Ltd., a wholly owned subsidiary of Tullow Oil plc.
Pitkin Petroleum Peru Z-38 SRL, a wholly owned subsidiary of Pitkin Petroleum Ltd. (PPL), holds a 25% participating interest in Peru Block Z-38. PXP Energy holds a 53.43% interest in PPL. KEI (Peru Z38) Pty Ltd., Sucursal del Peru holds a 40% interest in the offshore exploration joint venture.
Under the agreement, Tullow will acquire a 35% interest in the block by funding 43.75% of the cost of the first exploration well, which was capped at $27.5 million.
Tullow is also to pay $2 million upon completion with a further $7 million payable upon declaration of commercial discovery and submission of a development plan to Perupetro.
The agreement remains subject to licensing conditions and regulatory approvals.
In September, PXP Energy said an exploration block in Peru in which subsidiary PPL has participating interest had been removed from its force majeure status after recent changes in the hydrocarbon law in the foreign country.
It said Karoon, an international oil and gas exploration company with projects in Australia, Brazil and Peru, had been actively working with the Peruvian authorities and considers the changes as a step forward for exploration in Peru.
In the Philippines, PXP Energy said it would take guidance from the government on the future activity in SC 72 and SC 75 through Forum Energy Ltd., a 78.98% owned subsidiary.
The company said it is mindful that the Malampaya gas resource, which supplies about 40% of Luzon’s power requirements, could be exhausted within the next decade, thus the resumption of exploration in SC 72 is of national interest.
PXP Energy is hopeful that the force majeure imposed on SC 72 and SC 75 would be lifted by the Department of Energy soon for the company to be able to resume exploration works in the two service contracts. — Victor V. Saulon
