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Iloilo City eyes investments, trade links with Quanzhou after international expo participation

ILOILO CITY — Officials from Quanzhou, a major port city in China’s Fujian province, are returning to Iloilo City with potential investors and to discuss possible direct trade links between the two cities.

This comes after the participation of Iloilo as the sole Philippine representative at the 5th Quanzhou Maritime Silk Road International Brand Expo last April 18-21.

“They will be coming in to bring possible investors here in the city,” said Mayor Jose S. Espinosa III, who led the delegation composed of representatives from the Department of Trade and Industry, Filipino-Chinese Chamber of Commerce Panay, Inc., Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry-Iloilo, and the Iloilo provincial government.

Iloilo had five booths at the expo promoting local food such as butterscotch and Balai Tablea goods; hablon (local weaving) collection of Jackie Peñalosa, Balai Hablon of Girlie Flores, collection of Hector Gellangarin; and products of the Women United Through Handcrafted Lace and Embroidery.

The Iloilo business sector was personally invited to participate in the event by officials of the Quanzhou Municipal People’s Government during a visit in 2018.

Mr. Espinosa said the city is now looking at China as a top market for local products as well as source of materials, and they aim to achieve this by forging closer bilateral ties with Quanzou.

“Once we tie up, it can lower down the prices of products from China, especially textiles. It will be a really big help on the purchasing power of Ilonggos,” he said.

The international expo was participated in by around 300 exhibitors from over 40 countries and regions, with more than 20,000 professional buyers in attendance. — Emme Rose S. Santiagudo

Farm tourism gaining ground in PHL

LEAN S. DAVAL JR

THE PHILIPPINES’ farm tourism sites have helped boost the country’s tourism potential, as total foreign visitor arrivals attributed to agri-tourism grew by 10.24% in January to May last year.

“Farm tourism sites have boosted Philippines’ tourism potential as the country is now a top agri-tourism destination with foreign visitor arrivals growing by 10.24%,” Rose H. Libongco of the Hotel Sales and Marketing Association International (HSMA) was quoted as saying in a statement.

She said this during a Global Farm Tourism Summits co-hosted by Southeast Asian Regional Center for graduate Study & Research in Agriculture (SEARCA)

“As of January to May 2018, foreign visitor arrivals totaled 3.177 million, a 10.24% growth from the same period in 2017,” it was noted in the statement.

Broken down, 22.2% of tourists come from Korea; 8.68% from Japan; 3.79% from Canada; 3.19% from Taiwan; 2.83% from United Kingdom; 2.39% from Singapore; and 1.92% from Malaysia.

Other countries considered to be top agri-tourism destinations are Taiwan, Hawaii, Tuscany, Grenada, Mallorca, California, and Brazil.

Ms. Libongco said the country is a good agri-tourism destination because of its natural resources and biodiversity; how the country’s farming history is reflected in its folk songs; and Filipinos’ natural hospitality and openness to welcoming visitors.

Some of the top farm tourism destinations are organic farms, nature-friendly farms, and health and wellness farms.

In order to further promote farm tourism sites, she encouraged farm owners to develop websites. “Online availability is important in this social media era. People will find you first online. Online websites establish your credibility as a business,” she noted.

Several local government units have started promoting local tourism, which has greatly fueled local job creation. For one, La Union Governor Francisco Emmanuel Pacoy R. Ortega III said during the event that the province saw a 25% growth in tourist arrivals in 2018 as it is known to be the country’s surfing capital.

There are 23 farm tourism sites in La Union with average income of P25,000 to P60,000 per month. The province’s tourism gives jobs to 100 locals and 50 household members.

To further develop this, the La Union Investment Program has a P25.2 billion budget from 2018 to 2022, which extends help to small and medium enterprises through providing equipment and machinery, post-harvest facilities, and organic farming and construction of roads and other infrastructures. — V.M.P. Galang

Ayala to form $150M venture capital fund

By Arra B. Francia, Senior Reporter

AYALA Corp. (AC) is raising $150 million from its business units to put up a venture capital fund that will allow it to invest in startups across various industries at home and abroad.

“We formulated a plan to establish a group-wide corporate venture capital entity where we are trying to raise $150 million of new money from within Ayala Corp. and its business units supported by the CEOs and by the board of the different units,” AC Chief Financial Officer Jose Teodoro K. Limcaoco said in a media briefing after the company’s annual shareholders’ meeting in Makati on Friday.

Mr. Limcaoco said they hope to raise the amount by the middle of the year, which will then be invested to startups within the next five years.

The listed conglomerate will look for startups in the early growth stage in the areas of data and analytics, machine learning, artificial intelligence, cloud computing, financial technology, automation, real estate, retail, transport, energy, water, health and wellness, and food.

The fund will be jointly managed by AC Ventures Holdings Corp. and Kickstart Ventures, Inc., a subsidiary of AC’s telecommunications arm Globe Telecom, Inc. Kickstart has invested in 39 digital startups in seven countries since it was established in 2012.

Kickstart President Minette Navarette said they plan to issue check sizes anywhere from $2-10 million, in exchange for an equity investment in the startup.

Prior to this fund, Mr. Limcaoco said AC has already poured in $250 million worth of investments in different industries.

AC Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Jaime Augusto Zobel de Ayala noted that the fund is the largest of its kind in the Philippines to date, as well as the first conglomerate-wide strategic venture capital fund.

The aggressive venture capital spending forms part of the group’s digitization efforts, which also includes transforming existing businesses, new business models and opportunities, leveraging data and analytics, and empowering talent.

“We spend significant time studying other markets that are in the advanced stages of digital maturity and we have teams constantly looking at emerging trends and technologies,” Mr. Zobel said.

“Absorbing and learning from these experiences, we have become more deliberate in our own digital transformation journey and have elevated it into a group-wide strategic agenda,” he added.

The AC chairman cited how their business units have grown to become significant players in their respective fields. For instance, GCash and the Bank of Philippine Islands (BPI) are among the top financial service providers in the digital space.

Mr. Zobel said GCash has about 20 million users to-date, with 35 GCash-enabled sites by the end of 2018. Meanwhile, BPI’s mobile app is the most downloaded mobile app in the Apple App store with 1.6 million downloads, with total active users rising by 16.3% in 2018.

AC’s net income grew by five percent to P31.8 billion in 2018, after consolidated revenues also went up 13% to P274.88 billion.

Shares in AC jumped 1.13% or P10 to close at P895 each at the stock exchange on Friday.

AVID sales grow by 8% in March

THE Association of Vehicle Importers and Distributors, Inc. (AVID) reported sales rose 8% in March, signaling a “modest recovery” after the decline recorded in the first two months of the year.

In a statement, AVID said sales stood at 7,952 units in March, rising 8% compared to the 7,380 units sold during the same month last year.

The month’s performance was driven by the light commercial vehicles (LCV) segment which grew 21% year-on-year to 4,998 units.

The passenger cars (PC) segment declined 9% to 2,831 units in March while the commercial vehicles (CV) sector, sales slipped by 2% to 123 units.

Despite the March performance, sales slipped 3% to 22,497 units during the first quarter from the 23,038 units sold a year ago.

Sales of passenger cars fell 13% to 7,993 units in the January to March period. Hyundai Asia Resources, Inc. (HARI), the official distributor of Hyundai vehicles in the Philippines, accounted for the lion’s share at 67.61% or 5,404 units.

CV sales dipped 1% to 336 in the first quarter, with HARI contributing 71.13% or 239 units.

The LCV segment was the bright spot, with sales increasing by 4% to 14,168 units in the first three months of the year from 13,570 units last year. Ford Group Philippines, Inc. accounted for the bulk of LCV sales with 5,456 units.

“AVID’s first quarter 2019 performance indicates that the automotive industry has turned the corner and is now experiencing modest recovery,” AVID President Ma. Fe Perez-Agudo was quoted in the statement as saying.

“We expect a further upturn in the next three quarters on the back of improved consumer sentiment, the introduction of exciting and innovative vehicles, and the government’s aggressive infrastructure program…. If positive economic fundamentals, including low inflation and rising living standards, are sustained, we can expect a renewed boost to motorization in the country,” Ms. Perez-Agudo, who is also HARI’s CEO and president, added.

In 2018, AVID sales declined 17% year-on-year to 88,700 units on the back of the industry-wide impact of the new excise taxes on cars introduced last year and the accelerated inflation rate.

AVID is the auto industry association whose members import their products and do not assemble in the Philippines. Its members include car brands at all price points as well as commercial vehicle distributors, and its results reflect the strength of the market for economy and high-end vehicles as well as trucks, which are considered investment goods for business buyers.

The AVID report comes a few weeks after the Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines, Inc. and the Truck Manufacturers Association sales data was released, showing that the total first quarter sales of members registered a 0.8% year-on-year decline to 85,388 units. — Janina C. Lim

Honestbee temporarily halts PHL operations

HONESTBEE Philippines said it is temporarily suspending operations in the country following the same business decision for its Hong Kong and Thailand units.

The food and grocery delivery service said in a statement: “Our operations in the Philippines will be temporarily unavailable while our headquarters works towards bringing the total business to a healthy and sustainable level.”

Honestbee sent an e-mail to its customers, saying the company “looks forward to serving you again.” It did not give other details.

The Singapore-based startup said in a statement Tuesday the suspension of operations in Hong Kong and Thailand was meant to “simplify what we do and how we do it to better meet what our consumers want.”

This decision, however, affected roles within the company amounting to approximately 6% of Honestbee’s global headcount.

“Following a strategic review of our company’s business, we are temporarily suspending our food verticals in Hong Kong and Thailand…. The status of Honestbee in the remaining markets remain unchanged as we evaluate and we will continue to operate and contribute to Honestbee Pte Ltd,” it said.

Honestbee started its Manila operations in 2017 after opening the company in Singapore in 2014. It eventually made its services available in some parts of Cebu last year.

It tapped Robinsons Supermarket as its grocery partner in the country, aside from other small and medium-sized restaurants, supermarkets and businesses.

Aside from the Philippines, Singapore, Hong Kong and Thailand, Honestbee also has presence in Indonesia, Taiwan, Japan and Malaysia. — Denise A. Valdez

Cemex Philippines profit soars in Q1

EARNINGS of Cemex Holdings Philippines, Inc. (CPG) soared 137% in the first quarter of 2019 as sales improved despite flat annual volume.

In a presentation disclosed to the stock exchange Friday, the listed cement manufacturer said net income reached P172 million in the January to March period, compared to the P73 million it posted in the same period a year ago.

CHP attributed the jump in earnings to better operating income and lower foreign exchange losses.

Revenues meanwhile stood at P6.23 billion, six percent higher than the P5.89 billion it reported in the first quarter of 2018. Prices of cement rose by seven percent, offsetting the one percent decline in volumes during the period.

The company said volumes were still recovering after the landslide in Naga City, Cebu last year that affected its supplier of raw materials.

“At the start of the year, we set out goals for the company to grow our sales volume with the market and generate production and distribution efficiencies,” CHP President and Chief Executive Officer Ignacio Mijares was quoted as saying in a statement.

“There were challenges at the beginning as we were still recovering our markets that were affected by last year’s landslide in Naga City but I believe we managed to make significant progress along the way,” he added.

The landslide in Naga also resulted in a 14% increase in cost of goods sold, as it had to outsource clinker inventory and cement imports. The company was further affected by the maintenance shutdown of its Solid Cement plant in Antipolo, Rizal.

CHP has committed to spend P7.75 billion in capital expenditures this year, bulk of which will be used to expand its Solid Cement plant. The new line is scheduled to start operations by the fourth quarter of 2020.

“The strategic location of our Solid expansion project will allow us to efficiently contribute and take part the country’s infrastructure growth,” Mr. Mijares said.

To finance the facility’s expansion, CHP looks to raise $250 million from a potential rights offering. The capital raising activity is also expected to improve the company’s capital structure and provide flexibility to its balance sheet.

The rights offering will follow the company’s plan to increase its authorized capital stock to 18.3 billion shares from 5.2 billion shares at present.

Shares in CHP soared 5.26% or 10 centavos to close at P2 each at the stock exchange on Friday. — Arra B. Francia

PSEi dips as investors await outcome of US-China trade talks

By Arra B. Francia, Senior Reporter

LOCAL stocks dropped on Friday as investors stayed on the sidelines amid trade negotiations between the United States and China.

The bellweather Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) slumped 0.33% or 26.17 points to close at 7,868.28 yesterday, failing to sustain its climb to the 7,900 level. The broader all shares index also slipped 0.23% or 11.31 points to end at 4,856.35.

“Local shares traded in the red as they awaited whether an endgame between China and US is finally nearing,” Regina Capital Development Corp. Head of Sales Luis A. Limlingan said in a mobile phone message.

Talks between the world’s two largest economies are set to resume in Beijing next week, followed by another round of talks in the US on the following week.

Chinese President Xi Jinping said in a speech during the Belt and Road forum in Beijing that he plans to address state subsidies, protect intellectual property rights, allow foreign investment in more sectors, and avoid competitive devaluation of the yuan, according to a Bloomberg report, which noted that all four issues are being addressed by the US in trade talks with China.

From a technical standpoint, Papa Securities Corp. Sales Associate Gabriel Jose F. Perez noted that Ayala Land, Inc. (ALI)’s performance dragged the market after its shares fell by 2.02% to P48.50 each.

“Index breather today was largely due to ALI’s correction, more so that the heavyweight had been behind the PSEi’s push the past few days,” Mr. Perez said in an email.

The counter for financials was the lone advancer for the day, gaining 0.18% or 3.06 points to 1,743.79. The rest declined, led by property which shed 0.67% or 28.97 points to 4,292.32.

Industrial tumbled 0.42% or 47.89 points to 11,397.31; holding firms went down 0.25% or 18.69 points to 7,535.66; mining and oil dipped 0.24% or 18.62 points to 7,800.34; while services declined 0.10% or 1.58 points to 1,585.73.

Decliners outpaced advancers, 94 to 81, while 61 names were unchanged.

Turnover slipped further to P5.72 billion after some 2.46 billion issues switched hands, slimmer than the previous session’s P6.53-billion turnover.

Foreign investors snapped their four-day net buying streak, recording net outflows of P249.78 million against Thursday’s net purchases worth P48.86 million.

Wall Street indices were mixed on Thursday. The Dow Jones Industrial AVerage was down 0.51% or 134.97 points to 26,462.08; the S&P 500 index lost 0.04% or 1.08 points to 2,926.17; while the Nasdaq Composite index added 0.21% or 16.67 points to 8,118.68.

Asian markets were mostly in negative territory Friday, taking cues from the weakness of international markets.

Ideaspace launches opportunity fund for startups ready for scale

IdeaSpace, the largest and longest-running early-stage startup accelerator in the Philippines, launches a new Opportunity Fund that aims to provide financial support to Philippine startups that are ready for scale.

An earlier version of the fund recently executed a successful exit when one of its first investees,
Coins.ph, entered a partnership with Indonesia’s biggest on-demand, multi-service platform
GOJEK. Part of the partnership is an acquisition of significant shares in Coins.ph that ensured
IdeaSpace a return of almost six times its initial investment.

Coins.ph is Southeast Asia’s leading mobile blockchain-enabled platform that enables anyone,
including those without a bank account, to easily access financial services directly from their
phone. Their products include a mobile wallet and services such as remittances, mobile air-time,
bill payments, and online shopping at over 100,000 merchants. Currently operating in the
Philippines and Thailand, Coins.ph’s mission is to increase financial inclusion by delivering
financial services directly to people through their mobile phones.

“We believe the story of Coins.ph re-enforces the potential for Philippines’ homegrown technology startups to both affect positive social Impact, and, at the same time generate positive financial returns for investors”, said Coins.ph founder Ron Hose.

“We are optimistic about Philippine startups and the Coins exit bolstered that belief. Ron and
his team did a great job. We are grateful to our Chairman Manuel V. Pangilinan for his vision in
establishing IdeaSpace in 2012 and his continuing faith in the future of startups here,” said IdeaSpace President Butch Meily.

The IdeaSpace Opportunity Fund is a part of the multi-million peso startup fund endowed by the
First Pacific companies in the Philippines including PLDT, Smart, Meralco, Maynilad, and Metro
Pacific Investment Corporation among others.

Recent addition to the IdeaSpace Opportunity Fund portfolio are Philippine startups including FAME, a hardware and software company that makes gateways and transponders for the aviation and maritime industry, Acudeen, an online platform for receivables discounting, and, AQWIRE, a blockchain-based multi-listing platform for real estate.

Seven ways to AI-power your business

Businesses produce terabytes of data every day. But a vast majority of that data is never used. Therein lies a missed opportunity to put today’s most valuable resource to work. So how can firms process all that information at scale? Artificial intelligence — one of a handful of new technologies rapidly changing industries across the globe.

According to a 2018 study by MIT Sloan, 83 percent of firms see artificial intelligence (AI) as a strategic opportunity for their firms. But nearly the same number of business leaders (81 percent) do not understand the data requirements for AI.

As global tech giant IBM puts it: There is no AI without an IA. That is, an information architecture, a phrase coined by IBM to refer to a firm’s data strategy — how to both organize and mobilize the wealth of information pulsing through your workflows.

If your firm is hoping to embrace new tech in your operations, but aren’t sure where to begin, here are seven possible AI applications to get you started on your journey:

Provide job applicants with personalized information on career opportunities.

Application: HR and recruitment
Firm: Anheuser-Busch InBev

Issue: Drink and brewing multinational Anheuser-Busch InBev was struggling to manage the mountains of job applications arriving on their recruitment desks. Their lean team proved unable to respond to the applicant inquiries about company benefits and culture, often responding to the same questions again and again.

AI Solution: ZX Ventures, AN InBev’s innovationan arm, co-developed a virtual assistant that interacts with applicants, engaging in natural language discussions about the company’s offerings and opportunities. According to the company, the assistant was able to engage with applicants five times more efficiently than their recruiting staff could without it.

Help customers with basic queries and connect them with the appropriate experts.

Application: Customer service
Firm: Royal Bank of Scotland

Issue: Siloed information and redundancies across the Royal Bank of Scotland’s (RBS) various customer-facing departments left customers calling wrong numbers and waiting on agents struggling to find them answers. RBS needed a way to organize their data and make it instantly accessible to both their clients and their agents.

AI Solution: RBS built Cora, an assistant trained to help guide customers through simple problems and connect them with live agents for more complex ones. With the massive success of their first AI solution, RBS then worked with IBM to develop Marge, a tool designed to work alongside agents, providing them with accurate, relevant information stored across RBS’ various departments.

Instantly analyze claims and provide accurate quotes to customers.

Application: Claim processing
Firm: Autoglass BodyRepair

Issue: British auto repair firm, Autoglass BodyRepair identified claim processing as a glaring bottleneck in their workflows. Their advisors would spend anywhere from an hour to a few days collecting information from a claimant and analyzing the damage on their vehicle. With over 260 online claims coming in every day, they recognized an opportunity to streamline.

AI Solution: Visual recognition software allowed Autoglass BodyRepair’s customers to send in images of their vehicle damage through the firm’s website. The proprietary system then analyzed these images and instantly issued customers a quote. For more complicated cases that require human attention, all the necessary information needed to build a quote is instantly provided to the advisor handling the claim.

Equip farmers and agriculture experts with insights to boost crop yields.

Application: Agriculture
Firm: Thailand’s National Science and Technology Development Agency

Issue: Factors such as climate change, population growth, and food security have placed pressure on the Thai government to find ways to empower its traditional agricultural sector. As the world’s second largest sugar producer, Thailand’s economy stands to gain a lot as well if it’s able to bolster its crop yields.

AI Solution: The National Science and Technology Development Agency has embarked on a two-year research collaboration with IBM to pilot the Agronomic Insights Assistant — an intelligent dashboard and mobile application that equips experts with insights on crop health, soil moisture, pest and disease infestation risk, expected yield, and commercial cane sugar index.

Provide real-time performance analysis and report building.

Application: Data analysis
Firm: Carhartt

Issue: Thanks to inefficient data analysis, American apparel firm Carhartt often promoted out-of-stock products and missed opportunities to cash in on search trends. Like most firms, they relied on data spreadsheets to track what products were performing best. This manual analysis meant teams were always at least a week behind on acting on otherwise timely data.

AI Solution: Using Watson Commerce Insights, merchandisers were able to benefit from real time analytics and insights on online product placement adjustments. According to Anna Cole, their director of ecommerce, Carhartt measured record-breaking conversion rates over the holidays thanks to this system.

Streamline review processes so specialists can focus on strategizing.

Application: Auditing
Firm: EisnerAmper

Issue: Tasked with poring over thousands of dense, technical documents to identify specific pieces of information, accountants spend a vast majority of their time away from the higher-order strategic work they specialize in. These accountants also deal with shifting industry standards in tangential fields, complicating an already difficult job with regulations outside their field of expertise.

AI Solution: EisnerAmper accountants now utilize AI tools trained to understand the structure and intent of legal documents to more efficiently and more accurately move through their review process, freeing them up to focus on more creative, higher-impact work.

Automatically structure file dumps to unlock entirely new data toolsets.

Application: Data organization
Firm: Box

Issue: According to a 2017 report by IBM, 80 percent of corporate data is unstructured, & therefore, underutilized. Data storage provider Box hosts about 45 billion files across its enterprise users’ accounts — a figure that doubles every year. But with most of this data unorganized, valuable insights that could be gleaned from them lie dormant in Box’s servers.

AI Solution: Box now offers enterprise users the ability to inject their uploaded, unstructured data with AI to rapidly analyze their files, then automate and streamline its management. This means files can be instantly labelled with relevant keywords; images can be automatically organized not only by type, but also by content; and documents can be translated into supported languages. Not only are files more easily searchable, but entirely new applications of AI are made available to their owners.

Philippine Premier League kicks off with double-header at RMS

By Michael Angelo S. Murillo, Senior Reporter

THE Philippine Premier League finally kicks off today, April 27, with a pair of matches at the Rizal Memorial Stadium.

After its original start last month was deferred to give some teams added time to complete pertinent documents to be eligible to play in the rebranded local club football league, the PPL said it is now all systems go.

Starting the festivities is the match between Globe Green Archers United FC and Mendiola FC 1991 at 4 p.m. to be followed by Philippine Air Force FC against Kaya FC-Iloilo at 7 p.m.

Admission to the games is free with the second game to be broadcast live over at 5Plus.

All the teams playing on opening day expressed excitement over the about-to-start tournament and hoped they will have a good inaugural season.

“We are excited to showcase the level of football we are capable of,” said Green Archers United captain Tating Pasilan at Friday’s pre-tournament press conference at Bonifacio Global City in Taguig.

Green Archers United is coached by Dolfo Alicante and has a roster which includes Mr. Pasilan, Dominic Del Rosario, Marvin Angeles, Paolo Bugas, Reymart Cubon, Arjay Joyel, and John Celiz.

For its part, Mendiola said it is confident of doing well since it has been training hard in the lead-up.

“We will do our best. We have had two months of training. We will play for the league itself and not just the club,” Mendiola captain Aaron Altiche said.

The PPL will have a triple-round robin format with three matches played every week.

The rebranded league looks to build on the gains of its predecessor — the Philippines Football League — which ran for two seasons.

League commissioner Bernie Sumayao said it is hoped that fans would go out and support their teams and the league.

“I’m asking the fans to go out and support their teams. Let’s cheer for them. Everything we need to do let’s do it. Let’s create noise for the community to be heard,” Mr. Sumayao said.

The PPL official went on to say that they will work hard to ensure that they deliver on their promise of making the matches a fan-friendly experience with innovative and exciting ways of presenting the games.

Government readies euro bond sale

THE PHILIPPINES has hired banks to arrange investor meetings in Europe to drum up interest in its planned bond issue in euros, according to capital markets publication Refinitiv IFR.

Deutsche Bank and UBS were appointed joint global coordinators and were bookrunners with BNP Paribas, Credit Suisse and Standard Chartered, Refinitiv IFR said.

Investor meetings will be held in Zurich, London, Paris, Frankfurt and Milan from April 26 to promote the bonds.

Fitch Ratings and S&P Global Ratings assigned a “BBB” rating to the planned debt notes, a notch above minimum investment grade, in line with the Philippines’ sovereign credit score.

National Treasurer Rosalia V. De Leon confirmed the planned offering, but only said “benchmark” when asked about the size of the issue. Benchmark offerings are typically at least $500 million in size.

She later on told BusinessWorld that “[d]etails [are] still to be finalized from market feedback.”

The Philippines, one of Asia’s most active sovereign bond issuers, is raising funds to help finance its P3.662-trillion budget this year.

It also plans to raise 6 billion yuan ($893.3 million) this year from issuing so-called “panda” bonds in China, its second of such an offering. Ms. de Leon had said earlier that those notes could be sold “most likely in May” with three-, five- or seven-year tenor.

That would be bigger than the $230 million or 1.46-billion yuan bonds sold by the government last year, marking its first foray into the Chinese capital market. The three-year papers offered in May fetched a five percent coupon.

Manila raised $1.5 billion in 10-year US dollar bonds in January.

The last time the government borrowed euros was in 2010, raising €75 million in three- and five-year multi-currency retail Treasury bonds that also raised $400 million. It also raised €500 million in 10-year debt in 2006 in a multi-currency global bond offer along with $1.5 billion.

“Details will be disclosed after the Philippine Finance team will finalize them after receiving investor feedback during road show,” Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III said in a mobile phone message on Thursday.

In February, he said in a Bloomberg Television interview that the government was “considering” the sale of euro-denominated bonds in the first half of the year.

“Roughly the first half of the year — that’s when we’re planning. Again it depends on market conditions, but we’re prepared to do something in the first half of the year in those markets,” Mr. Dominguez said, referring to Europe and China.

Apart from the panda bonds, the government is also looking at offering yen-denominated “samurai” bonds amounting to $1-1.5 billion in yen equivalent next semester.

A local bond trader said he expects strong demand for the euro-denominated sovereign bonds.

“The general tone is supportive of emerging markets. The Federal Reserve is dovish and other major central banks as well, even the European Central Bank,” the trader said in a phone interview.

“The tone this year, compared to the past two years, has been better.”

The state plans to borrow P1.189 trillion this year — 75% of which will be sourced domestically while the remainder will be from foreign creditors — to fund a budget deficit programmed at P624.4 trillion, equivalent to 3.2% of gross domestic product, and support increased government spending programmed at P3.774 trillion. — Reuters and Karl Angelo N. Vidal

Regional share in gross domestic product, 2018

THE ECONOMY of Bicol Region grew the fastest among the 17 Philippine regions in 2018, exceeding the growth rate posted by the capital as well as the national average. Read the full story.

Regional share in gross domestic product, 2018

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