How PSEi member stocks performed — May 21, 2019

May 22, 2019 | 12:00 am

Here’s a quick glance at how PSEi stocks fared on Tuesday, May 21, 2019.

Alternative investments in emerging economies

May 22, 2019 | 12:00 am

There’s a continued increase in alternative investment asset classes throughout the ASEAN nations – a breakaway from traditional established financial assets. This was made clear by the rise of micro investments in cryptocurrency. Whilst interest in cryptocurrency continues to dwindle, it still highlights that there is a huge demand for alternative investment options with low capital entry barriers in the region.

“When compared to developed economies, emerging economies often have a large accessibility barrier to regulated and structured investment products for low to medium income earners,” said Mathew Tate, managing partner of Charterprime, an Australian multi-asset brokerage firm.

(Mathew Tate, Managing Partner, Charterprime)

Accessibility to international markets are often limited by a higher capital entry barrier, where alternative investment options like foreign exchange or micro investing products can open accessibility for people. These often come with a higher risk reward scenario which becomes more relevant in emerging economies with larger wealth gaps.

“Foreign exchange is a good example of alternative investments gaining popularity in ASEAN countries. It often has a low capital entry barrier while knowledge and services in the industry are abundant. The industry has a wide variety of educational resources readily available – from private training schools to free online education – almost anyone can invest the time in learning the fundamentals of foreign exchange trading,” said Mr. Tate.

The education, the ability to ‘paper trade’ for practice, and the low capital entry to access exposure to international markets makes foreign exchange trading a great alternative investment for developing nations, he added.

(Managing Partners of Charterprime Mathew Tate and Simon Stephen)

The growth in popularity of foreign exchange in ASEAN regions is bringing interest from governments to regulate the products and services in the industry. The right balance can be achieved with industry and regulatory consultation – the Philippines’ Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) can look to developed foreign exchange trading regulations by seeking guidance from both established foreign brokerage firms and foreign regulators that have existing frameworks in place.

Mr. Tate believes the foreign exchange educational community in the Philippines has done a great job at educating new traders on the importance of regulation and key points when selecting a broker. Should the Philippines’ SEC choose to implement regulation, they will be presented with a huge opportunity to increase revenues from a new financial sector, servicing both domestic and international clients. At the same time, the government will be able to fulfill the essential role of offering extra protection to their citizens looking to participate in foreign exchange.

Meanwhile, Mr. Tate suggests for everyone to analyze the following four key elements when deciding on a broker to trade with:

Regulatory status: Does the firm have the appropriate license from a reputable regulator to conduct foreign exchange brokerage services?
Safety of funds: Does the broker segregate client margin funds from the firm’s operational account?
Support: Does the broker provide 24-hour client support?
Trading and execution: Does the broker provide a fair market price and perform trading execution well?

“Finding a good balance of consumer protection and flexibility is always a challenge regulators face. They want to promote growth and market integrity whilst ensuring the end user has adequate levels of protection. As it stands in the Philippines, many consumers have been duped by unregulated brokerage services – many scammers have attempted to take advantage of the unregulated state of foreign exchange in the Philippines and the people who don’t have an understanding or education in foreign exchange or alternative investments – and this is what we, as fellow traders, strive to change,” said Mr. Tate.

(During the Airbus A320 customized livery launch with Airasia)

About Charterprime

Charterprime is an award-winning multi-asset derivatives brokerage offering trading platforms to both institutional and retail investors. Built from a pool of professionals with real industry experience, our team comprises of a multitude of industry experts from all over the globe with a diverse range of specialties; and together our global team collaborates in tight synchronicity to make Charterprime a world-leading broker. For more information, visit www.charterprime.com.

Charterprime Seminar in Philippines

Charterprime will be participating in Philippines Traders Fair 2019 on May 25 2019, with an exclusive seminar for traders to gain latest market insights and trading techniques with esteemed experts and like-minded traders. Find out more at here.

Which countries are most at risk from humanitarian crises and disasters?

May 22, 2019 | 12:00 am

FDA says vinegar using synthetic acetic acid liable for ‘mislabeling’

May 21, 2019 | 10:20 pm

THE Food and Drug Administration (FDA) will revoke the registration of vinegar makers found to have used synthetic acetic acid for “misdeclaration,” amid reports that some brands synthesized their ingredients rather than use natural materials like sugarcane.

In a statement Tuesday, FDA Officer in Charge Director Ronaldo Enrique M. Domingo said that even if the synthetic acetic acid is safe for human consumption, the issue facing these manufacturers is false claims made with regard to the base ingredient.

Chemically, vinegar is typically composed of at least 4% acetic acid.

“Synthetic acetic acid may not be harmful per se, but products using such chemicals shall have their registration with the FDA revoked for misdeclaration,” he said.

Earlier this month, the Department of Science and Technology’s Philippine Nuclear Research Institute (DoST-PNRI) reported most vinegar products in the market are “fake” because they are made from synthetic acetic acid.

Using of isotope-based analytical techniques, the DoST found eight out of 10 of the 360 samples tested by the DoST-PNRI where found to have used synthetic forms of the chemical. They did not release the names of these brands.

Vinegar made from synthetic acetic acid did not go through the natural process of fermentation. Having synthetic matter in vinegar speeds up the process of its fermentation and is technically considered adulterated for food safety purposes.

FDA standards require vinegar to be a natural product undergoing natural fermentation.

Mr. Domingo said that the FDA is teaming up with the DoST-PNRI “for the submission of the results of the analysis, while continuously subjecting vinegar products for testing.”

Department of Agriculture (DA) Secretary Emmanuel F. Piñol said he is directing the Bureau of Agriculture and Fisheries Standards (BAFS)to create standards for vinegar. The proposed standard will also require vinegar sold on the market to be naturally fermented.

“Any other product which offers the ‘sour’ taste but is not a product of a natural fermentation process should be properly labeled as such — synthetic acetic acid or a “sour non-biogenic” condiment. Thus, it is my position as Secretary of Agriculture that sour condiments made out of synthetic or non-biogenic acetic acid should not be labeled as “vinegar” or “suka,” he said in a social media post Tuesday.

The DA had an inter-agency meeting with the FDA, DoST-PNRI, and the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) to discuss the issue. The meeting led to the review of the Department of Health’s Administrative Order (AO) No. 123 issued in 1970, which regulates vinegar quality. — Gillian M. Cortez

DA urges naming of vinegar brands using synthetic raw material

May 21, 2019 | 10:20 pm

THE Department of Agriculture (DA) has urged the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to release the list of vinegar brands that use synthetic acetic acid.

“I don’t know why they are holding onto it pero ako (but in my opinion) it’s a Constitutional guarantee (that consumers should know). Hindi mo pwedeng itago ‘yan (You cannot hide it),” Secretary Emmanuel F. Piñol said in a social media post Tuesday.

“As a consumer, I believe it is my right to know kung ano ‘yung binibili ko sa merkado (what I am buying in the market),” he added.

He added that there is a need to clearly spell out in labeling products that use fermented natural materials and synthetically-produced materials.

“We have always assumed that vinegar is an agricultural product,” he said.

“Ang position ng DA ngayon is that (The DA’s position now is that)… kung [if] synthetic acetic acid ‘yung ginagamit n’yo (is what you are using) to produce a sour condiment that should not be called vinegar,” he said.

On Monday, various agencies discussed the issue of acetic acid-based commercial vinegar. In a social media post, Mr. Piñol said the agencies made a number of determinations.

“Based on the testimony of a chemist and toxicologist, Dr. Flerida Carino, and the Department of Health (DoH), synthetic acetic acid-based vinegar is ‘not totally unsafe;’ The classification standards for commercial vinegar sold in the market will now be ‘biogenic’ for those which use acetic acid produced through a natural fermentation process and “non-biogenic” for those which are made out of synthetic compounds; and the Philippine Nuclear Research Institute (PNRI) said it does not have the mandate to release the names of the brands found to contain ‘non-biogenic’ acetic acid while the Food and Drug Administration said it will await the submission by PNRI of its complete study for validation before it will release the list of the vinegar brands.”

The PNRI, an arm of the science and technology department, performed the tests that isolated the components of commercially-available vinegar brand.

According to a PNRI study, of 17 brands tested, 14 brands use synthetic material in their vinegar production. — Vincent Mariel P. Galang

DoE may issue circular to enforce SC ruling on competitive selection

May 21, 2019 | 10:19 pm

THE Department of Energy (DoE) is meeting with Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) and other stakeholders that are expected to be affected by the Supreme Court (SC) decision requiring all power supply agreements (PSAs) forged after June 30, 2015 to undergo a competitive selection process (CSP).

“Magkakaroon kami ng meeting (We will meet) with Meralco, with all the stakeholders this week,” Energy Assistant Secretary Redentor E. Delola told reporters during the two-day Future Energy Show at the Mall of Asia’s SMX Convention Center in Pasay City.

Asked what the DoE will tell Meralco and the others, he said: “I-CSP na nila (They should do a CSP),” he said, referring to the scheme that requires a distribution utility and a power generation company to first subject the cost per kilowatt-hour of their PSA to price challengers.

“Kung ayaw n’yo mag-CSP, gagawa kami ng circular, kami mag-CSP for you (If they don’t want to do a CSP, we will issue a circular for you),” he said.

He said the price challenge should be easy for Meralco and the companies it had forged PSAs with since their power plants have not been built yet. He added that a meeting had been scheduled for both on-grid and off-grid energy stakeholders affected by the court ruling.

On May 6, 2019, the Supreme Court’s public information office said the tribunal ruled that PSA applications submitted by distribution utilities (DUs) on or after June 30, 2015 were to comply with the CSP in accordance with a DoE circular.

The circular mandated all DUs to undergo CSP, a form of competitive public bidding for their purchase of electricity from gencos, in securing PSAs. It became effective on June 30, 2015 after its publication.

The court further ordered that the power purchase cost after compliance with the CSP is to retroact to the date of the PSA’s effectivity, but in no case earlier than June 30, 2015, for purposes of passing the purchase cost to consumers.

The decision affected PSA applications filed by Meralco covering 3,551 megawatts (MW) to meet the expected increase in power demand and number of customers. The contracts were signed on April 29, 2016 or just before the April 30, 2016 extended deadline set by the ERC.

CSP requires these contracts between power generation companies and distribution utilities to be subjected to price challengers, a process that is aimed at lowering electricity costs.

The ERC promulgated CSP in November 2015 but had to restate its effectivity date to April 30, 2016 through a resolution issued in March 2016. It said the move was prompted by letter-inquiries from distribution utilities and generation companies assailing the legal implication of the CSP to existing power supply deals.

Meralco’s PSAs are with two subsidiaries of its unit Meralco Powergen Corp., which is constructing power plants under subsidiaries Redondo Peninsula Energy, Inc. and Atimonan One Energy, Inc. It also has a PSA with St. Raphael Power Generation Corp., its joint venture with Consunji-led Semirara Mining and Power Corp.

The others are Panay Energy Development Corp. and Global Luzon Energy Development Corp.

Two of the PSAs are with units of San Miguel Corp. (SMC): Central Luzon Premiere Power Corp. and Mariveles Power Generation Corp.

Asked to comment, SMC President and Chief Operating Officer Ramon S. Ang said he had expected the projects to face difficulty in getting approval because the cost of power under the contracts is between P5-6 per kilowatt-hour (kWh) before increased supply pushed down prices to P3-5 per kWh.

“Give up na ako doon, last year pa na ’di uubra ’yun (I have given up as early as last year that the PSAs will not be cleared),” he said during a briefing after the annual shareholders’ meeting of SMC unit Petron Corp.

Mr. Ang said the Supreme Court ruling will not have any damaging impact on the company, except for opportunity lost.

“And I think everybody will follow, there’s no question,” he said, adding that the company had received a hard copy of the tribunal’s decision. — Victor V. Saulon

Cement makers call for higher safeguard duty

May 21, 2019 | 10:19 pm

CEMENT manufacturers are seeking a higher safeguard duty on imports, citing “serious injury” from a surge in foreign cement available in the market.

Citing government data in his presentation at the Tariff Commission’s Monday public hearing on the case, Cement Manufacturers Association of the Philippines Executive Director Cirilo M. Pestaño II said cement imports surged 64% to 1.74 million tons in the January to February period from the 1.06 million tons in the same period last year despite the imposition of the safeguard duty mid-February.

“Imports grow despite the safeguards. Our appeal, therefore, is for a higher definitive tariff rate to cure the serious injury,” Mr. Pestaño said.

CeMAP Chairman Renato C. Sunico said the group has not determined a specific rate for safeguard duty

Mr. Pestaño added that depending on imports will compromise the country’s economic gains as traders have lower levels of tax remittance, investment and job generation compared to manufacturers.

“There is reason to believe that this will lead to serious repercussions that will be detrimental to the Philippine economy,” Mr. Pestaño added.

CeMAP is composed of CEMEX Holdings Philippines Inc., Holcim Philippines Inc., Republic Cement Services, Inc., and Taiheiyo Cement Philippines, Inc.

In its road map completed last year, CeMAP expects, cement demand in the Philippines can reach up to 52 million tons or 450 kilos per capita indicating an annual demand growth of about 7% between 2016 to 2025.

The current domestic capacity of all 20 producers is at 34.5 million tons.

CeMAP said during the hearing it cannot provide production figures for the organization as members do not share such data.

Trade Secretary Ramon M. Lopez has said that domestic capacity is at 35 million tons per year while current demand is at 25 million tons annually.

The road map, done in consultation with the Department of Trade and Industry, noted that imports are necessary to address demand in the short term.

CeMAP said there are cement manufacturers currently undergoing expansion to meet expected demand.

Republic Cement Services, Inc.’s Vice-President for Strategy and Business Development Reinier Dizon said the firm has an ongoing P10-billion investment to upgrade its plants and boost capacity but added the upgrades may take some time and would need support from the government.

The Trade department had imposed a provisional duty of P210 per metric ton of P8.40 per bag due to a surge of imports from 2013 to 2017, in a way that allegedly harmed manufacturers.

The order took effect mid-February and will be implemented for 200 days to allow the Tariff Commission to complete its investigation on whether further protection is needed.

The Tariff Commission gave five days through May 24 to hear stakeholders to determine whether there is a need for the duties. If it rules in favor, the agency can also raise or lower the definitive duty. — Janina C. Lim

NFA restructuring to eliminate at least 839 jobs; new cuts possible

May 21, 2019 | 10:18 pm

THE Department of Agriculture (DA) said it expects at least 839 employees to be affected on the restructuring of the National Food Authority (NFA).

“There would be a reduction of about 839 employees mainly (in) regulatory and enforcement (functions),” Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel F. Piñol said on Tuesday.

He said that the Governance Commission for Government-Owned and Controlled Corporations (GCG) and the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) will decide the details of the severance package.

“The (NFA) Council recommended two options to be decided by the GCG and DBM because… the workers would only receive about 1.5 month of payment for every year of service. But the employees actually pointed out that there is a law which covered the compensation package for BARMM (Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao) and former ARMM (Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao) employees in the creation of the BARMM Law na nagbibigay ng [which gives] 2 months for every year of service,” he said.

APPROVED BUT WITH RESERVATIONS
Mr. Piñol said the restructuring plan was approved in an NFA Council meeting on Tuesday, but the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) and the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) have said further restructuring may be needed.

“Natanggal ‘yung [Positions removed were] regulatory positions and enforcement positions and there was the clustering of provincial offices. In almost all cases, it would be three provinces to a provincial manager. There was a suggestion from NEDA and DTI to further trim down the number of regions,” he said.

He said the Council also agreed to wait for the results of an independent study before taking further actions.

The NFA lost a number of its importing and regulatory functions under the Rice Tariffication Law, which leaves much of the rice importing function to the private sector. It is now tasked mainly with procuring domestic rice to maintain a buffer stock.

Meanwhile, the NFA has assured that it is fully cooperating with the implementation of the tarification law.

In a statement, Tomas R. Escarez, officer-in-charge administrator of NFA said that even before the signing of the Implementing Rules and Regulations of the law, the agency implemented some self-executing provisions.

The agency has stopped processing documents for rice importation and issuance of rice import permits of private importers, and bids for government-to-government import deals.

On the domestic front, it has stopped licensing and registering grains businesses, monitoring and inspecting rice facilities, and enforcing grains trading rules and regulations, among others.

“Under Rule 3.4 of the IRR, a transition period of ‘at most 60 days’ is allotted to implement NFA’s reorganization to suit its new functions. NFA has 30 days to submit its Restructuring and Reorganization Plan to the Governance Commission for GOCCs for review and approval,” NFA noted in the statement. — Vincent Mariel P. Galang

PhilMech launches RCEF backed rice modernization

May 21, 2019 | 10:18 pm

THE Philippine Center for Postharvest Development and Mechanization (PHilMech) said it formally launched a rice industry mechanization program backed by the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund (RCEF).

“With the formal launch of the projects and programs under RCEF, we at PHilMech welcome the opportunity to spearhead the modernization of the country’s rice industry through mechanization,” Dr. Baldwin G. Jallorina, director IV of PHilMech was quoted as saying in a statement on Tuesday.

“PHilMech also welcomes its collaboration with the Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice), Agricultural Training Institute (ATI), Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA), the Land Bank of the Philippines and the Development Bank of the Philippines in undertaking the different major components under RCEF,” he added.

The government is required to support the modernization of the rice industry through tariffs collected from more liberal imports of foreign rice, which go into RCEF. The support will come in the form of mechanization, rice planting know-how, seed and financing.

PhilRice will be providing high-yielding inbred rice seed to farmers. ATI and TESDA will be conducting training for farmers and extension workers with the assistance of PHilMech which will provide training modules.

Land Bank of the Philippines and the Development Bank of the Philippines will take on the credit component of the RCEF.

PHilMech expects to decrease the cost of producing palay in the country by P2-P3 per kilo.

“Based on studies by the Department of Agriculture, the cost of producing one kilo of palay (unmilled rice) in the Philippines is P12.72 per kilo while it is P6.22 in Vietnam and P8.86 in Thailand,” PHilMech said in the statement.

“PHilMech believes with the successful implementation of the different components under RCEF, the cost of producing palay in the Philippines can be reduced by P2 to P3 per kilo,” it added. — Vincent Mariel P. Galang

Palace says Huawei threat being studied by Defense dep’t, NSA

May 21, 2019 | 10:17 pm

MALACAÑANG said Tuesday that the Department of National Defense (DND) and the National Security Adviser (NSA) are currently looking into the United States’ warnings on the use of Huawei phones and telecommunications equipment.

“I suppose the Department of National Defense as well as the National Security Adviser are studying that matter. And the President will be waiting for whatever recommendation they have on that,” the President’s Spokesperson Salvador S. Panelo said in a briefing at the Palace Tuesday when asked to comment on US warnings about technology from Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd.

The US government included the Chinese tech firm in its trade blacklist last week. The Alphabet, Inc’s Google also announced recently that it would withdraw Huawei’s license to use its Android operating system.

Commissioner Raymund E. Liboro of the National Privacy Commission (NPC) told reporters in a chance interview: “My impression is China is also concerned about these allegations against their companies operating in their jurisdiction… [on] the technical issues, there will have to be looked into. I think we have the technical capabilities and scientists. We could take the direction of other jurisdictions that have put up technology laboratories to look into technology offers coming from offshore.”

When asked what measures are being taken regarding the security risk allegations against Huawei, he said: “Sa ngayon wala pa. (Nothing yet) But (the issue) is right up our alley. Hindi lang ako kaagad makapag look into it (I haven’t looked at it), but we have data security technology standards (to evaluate them against).”

“Pinatitignan ko (I am ordering to look into the matter) our (NPC Complaints and Investigations Division) headed by (Francis Euston R. Acero),” he added, saying that the NPC will take direction from the findings of other jurisdictions.

In a briefing, he said: “We are not the gatekeeper of technologies neither are we the gatekeeper of what can and cannot be done. We are technology neutral. We do not endorse any technology, but neither do we condemn a technology. For a private company like Huawei, they just have to comply just like any company operating here. They have to comply with the law.” — Arjay L. Balinbin

SoKor digital invoicing seen as a model for tax reform

May 21, 2019 | 10:16 pm

THE Philippines will model parts of tax reform on a South Korean (SoKor) digital invoicing program, the Department of Finance (DoF) said.

“We wish to really start the program by implementing first the electronic invoicing system. We looked around the world and we found that the best electronic invoicing program is in Korea. We wish to adopt it here,” Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III, whose remarks to officials of the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA), were quoted in a statement on Tuesday.

The DoF has started implementing the first package of the Comprehensive Tax Reform Package (CTRP) and is aiming to have the other packages passed by the legislative branch in two years.

The Philippines is celebrating the 70^th anniversary of diplomatic ties with South Korea.

“We want to express how appreciative we are of the assistance we are receiving from the Korean people through the Korean government. I hope that we can expand our cooperation and this time and for the coming future,” Mr. Dominguez said.

In the same statement, KOICA President Lee Mikyung was quoted as saying that South Korea will increase its assistance to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

“With the new set of policies presented by the Korean government, our volume of assistance to ASEAN countries will be increased by 2.8 times in 2022 compared to that of 2017. That means the volume of assistance to the Philippines will naturally increase,” Mr. Lee said.

Mr. Lee said South Korea’s other initiatives for the Philippines include education, and information and communications technology (ICT), which the Philippines can tap to help drive economic growth. — Reicelene Joy N. Ignacio

Palace orders Agrarian Reform dep’t to break up collective land titles

May 21, 2019 | 10:15 pm

PRESIDENT Rodrigo R. Duterte has ordered the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) to convert “all collective land titles” to individual certificates of land ownership awards (CLOA), according to Agrarian Reform Secretary John R. Castriciones.

In a statement posted on its website Tuesday, DAR said it has issued “some 2.251 million hectares” covered by collective CLOAs of agricultural land, 76% of which was awarded to agrarian reform beneficiaries (ARBs) “who were not actually engaged in collective farming.”

Mr. Castriciones said that this has “affected farmer’s individual property rights” and discouraged them “from making long-term improvements on the land.”

“I don’t blame them,” he added, noting that it is “hard” for those who own part of a collective CLOA “to make decisions” on what crops to plant and how to plan their farms.

“Why? Because you have to consult other farmers and what the majority wants will prevail,” he said.

He added: “This is also the reason why the President wants all collective land titles issued by the Department transformed to individual titles.”

He said separate CLOAs for each farmer-beneficiary would be better “because it enables them to have a clear and defined ownership of parcels of land.”

Mr. Duterte’s directive to break up the collective titles was issued during the 36^th Cabinet Meeting held at the Palace last month, according to the DAR.

The President also instructed the department to form a task force that will be responsible for the creation of a program for the “distribution of individual CLOAs from the collective titles and remaining workable balance of agricultural land.”

Mr. Castriciones said, “To accomplish the President’s directive, we have created a separate office that will facilitate the ‘parcelization’ of collective CLOAs into individual CLOAs.”

He added that the office of the Agrarian Reform Title Stabilization (ARTS), which is headed by Undersecretary David D. Erro, will be “forming teams and provide a timeline and guidelines in the implementation” of Mr. Duterte’s order.

DAR added that the President, during the meeting, acknowledged that the conduct of a survey “would require financing.”

“As such, the President said that he will exert all efforts to respond to the required funding for the hiring of surveyors and survey equipment,” the department said, adding that Mr. Duterte has instructed the Secretary of the Department of Finance to “raise funds to support” its program. — Arjay L. Balinbin