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Author Elena Ferrante supervised screen version of My Brilliant Friend

VENICE, ITALY — The mysterious Italian writer Elena Ferrante pulled the strings behind the first screen version of her Neapolitan novels, the producers said Sunday, as it was premiered at the Venice film festival.
Ferrante closely vetted and approved the eight-part Italian TV adaptation of the first book, My Brilliant Friend, they said.
The first episodes will shown in the United States on HBO in November, with 24 further episodes planned for the rest of the saga.
The four novels following two friends Elena and Lila from their dirt-poor childhoods in postwar Naples have become an international publishing sensation, with millions of copies sold.
Screenwriter Francesco Piccolo said Ferrante — who has tried to keep her real identity secret — was “very close to the project from the beginning,” even choosing director Saverio Costanzo.
“We can’t tell you who Elena Ferrante is because we don’t know ourselves despite the fact that we worked with her.
“She followed the project very closely from the beginning, like a kind of supervisor,” Piccolo added.
“You can see in the e-mails she had with Saverio (Costanzo, the director) that her confidence in him grew as it went on,” he told reporters after the first two episodes were show at the festival.
Costanzo said that although he used the first book “as a compass, I had to change the order of events, and lump things together. Elena uses a pen to order things and I had to use a camera.”
But he said he hoped “readers take up the film at the point where they put down the book. If that happens the credit will not be ours, but the brilliance of the books.
“They were so coherent that adapting them was easy. It was like slipping into old shoes that they keep you grounded.” — AFP

Why DMW is limiting exposure to PHL offshore gaming operators

By Arra B. Francia, Reporter
D.M. WENCESLAO & Associates, Inc. (DMW) is limiting its exposure to Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGOs) to around 30% of the company’s tenant mix in the Bay Area.
“We’re in the entertainment area, we’re focusing at somewhere between 30%. We just don’t want to be exposed to one specific industry,” DMW Chief Executive Officer Delfin Angelo C. Wenceslao told reporters after a tour of the company’s mixed use estate called Aseana City in Parañaque last Friday.
Mr. Wenceslao noted majority of their tenants are traditional companies, consisting of shipping, logistics, manning, and banks. These types of firms occupy around 50 to 60% of DMW’s existing office space in Aseana City.
Meanwhile, Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) firms account for around 20-30%. Mr. Wenceslao said the buildings in the pipeline in Aseana City are mostly targeted towards BPOs, since they are built with the highest specifications and provisions for telco, data, and back-up power, among others.
DMW will be developing nine projects in Aseana City in the next five years. This includes three residential developments with a total saleable floor area of 88,000 square meters (sq.m.), the first of which called Pixel Residences is due for completion in October 2019. The other six projects will be commercial areas spanning 280,000 sq.m.
DMW previously disclosed that it will be spending P11 billion until 2020 for these projects.
To-date, DMW has seven completed projects in Aseana City, with a total leasable floor area of 59,027 sq.m. Among these are commercial projects called Aseana One, Aseana Two, Aseana Three, Aseana Town Center, and Aseana Square, all of which are already fully leased out.
The company recently broke ground for its fourth office building, 8912 Aseana Avenue which will offer around 68,900 sq.m of gross leasable area. The 15-storey building will have retail, office, and parking components.
For the residential segment, DMW is set to launch its next project with a total of 670 units offering units ranging from studio to three-bedroom units.
Aside from its own projects, the company has also leased out parcels of land in Aseana City to other companies, including Ayala Land, Inc. (ALI).
The Ayala-led property developer is currently developing 9.5 hectares of land in the area for Ayala Malls Bay Area, which will house a mall with supermarket operator Landmark, ALI’s homegrown hotel brand Seda, as well as office spaces. The project stands across integrated resort and casino City of Dreams Manila.
DMW has asked locators and developers inside Aseana City to build arcade walkways and canopies where necessary, for their employees and the public.

Gov’t makes full award of Treasury bills

THE GOVERNMENT fully awarded P15 billion worth of Treasury bills (T-bill) on Monday even as yields rose across- the-board amid expectations that inflation picked up further in August.
The Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) raised P15 billion as programmed at its auction yesterday, with total tenders reaching nearly twice as much the offer at P27.5 billion.
Broken down, the BTr awarded P4 billion as planned in the 91-day debt papers. Tenders reached as much as P6.225 billion, with average yields ending 0.7 basis point (bp) higher at 3.225% from 3.218% in the previous auction.
Meanwhile, the government borrowed the programmed P5 billion via 182-day T-bills, with demand reaching more than twice the offer at P11.601 billion. The papers fetched a 4.101% rate, climbing 3.1 bps from the previous auction’s 4.07%.
The Treasury also raised P6 billion as planned from the one-year papers, with overall tenders at P9.64 billion. The T-bills were quoted at 4.899%, up 2 bps from the previous week’s 4.879%.
At the secondary market yesterday, ahead of the auction, the 91-day T-bills were quoted at 3.6518%, while the 182-day papers fetched 4.096%. The 364-day debt, meanwhile, yielded 5.0867%.
At the close of trading on Monday, the three tenors rallied to fetch lower rates. The three-month papers were quoted at 3.192%, while the yield on the six-month securities inched down to 4.0958%. The one-year papers, on the other hand, yielded 4.881%.
National Treasurer Rosalia V. de Leon said the rise in rates was within its own estimate, noting this signals that market expectations of further monetary tightening may have already eased.
“The rates are within our own assessment, given we have our own internal models. In terms of the increase, it’s like just 1-3 basis points… And at the same time, coming from the 100 basis points of the hike of the Monetary Board, I suppose there’s already some comfort from the market about the current rates,” Ms. De Leon said after yesterday’s auction.
The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ (BSP) Monetary Board has hiked rates by a cumulative 100 bps this year, delivering a strong 50-bp increase at its August meeting as inflation continued to scale multi-year highs.
However, traders interviewed yesterday said they expect another round of policy hikes in the central bank’s next rate-setting meeting as inflation has yet to slow down.
“The market still is anticipating one last hike from the BSP. Even if [inflation] nears its peak, it is still above target,” a trader said in a phone interview.
Another trader said separately that the greater volume of bids for the shorter-dated securities shows interest rates are likely to increase further, which is also supported by similar moves by the US Federal Reserve.
“Nobody wants the one-year [T-bills]. The expectation is they (BSP) will hike again. You can see a lot of pooled funds more of in the middle. Ideally, it should be in the three months, but the yields are not that attractive as the six months,” the second trader said in a phone interview.
“Even in the US, they will also hike. So because of the tightening of rates widely expected in September with the Fed, and for us, it’s more anticipated. So the volume is more focused on the six months. Nag play safe sila (They played safe),” the trader added.
The government will release August inflation data on Wednesday. A BusinessWorld poll of economists yielded a median estimate of 5.9% for headline inflation, faster than the 5.7% in July and 2.6% in August last year.
The BSP, meanwhile, said August inflation could have settled within a 5.5-6.2% range.
The Treasury wants to raise P300 billion from the domestic market this quarter through auctions of securities, offering P195 billion in T-bills and another P105 billion in Treasury bonds.
The government plans to borrow P888.23 billion this year from local and foreign sources to fund its budget deficit, which is capped at 3% of the country’s gross domestic product. — E.J.C. Tubayan

Semirara on track to complete Panian pit rehab by mid-2019

SEMIRARA Mining and Power Corp. (SMPC) said it remains on track to finish backfilling activities for the southern part of Panian pit in Antique by June 2019, as part of the company’s efforts to restore ecological balance in the open-mine pit.
The Consunji-led integrated energy company said in a statement that it has already filled South Panian with 62.7 million bank cubic meters (BCM) of overburden materials as of end-June, comprising more than half its year-end target of 120 million BCM.
BCM refers to the volume of earth lying naturally that is neither loose nor compact due to mine-site activities such as excavation.
“The company is on track in terms of the progress of the southern part of Panian pit’s rehabilitation. Given our pace, we expect to finish filling up South Panian in June next year, and then we can proceed with preparing the soil for plants and trees,” SMPC President and Chief Operating Officer Victor A. Consunji was quoted as saying in a statement.
Mr. Consunji said they are dedicating 25 dump trucks and four excavators for the rehabilitation work in South Panian.
SMPC stopped mining operations in Panian last September 2016 after securing certification from the Department of Energy for the depletion of the pit’s mineable coal reserves.
It has since embarked on the Panian pit’s rehabilitation program as per a five-year work program and budget submitted to the energy department. This will restore Panian’s original landscape that had open grasslands with a variety of trees and shrubs.
The company plans to blanket the area with humic acid, compost, and other materials to add nutrients to the soil once the Panian pit becomes a stable landform. It will also undertake a massive reforestation program where endemic and suitable plant species will be planted.
As of end-June, SMPC has already planted more than a million trees in the area, including beach agoho, narra, and molave, among others. Surviving mangroves planted in Semirara Island’s shorelines have also reached over 650,000 across more than 196 hectares.
Meanwhile, SMPC’s environmental project called Semirara Marine Hatchery Laboratory has also produced more than 144,000 giant clams in the area as of the first half of 2018. The company noted that giant clams are very sensitive to water quality, and thus cannot thrive in polluted areas.
SMPC’s net income attributable to the parent went up by three percent to P8.13 billion in the first six months of 2018, after gross revenues jumped by a fifth to P23.96 billion during the same period.
Shares in SMPC went up 55 centavos or 1.9% to close at P29.55 apiece at the stock exchange on Monday. — Arra B. Francia

Director of Venice’s Western favorite blasts festival sexism

VENICE, Italy — French director Jacques Audiard went gunning for sexism in the film industry Sunday after his extraordinary new Western, The Sisters Brothers, received a standing ovation at the Venice film festival.
The maker of A Prophet — whose first American movie stars Joaquin Phoenix, John C. Reilly, and Jake Gyllenhaal — is the early favorite to pick up the Golden Lion for best film.
But as he basked in the applause of critics, Audiard blasted the festival’s organizers with both barrels for choosing only one film by a woman to vie for the top prize.
“I was surprised when I read that the line-up was 20 men against one woman,” Audiard told reporters. “I wrote to the other directors but there wasn’t much a reaction,” he added.
The acclaimed auteur attacked the “opaque” way films were picked for big prizes, adding that “in the 25 years my films have been competing, I have never seen a woman at the head of a festival.”
His comments come after Venice — now the key launchpad for the Oscars race — was accused of “toxic masculinity” for all but cold-shouldering women directors for a second year in succession.
‘WE HAVE TO ACT!’
Festival director Alberto Barbera even threatened to quit rather than give in to quotas before Venice bowed Friday to the 50/50 by 2020 equality goals already signed by Cannes and other festivals.
He had insisted that films should be chosen on merit and not on the filmmaker’s gender.
But Audiard — who faces stiff competition in a rich and starry Venice line-up — was having none of it. “Lets stop thinking about the sex of film, it doesn’t make sense.
“We can, however, count equality — it’s very simple… When we start getting serious we can avoid aberrations like 20 against one.”
When his words were met with loud applause, Audiard declared, “No, don’t clap — we have to act!”
Audiard said that he was not attacking Barbera’s integrity, but “there was a problem (in the industry). The other problem is that for 25 years we have had the same people at the top, the same men, who have changed a little bit, but who are still there.”
‘MEN CONTROL WORLD’ –
Earlier Oscar-nominated actress Berenice Bejo of The Artist fame said women had to be strong and learn to say no.
“The world is controlled by men and the (film) industry too,” she told reporters after her powerful new female Argentine drama, The Quietude, by El Clan director Pablo Trapero, was also cheered by critics.
“The world is changing (with #MeToo) but we have not yet won,” said the Paris-based star of the arthouse hit The Past.
“When I feel humiliated (on a film) or not in the right place I say no. I play women the way I think they should be played. I’m not scared to say what I think.
“When you have strong mother and father who tell you you can be what you want, you will be strong enough to say no,” she added.
The Sister Brothers star Reilly — who co-produced the film after getting the rights to Patrick deWitt’s darkly comic best-seller set in the lawless Far West of the 1850s — wore a pin supporting the 50/50 to the premiere.
He compared the period to the “crisis point… we are in now. The way we arrived to that place was through brutality and violence and genocide, and the strongest prevailing over the weak.
“But that is not a sustainable plan for the future, that is self-destructive,” Reilly told AFP.
STRONG FEMALE STORIES
Despite the dearth of female directors, Venice has hummed with films with female-led stories and strong female characters.
As well as The Quietude and the adaptation of the first of Elena Ferrante’s Neapolitan novels, My Brilliant Friend, singer Lady Gaga has shone in A Star is Born, while British star Maxime Peake is the heart around which Mike Leigh’s historical epic Peterloo hangs.
Alfonso Cuaron’s highly-praised Roma is centered on two resourceful Mexican maids, and even the blood-soaked arty horror flick, Suspiria, by last year’s Oscar winner Luca Guadagnino, is set in a kind of feminist Berlin coven.
The Golden Lion for best film will be awarded next Saturday at the glittering ceremony on the Venice Lido. — AFP

Bill seeking to prevent TROs vs extrajudicial foreclosure of real estate mortgages

A BILL seeking to prohibit courts from issuing restraining orders or preliminary injunctions in certain extrajudicial and judicial foreclosure cases of real estate mortgages has been filed at the Senate.
Senator Maria Lourdes Nancy S. Binay last month filed Senate Bill No. 1943, the proposed Real Estate Mortgage Foreclosure Proceedings Act of 2018.
The measure seeks to prohibit courts from issuing restraining orders or preliminary injunctions in the following instances:
• An allegation that the loan secured by the mortgage has been paid or is not delinquent, unless the application for the restraining order and/or preliminary injunction or preliminary mandatory injunction is verified and duly supported by evidence of payment of the loan.
• An allegation that the interest on the loan is usurious or unconscionable, unless the debtor pays the mortgages at least 12 percent per annum interest on the principal obligation as stated in the application for foreclosure sale, which shall be updated monthly while the case is pending. In case of failure by the debtor to update payment of the twelve percent per annum interest, the preliminary injunction or preliminary mandatory injunction may be filed.
The bill also provides for speedy disposition of cases where a writ of preliminary injunction or preliminary mandatory injunction has been issued against a foreclosure of mortgage.
In the explanatory note, Ms. Binay said the proposed measure was consistent with the Supreme Court Resolution A.M. No. 99-10-05-0 issued in 1999 and amended in 2001, which details the procedure in extra-judicial foreclosure of mortgage.
In 2007, the SC provided additional rules on the resolution prohibiting courts to issue restraining orders or preliminary injunction against extrajudicial foreclosure cases.
Ms. Binay said the resolution was issued to discourage party-litigants from delaying foreclosure proceedings by filing applications for restraining order or writ of preliminary injunction.
“However, despite the specific mandate of the Supreme Court, there are instances when courts grant the restraining order or writ notwithstanding the absence of evidence in support of the application. Thus, foreclosure proceedings are unduly delayed and, consequently, impair legitimate commercial interests,” the senator said.
“Public policy dictates that legitimate commercial interests must be protected from unscrupulous litigants who abuse the judicial system,” she added, citing Section 20, Article 2 of the 1987 Constitution which recognizes the role of private sector. — Camille A. Aguinaldo

SSS rolls out loan facility for retirees

THE SOCIAL Security System (SSS) on Monday launched the Pension Loan Program (PLP), allowing 1.3 million retiree pensioners to borrow funds.
In an event in Quezon City, SSS President and Chief Executive Officer Emmanuel F. Dooc unveiled the PLP that aims to shield its pensioners from loan institutions that offer steep interest rates, helping them with their short-term needs such as emergency medical expenses.
“[T]he launch of this program is our way of extending our assistance to our dear pensioners,” Mr. Dooc was quoted as saying in a statement.
Borrowers who wish to avail of the program must be between 55 and 80 years old at the end of the month of loan term and have no outstanding loan balance and benefit overpayment payable to the SSS.
The retiree must also have no advance pensions under the SSS Calamity Package and have been receiving regular monthly pension payouts for at least six months.
Qualified pensioners can borrow from two to six times the amount of their monthly pension plus the additional P1,000 benefit.
The loan will carry a 10% interest rate per annum. It can be paid in three, six or 12 months depending on the multiple of the loan amount. It will be deducted from the monthly pension of the borrower.
Although the SSS will not charge any service fee such as the usual 1% charged for all loan applications, Mr. Dooc said the borrower is required to pay a loan insurance fee through a one-time deduction from the proceeds of the loan.
“This will secure both the pensioner borrower and his beneficiaries and the SSS should there be an untoward incident that will happen to the borrower during the repayment period.”
For the pilot launch of the program, the SSS made the loans available at 20 branches, allotting some P10 billion as possible loan exposure.
“Initially, we have allotted only P10 billion depending on the utilization rate. We are willing to increase it to P30 billion,” Mr. Dooc added.
Branches in Diliman, Kalookan, Pasig-Pioneer (Shaw), New Panaderos (Mandaluyong), Manila, Makati-Gil Puyat, Alabang, Naga, Dagupan, Baguio, Ilagan, Bacoor, Biñan, Cebu, Tacloban, Iloilo Central, Cagayan de Oro, Davao, General Santos and Zamboanga started to accept PLP applications yesterday.
“Our pensioners need not to worry if PLP is not yet available in SSS branches nearest them because they may apply in the first 20 branches,” Mr. Dooc said, adding that the pension fund plans to conduct the pilot stage of the loan program for a month.
To apply for the pension loan, retirees must visit the branch with their Social Security Card, Unified Multi-Purpose Identification Card or any two valid identification cards.
Upon submission of requirements, the SSS will verify the information and the loan will be credited to the pensioner’s bank account. — Karl Angelo N. Vidal

PHL, Indonesia to revive Davao-Manado flights

THE Philippine and Indonesian governments are seeking to re-establish air connections between Davao City and Manado.
In a statement on Monday, the Department of Transportation (DoTr) said Philippine Ambassador to Indonesia Leehiong Wee and Indonesian Ambassador to the Philippines Sinyo Harry Sarundajang signed the statement of commitment “promote the re-establishment of flights between Davao to Manado.”
Manado is the capital city of North Sulawesi province in Indonesia.
“The re-establishment of the Davao — Manado flights is an enhancement of the Air Transport Agreement between the two nations that was signed on 24 March 1972, which further resulted in the Expansion of Air Linkages between Brunei Darussalam, Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Philippines (BIMP) in 2007, where Davao and Manado were the designated points,” the DoTr said.
Flights between Davao and Manado were halted years ago due to lack of passenger traffic.
“We are very happy with this development. This shows that the Philippine and Indonesian governments are both working to improve bilateral relations, as well as make the region more competitive in the face of global challenges,” Transportation Secretary Arthur P. Tugade was quoted in the statement as saying.
Transportation Undersecretary for Aviation Manuel Antonio L. Tamayo said a local carrier will visit Manado in the coming days to check the route’s viability. An Indonesian carrier was also reported interested to open flights for the new route.
“Davao is an economic powerhouse in the country and Manado is both a business center and a gateway to some of the many exciting activities in Indonesia. Together, we will make wonders,” Mr. Tamayo said in the statement.
“Apart from trade and tourism, there are also students from Manado studying in Davao and other cities who now do not have to travel to Jakarta to board a plane to Manila only to board another connecting flight to Davao,” he added. — D.A.Valdez

Period drama the latest in yearlong Czech film fest

THE Central-European period drama Sekal Has to Die (1998) is the Czech Movie Gems film festival’s movie of the month for September.
The drama looks back at the German occupation of Czechoslovakia during the Second World War, in the fictitious village of Haná, and follows the lives of two men involved in a moral conflict which leads to their inevitable tragedies. The plot fascinatingly questions the evil of human character and the consequences of a painful childhood.
It stars Polish actors Bogusław Linda and Olaf Lubaszenko, who won the Karlovy Vary Film Festival’s Best Actor Award for his work in the movie.
According to a press release, “The film’s claim-to-fame was its ‘thoughtful script, elegant cinematography, masterful music score and triumvirate of exquisite performances.’ Czech director Vladimir Michalek elevates the film with his use of biblical references that resonated with the characters’ collective morality that sets it above par, from other contemporary films in the region. Furthermore, the movie features the intriguing sites of South Bohemia and offers a feast for the audience’s eyes, mind and soul.”
Sekal Has to Die is the 10th film to be screened under the umbrella of the “Czech Movie Gems” film festival, which takes place every second Wednesday of the month.
It will be screened on Sept. 12, 6:30 p.m. at Cinematheque Center Manila, 855 Kalaw Ave, Ermita, Manila. Admission is free. Seating is on a first-come, first-served basis, subject to capacity.

Acienda designer outlet gets boost from new expressways

TRAVELING to the upcoming Acienda Designer Outlet mall will be easier after the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) announced the Aguinaldo interchange of the Cavite-Tagaytay-Batangas Expressway (CTBEx) project will be located next to the shopping center.
With this development, visitors from Metro Manila and other provinces will find it easier to reach the new outlet mall, located along Km. 48 Aguinaldo Highway in Silang, Cavite.
Acienda Designer Outlet mall is scheduled to be opened on Oct. 26.
Public Works Secretary Mark A. Villar gave Metro Pacific Tollways South Management Corporation (MPT) the original proponent status for the CTBEx project, a 50.42-kilometer highway that will connect the West Silang Interchange of the ongoing Cavite-Laguna Expressway to Tagaytay City and Nasugbu.
The P22.43 billion-project will have another seven main interchanges including Silang East, Pook, Amadeo, Mendez, Alfonso, Magallanes, and Nasugbu. At least two sections of the CTBEx are expected to open by 2022.
“It will cut travel time to Nasugbu, Batangas, where the usual trip of one hour and 42 minutes will be shortened to 44 minutes, while traveling to Tagaytay through Sta. Rosa will take only about an hour instead of two and a half hours,” Mr. Villar, who visited Acienda, was quoted as saying in the statement.
Acienda will have around 100 outlet stores that will offer good bargains on branded items. The project is a partnership of Cathay Land and international outlet developer and operator Freeport Retail from the United Kingdom.
Jeffrey Ng, president of Cathay Land, said the government’s infrastructure projects will make Acienda Designer Outlet accessible to more Filipinos.
“With the CTBEx, travel time to Acienda will be cut to about 40 minutes from the Entertainment City in Pasay. This will give our customers less time on the road and more time to spend with their families and friends while exploring the property with our curated mix of retail and food outlets,” Mr. Ng said.
Silang Mayor Emilia Poblete expressed confidence the new developments will have a positive impact on the community.
“The CALAX (Cavite-Laguna Expressway) and the CTBEx will help bring in more investors. Right now, we have the Cathay Group, which is putting up the Acienda Design Outlet and we are looking forward to it because it will be a destination that will help put Silang on the tourist map,” Ms. Poblete said.

BDO sets up P100-B peso bond program

BDO
BDO UNIBANK, Inc. has set up a P100-billion peso bond program.

BDO UNIBANK, Inc. has established a peso-denominated bond program of up to P100 billion to raise fresh funds.
In a regulatory filing on Monday, the Sy-led BDO said its board of directors approved during its regular meeting on Aug. 31 the establishment of a peso bond program of up to P100 billion.
“While the program has been established, there is no definite timetable yet for an issuance under the approved peso bond program,” BDO Head of Investor Relations and Corporate Planning Luis S. Reyes, Jr. said when sought for comment.
Banks can now raise fresh funds through corporate bonds with greater ease starting this month, as new rules do away with having to secure approval from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas to deepen domestic capital markets.
A number of banks have been tapping the capital markets in recent months as they raised more capital ahead of tighter risk management measures that will take effect on Jan. 1, 2019 under the international Basel 3 framework.
Last week, Bank of the Philippine Islands raised $600 million through a drawdown from its $2-billion medium-term note (MTN) program to maximize flexibility in offshore funding. Security Bank Corp. announced a day after that it has set up its MTN facility amounting to $1 billion.
Currently, banks prefer issuing long-term negotiable certificates of deposit (LTNCD) to raise additional funds. However, these actually entail bigger costs compared to soliciting other forms of investments as these are actually time deposits and come with a higher reserve requirement rate.
In May, BDO raised P8.2 billion from LTNCDs to be used for liability management.
“For us, it allows us to better manage our liability mix and liability profile,” BDO Senior Vice-President Dalmacio D. Martin earlier said.
Other lenders such as Philippine Savings Bank, Robinsons Bank Corp., China Banking Corp. and East West Banking Corp. have recently issued LTNCDs to support its funding needs.
BDO shares closed at P129.80 each on Monday, down 30 centavos or 0.23%. — K.A.N. Vidal

PSE looking into delisting PTT

THE Philippine Stock Exchange, Inc. (PSE) is looking at possibly removing Philippine Telegraph & Telephone Corp. (PTT) from the roster of firms listed on the local stock market, following the company’s repeated violation of disclosure rules.
The bourse operator said in a statement on Monday that the telco operator has yet to comply with structured filings since 2004, which includes quarterly and audited annual financial reports.
In addition, the PSE cited several instances when PTT did not adhere to the timely disclosure of material information, such as failure to disclose issuance of shares to three companies, penalties imposed by the Securities and Exchange Commission, as well as legal proceedings regarding corporate rehabilitation.
“It seems that the Exchange’s disclosure rules were blatantly disregarded by PTT. Our team is now evaluating if these multiple disclosure violations warrant the delisting of PTT from the roster of listed firms of PSE,” PSE President and Chief Executive Officer Ramon S. Monzon said in a statement.
The PSE’s statement was in response to PTT officials’ pronouncements last week, where PTT Chief Operations Officer Miguel Marco A. Bitanga said the PSE should lift the trading suspension implemented on the company’s shares since Dec. 4, 2009.
“Whether from a perspective of compliance to the PSE or based on purely economic/market driven benefits, there should be no reason why the company should be prevented from bringing the publicly traded shares into play again, and eventually raising capital to fund future plans, both within and outside of the fixed broadband space,” Mr. Bitanga was previously quoted as saying.
The PSE, however, stands firm that PTT did not comply with such requirements.
“PTT has not submitted compliant structured reports (i.e., quarterly and audited annual reports) since 2004. Accordingly, the company will remain under involuntary trading suspension until it completes its submissions. The company’s declaration in its press release totally surprised us considering we had previously met and informed Mr. Velasquez about these several violations,” Mr. Monzon said, referring to PTT Chief Executive Officer James G. Velasquez.
The PSE has since sent a formal letter to the company informing them of these violations.
“The Exchange has always impressed upon listed companies its rules on fair, accurate, complete, and timely disclosure of material information. This rule applies to all listed firms, even those under trading halts or suspensions,” Mr. Monzon added. — Arra B. Francia

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