Facebook Instagram Linkedin Twitter Youtube
Home Blog Page 11129

SM Prime nets P7.6B as mall expansion pays off

THE country’s largest shopping mall operator recorded a 15% profit increase during the first quarter of 2018, fueled by its strategy of developing more malls and residential projects in the provinces.
SM Prime Holdings, Inc. (SM Prime) said in a statement on Monday that its net income stood at P7.6 billion for the first three months of the year, higher than the P6.6 billion it reported in the same period a year ago. Consolidated revenues accelerated by 14% to P23.4 billion during the January to March period.
“The growing revenue contribution of our mall operations in the provinces and increasing reservation sales of our residential projects in Metro Manila drove our bottom line higher and kept us in line with our first quarter target in 2018,” SM Prime President and Chief Executive Officer Jeffrey C. Lim said in a statement.
SM Prime’s shopping mall business generated 59% of the group’s overall revenues at P13.9 billion, up 10% year on year. The company benefited from the opening of 11 new malls in 2016 and 2017, which pushed rental revenues 12% higher to P11.9 billion for the period. Most of the newly opened malls are located in provinces such as Bulacan, Cavite, Rizal, Palawan, Cagayan, and Batangas.
Same-mall sales, or the performance of malls that have been open for more than a year, grew by 7% for the period.
The Sy-led company’s provincial malls now account for 52% of its total revenues, versus its 46% contribution in 2014.
This year, SM Prime will continue its provincial expansion with the opening of SM City Telabastagan in Pampanga, SM City Legazpi in Albay, and SM Center Ormoc in Leyte. The company has already opened SM Center Imus in Cavite and SM City Urdaneta Central in Pangasinan earlier this year.
SM Development Corp. (SMDC), SM Prime’s residential arm, improved its revenues by 25% to P7.5 billion for the quarter, or 32% of the group’s total revenues.
SMDC has been turning over units from Shore 2 Residences and S Residences in Pasay City, Fame Residences in Mandaluyong City, South Residences in Las Piñas City, and Spring Residences in Parañaque City, allowing the firm to register a double-digit increase in residential real estate sales.
Ready-for-occupancy units likewise saw strong demand from families of overseas Filipino workers, international buyers, and the emerging middle class.
Reservation sales, meanwhile, clocked in a 20% growth to P14.8 billion, although the number of units sold remained flat at 3,894.
SMDC will be launching 12,000 to 15,000 residential units in 2018, slated to be a mix of high-rise buildings, mid-rise buildings, and single-detached, house-and-lot projects.
On the other hand, SM Prime’s other businesses consisting of hotels, convention centers, and commercial properties increased its revenues by 8% to P2 billion for the quarter.
The company currently has a combined gross floor area of 464,000 square meters (sq.m.) for its Commercial Properties Group, which it looks to expand by 130,000 sq.m. with the launch of a third office building in the Mall of Asia complex this year.
There are also six hotels with more than 1,500 rooms, four convention centers, and three trade halls under SM Prime’s portfolio.
Shares in SM Prime went down 0.15% or five centavos to close at P32.35 each at the Philippine Stock Exchange on Monday. — Arra B. Francia

Fewer films in this year’s Pista ng Pelikulang Pilipino

THE Film Development Council of the Philippines (FDCP)-led Pista ng Pelikulang Pilipino (PPP) continues to celebrate Filipino-produced films as it gears up for its second year this August in cinemas nationwide.
Despite having fewer films to be screened during the week-long festival, the FDCP said in a release that this year’s iteration is bigger than the last as it “aims to further maximize this time to holistically conduct a series of events and forms of support for Filipino films” which includes film conferences for industry professionals and an educational forum.
During its inaugural year, the PPP featured 12 films including Jason Paul Laxamana’s 100 Tula Para Kay Stella, Prime Cruz’s Ang Manananggal sa Unit 23B, and Mikhail Red’s Birdshot.
This year’s festival — which runs from Aug. 15-21 — will only feature eight films produced in 2017-2018 that have yet to have their Philippine premieres. The list of films will be announced by the first week of July.
“PPP comes at an impeccable time especially now that we are celebrating the 100 years of Philippine Cinema. FDCP believes that beyond this centennial, it is high time for us to show the world the best of our films by pushing for international distribution. We want to inspire our filmmakers to reach audiences beyond our borders by producing films that are quality-made, well-developed, and produced with a wide local and global audience in mind. PPP encourages this by becoming their jump-off point,” said FDCP Chairperson and CEO, Mary Liza Diño-Seguerra, in the statement.
The selection committee members are film editor Manet Dayrit, cinematographer Lee Briones, film directors Jose Javier Reyes and Carlitos Siguion-Reyna, and actress/producer Cherie Gil.
Aside from the full-length features, the PPP will also hold the 2nd Sine Kabataan Short Film competition in partnership with the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF). Open to filmmakers aged 15 to 30, the short film tilt will also feature an education and mentorship component called Sine Kamp.
Select full-length film entries will be given a chance to apply for a marketing and distribution grant with FDCP, “committing for all interested PPP finalists to be part of the roster of films to be brought by the Agency in international film markets to support the producers in securing international distributors and agents.”
This year’s PPP will also include a two-day Film Industry Conference (FIC) that will offer both local and international perspectives “on how to further strengthen Filipino filmmaking,” and will feature speakers from the Asian region and cover topics from regional distribution and regional co-productions to script development and film criticism.
The conference will be held from Aug. 17-18. — Z. B. Chua

DoubleDragon opens flagship project in Pasay

By Arra B. Francia, Reporter
DOUBLEDRAGON Properties Corp. officially opened on Monday its flagship office and retail project, which has been seeing strong demand from Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGO) due to its location in the Bay Area.
Called the DoubleDragon Plaza, the 11-storey project offers 130,000-square meter (sq.m.) of leasable office space and an additional 12,000 sq.m. of retail space on the ground floor. The project is located at the corner of Macapagal Avenue and EDSA Extension along the Bay Area in Pasay City.
DoubleDragon said it has already leased out 97% of the office hub to a mix of corporate, business process outsourcing (BPO) firms, and POGOs. Around 60% of the tenants are POGOs, according to DoubleDragon Chief Investment Officer Marianna H. Yulo.
“We have a mix of tenants. We have a lot of corporate here, we have some POGOs and BPOs. We have 60% for POGOs, so that’s about 70,000 or 80,000 sq.m. for POGOs,” Ms. Yulo told reporters on the sidelines of the project’s inauguration in Pasay City yesterday.
Real estate consultants have been reporting higher demand for office spaces from POGOs at the Bay Area, as the warming relations between China and the Philippines prompted gaming firms to expand in the country.
Ms. Yulo said leasing rates at the DoubleDragon Plaza are currently at P860 per sq.m., higher than their initial projection when the office was just being constructed.
“When we started this project in 2015, we were projecting lease rates this year at about P600 to P650 and we’re already able to achieve P860. So that’s quite a bit of yield that’s unexpected, but we’re very happy about it,” Ms. Yulo said.
DoubleDragon Plaza is the first phase of DoubleDragon’s 4.75-hectare DD Meridian Park in Bay Area. The company is currently completing two more office towers called DoubleDragon Center East and West with a gross leasable space of 30,000 sq.m., set to be finished within the year.
The DoubleDragon Tower, a premium Grade A office building, will be part of the third phase of development, while the DD-Ascott Meridian Park will be opened for the fourth phase. The luxury serviced apartment operated by Ascott will occupy a 5,567-sq.m. lot, and will offer more than 300 units.
By the end of its development in 2020, DD Meridian Park will have a total gross leasable area (GLA) of 280,000 sq.m.
Ms. Yulo noted, however, that DoubleDragon’s leasable spaces are still primarily in second and third tier cities in the country, citing the company’s vision of developing 100 CityMalls by 2020.
“Most of our leasable space will still come from CityMalls, because we’re building 100 CityMalls that’s going to give us 700,000 sq.m. of leasable space by 2020. This is just our flagship project in Metro Manila, but majority of our projects are still in second and third tier cities,” the DoubleDragon executive said.
DoubleDragon booked a consolidated net income of P2.53 billion in 2017, 71.8% higher year on year, while recurring revenues stood at P1.31 billion.
Shares in DoubleDragon gained 25 centavos or 0.82% to close at P30.75 each at the stock exchange on Monday.

Semirara expecting at least 20% decline in Q1 power generation

By Victor V. Saulon, Sub-Editor
SEMIRARA Mining and Power Corp. (SMPC) expects its first-quarter energy generation to be lower by at least 20% because of the series of power plant closures during the period, company officials said.
“This year we are down on a year-on-year basis,” Victor A. Consunji, SMPC president and chief operating officer, told reporters after the company’s annual stockholders meeting in Makati City on Monday.
“I don’t know exactly how many megawatts-hours but we’re down more than 20%,” he said.
The projected decline in energy generation for the quarter would be a reversal of SMPC’s robust growth for 2017 when it recorded a 21% increase to 5,202 megawatt-hours (MWh) because of the augmented capacity of Sem-Calaca Power Corp.’s first unit and the higher availability of the second unit.
SMPC’s Southwest Luzon Power Generation Corp. (SLPGC) also recorded full commercial operation of its two-unit circulating fluidized bed each with a capacity of 150 MW. The two are the company’s only operating power plants. A third project is awaiting regulatory approval on its power supply agreement.
Mr. Consunji said SMPC would be reporting its first-quarter performance later this week, which will disclose in detail the drop in the company’s energy generation. He declined to quantify the corresponding value of the power generation slide.
On Monday, SMPC told the stock exchange that the first unit of Southwest Luzon will continue to be shut down for about 90 days to allow the full completion of repairs of the machine.
“SLPGC power plant have machinery breakdown and business interruption insurance cover. The company is now closely working and coordinating with reinsurers and their technical consultants to reinstate the unit back to full operation,” the company said.
SMPC announced on March 9 that the unit was shut down a few days earlier because of abnormal turbine vibration.
Mr. Consunji said he remains hopeful that the outage would not pull down the overall financial performance of the company this year.
“We’re just projecting a flat [growth rate],” he said.
Isidro A. Consunji, SMPC chief executive officer, said the projected decline in revenues from energy generation would be offset by the company’s coal production.
“It’s more on price than volume,” he said.
SMPC derives revenues mostly from its power and coal business. Last year, the coal segment reached an all-time high production and sales of 13.2 million and 13.1 million tons, respectively. The company took advantage of the improvement in global coal prices and increase in coal capacities.
On Monday, shares in SMPC closed 5.15% lower to P27.65 each.

ASEAN manufacturing purchasing managers’ index, April

THE PHILIPPINES’ manufacturing activity improved last month but tied with Vietnam to take the second rank below Myanmar, according to an IHS Markit survey conducted for Nikkei. Read the full story.

Weinstein’s absence looms over scandal-hit Cannes

CANNES, France — Disgraced Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein once held court like a king at the Cannes film festival, but this year it is his absence that will loom large over the competition.
The world’s biggest film festival has moved to align itself with the #MeToo movement against sexual harassment that has reverberated around the world since Weinstein’s downfall.
The festival has condemned Weinstein’s “unpardonable behavior” after he was accused of four sexual assaults at Cannes over the years, including the rape of the Italian actress Asia Argento in his luxury suite when she was 21.
Director Thierry Fremaux admitted that Cannes “will never be the same again” after the Weinstein scandal, and said festival-goers will be warned about their behavior when they arrive at the huge French Riviera event, which starts Tuesday.
A flyer saying “proper behavior required” will be handed out and a hot line and website set up for victims or witnesses of sexual harassment.
Women also dominate the jury that awards the top Palme d’Or prize this year, including French actress Lea Seydoux, who has accused Weinstein of assault.
The jury will be led by Australian actress Cate Blanchett, who helped launch the Time’s Up campaign to tackle sexual harassment in Hollywood and was one of the first to speak out against Weinstein.
There will also be a talk about the place of women in film, but no unifying dress theme, such as the black dresses worn at the Golden Globes in support of Time’s Up or white ribbons worn at the Cesars, the “French Oscars.”
PRODUCERS’ PAID-FOR COMPANIONS
However, critics claim that the festival is only paying lip service to real change.
“Cannes is a two-week celebration of male brains and female beauty,” said screenwriter Kate Muir, of the Women and Hollywood group which is pushing for great diversity in the industry.
“Many wheeler-dealers and producers still parade with paid-for models or prostitutes on their arms, which makes female filmmakers deeply uneasy about what, precisely, is valued by the money men.”
The Weinstein affair may have rocked the film world, but the local tourism industry in Cannes expects little disruption.
Bruno Draillard, who runs eight real estate agencies that rent apartments in Cannes during the festival, said the scandal has had “no impact” on business.
“People come to do business, maybe they will just do it with a slightly lower profile,” he said.
During his years at the festival, Weinstein was known to wield his power as he hosted actors and actresses in his room at the exclusive Hotel du Cap, where Argento has accused him of raping her.
Was his behavior well-known at the time? “We learned about it from the media,” said local hospitality union head Alain Lahouti, a sentiment echoed by others AFP spoke to in Cannes.
The director of the Cannes Film Market, the huge deal-making hub that runs parallel to the main festival, also expects little change.
“It is true that the Weinstein Company often brought quality films,” Jerome Paillard said.
But other big companies like Lionsgate have filled the gap, he added.
HOTEL ROOM ORGY
Christine Welter of the Cannes hotel union said that the “film festival is above all about business.”
For her, another sexual harassment scandal had far more impact, that of ex-IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn who was taken down by a US assault case brought by a hotel maid, the aftermath of which led to changes in hotel regulations.
Aline Buffet, who heads a team of seamstresses that help with last minute alterations, said: “when there are problems, it’s rather during the summer, in certain hotels or private properties with customers who prefer a massage rather than a fitting.”
She said the only incident she recalled was four or five years ago, when she sent two seamstresses to the room of two film stars early one morning.
“There was a big orgy going on in the room” when they arrived, Buffet said. “They (too) were asked to undress… but I went to see the producers and it was dealt with very quickly!”
There “have probably been other excesses” like Weinstein in the past, said beach worker Nathalie Di Sotto.
“It was the same in the time of Marilyn Monroe or Brigitte Bardot,” she added.
“There has always been this domination of men over women. But now it’s become an issue.” — AFP

Globe open to cell tower partnership with PLDT

GLOBE TELECOM, Inc. is open to a tie-up with rival PLDT Inc. to create a company specializing in cellular tower construction, one of the businesses that has been proposed for the telecom industry “third player.”
Globe President and CEO Ernest L. Cu on Monday said that while no direct approach to PLDT has been made over a possible tower venture, he said that working with PLDT and other entrants has the potential to reduce capital outlays.
Globe said in February that it was in talks with certain parties to form an independent tower company and divest some or all of its tower assets, to help speed up the building and deployment of cellular towers in the Philippines, and as part of its network expansion and optimization plan.
“We don’t want to approach because of the competitive issue, collusion. So, we’ve always been open to sharing. We are not into exclusivity. We like the open market. We think it benefits both of us. Costs will be lower,” Mr. Cu told reporters on the sidelines of the Globe financial results briefing on May 7.
One of the business models being considered for the “third player” is to build towers for cell sites, due to obstacles in awarding it sufficient frequency to compete with the incumbents.
Mr. Cu has said that divestment of their tower assets will free up capital and help it maintain dividend levels. The towers to be constructed will be open for lease to new and existing players.
Globe tapped UBS Group AG as its financial adviser at the end of February. Chief financial officer Rosemarie Maniego-Eala said that the company is reviewing its strategic options in regard to a tower divestment.
“At the moment we do not have estimates for anything around the transaction. We’re still in the process of scoping a lot of the items needed to go through with structuring the deal,” Ms. Eala said in the news conference.
General counsel Vicente Froilan M. Castelo said the company is still deciding on which tower assets to retain or to divest.
He added that an independent tower company will help reduce the difficulties in getting permits for the construction of cell towers, which range from 23 to 26, including social acceptability permits required by some local government units (LGUs), as well as charges based on income earned from a tower.
Both Globe and PLDT have cited the difficulties in obtaining permits as the main problem hindering the construction of more cell sites which will improve coverage. The country only has 16,000 cell sites, with Globe controlling 8,000.
Mr. Castelo added that a leasing structure would do away with franchise taxes that some LGUs charge “on our supposed income generated by the towers.”
PLDT was asked for comment but has not replied as of deadline time.
Globe reported a net profit of P4.6 billion in the first quarter of 2018, up 23.69% from a year earlier, due to higher services revenue from increasing data demand.
Consolidated service revenue amounted to P33.2 billion, mainly from data-related products across all segments. The company said this is due to the increase in consumption of video streaming and on-demand entertainment.
Mobile revenue hit P25.5 billion because of the growing demand for data.
“From a product perspective, mobile data remains the top contributor to total mobile revenue, accounting for 48%,” Globe said in a statement.
Mobile data service revenue amounted to P12.3 billion in the first quarter. Mobile data traffic increased by 37% year on year to 180 petabytes.
Mobile SMS and mobile voice revenue came in at P5.6 billion and P7.6 billion, respectively.
For the home broadband business, Globe booked P4.3 billion in revenue.
The home subscriber base was 1.4 million at the end of March, up 17% year on year.
“The results were driven by subscriber expansion in fixed wireless solutions (+30%), the introduction of new broadband bundles and GoUnli plans which provide customers value for money, fast and reliable connections and world class entertainment,” Globe said.
Globe capital spending was P6.6 billion in the first quarter, with 64% going to data services. The company has a capex budget of $850 million or around P50 billion this year.
Hastings Holdings, Inc., a unit of PLDT Beneficial Trust Fund subsidiary MediaQuest Holdings, Inc., has a majority stake in BusinessWorld through the Philippine Star Group, which it controls.
Globe shares rose P105 or 7.12% to P1,580. — Patrizia Paola C. Marcelo

Actress Cate Blanchett’s feminist wake-up call to Cannes

PARIS, France — Cate Blanchett knew there was something seriously awry with the Cannes film festival when the winners of its top prize, the Palme d’Or, were gathered together to celebrate its 50th anniversary in 2014.
Among the sea of grey heads on the stage there was only one woman, Jane Campion, who had won for The Piano two decades earlier.
“Sometimes things have to get that bad and that stark for us to say, ‘Hang on a minute. There’s something wrong — literally — with this picture,’” the actress said just days before heading the jury that will chose this year’s winner.
With Cannes and the film industry still reeling from the Harvey Weinstein scandal, some saw her appointment as a quick-fix PR coup to head off critics.
The world’s top film festival, which likes to think of itself as “the movie Olympics,” has long faced criticism for its “dismal” attitude to female directors.
Only three of the 21 films in competition for the Palme d’Or are directed by women, the same number as last year.
And the festival’s decision to lift its ban on controversial Danish director Lars Von Trier, who has faced sexual harassment claims from the singer Bjork and whose company has been hit by multiple accusations, further raised eyebrows.
‘WE ARE NOT GOING BACK’
But Blanchett, one of the few women in Hollywood with the clout to carry a movie single-handed, insists the film industry must change.
The double Oscar winner supports the call for “inclusion riders” or “equality clauses,” which demand diversity in casting and were championed by actress Frances McDormand at the Oscars.
She called McDormand’s speech “one of the highlights of my year” and has been active in the Time’s Up movement set up by Hollywood stars to combat sexual harassment.
Blanchett said the riders are “a litmus test. We have nothing to lose but progress.”
If the producers do not match up to their commitments, they would have to pay a penalty that would help support female directors or other underrepresented groups.
“We are not going back to ground zero,” Blanchett told the film industry bible Variety. “We are moving onward and forward from here.
“Change is happening within the industry in a kind of positive, unstoppable way that will benefit not just women but everybody in the industry,” she added.
HARASSED BY WEINSTEIN
The Australian-born actress, who now lives in London, revealed that she had also been harassed by Weinstein in the same Variety interview.
The disgraced mogul was an “unwanted” producer on several of her films, including Carol and The Talented Mr. Ripley, she said.
Asked if he ever sexually harassed or acted inappropriately with her, she said, “Yes. I think he primarily preyed, like most predators, on the vulnerable. I mean I got a bad feeling from him…. He would often say to me, ‘We’re not friends.’”
Blanchett, 48, said she hopes that Weinstein — who is facing a raft of rape and sexual assault accusations — goes to jail. “Rape is a crime the last time I looked,” she said.
The actress, who lives near London with her husband and their four children, made her breakthrough in Elizabeth in 1998, playing the 16th century British monarch with a distinctly feminist twist.
It won her a slew of awards and the first of her six Oscar nominations.
Although her career has been peppered with blockbusters such as the Lord of the Rings and Hobbit films, she built her reputation in indie movies from the crusading Irish journalist in Veronica Guerin to another heavily accented (and pregnant) reporter in Wes Anderson’s The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou.
Although she has never won anything at Cannes, her performance in Carol, where she played one half of a couple of illicit lesbian lovers, won her rave reviews there in 2014. — AFP

PCC approves Udenna purchase of Nenaco minority shareholder

THE Philippine Competition Commission (PCC) said it approved Udenna Corp.’s acquisition of a Dutch firm that holds a stake in 2GO Group, Inc.’s parent company, Negros Navigation Co., Inc. (Nenaco).
In a statement Monday, the regulator said the acquisition by Udenna of KGL Investment Cooperatief U.A.’s (KGLI) shares in KGL Investment B.V. (KGLI-BV), was approved.
KGLI-BV holds a minority stake in Nenaco and, indirectly, 2GO.
The deal was approved after the companies paid on April 19 a P19.6-million fine “for consummating the deal without clearance from the antitrust commission.”
The penalty is equal to 1% of the value of the merger transaction.
In February, the PCC Mergers and Acquisitions Office found that Udenna bought 100% of KGLI-BV through a July 28, 2016-dated share purchase agreement.
The consummation of the deal was further reflected in a deed of transfer dated Aug. 19, 2016.
Under the Philippine Competition Act of 2015, parties to a merger and acquisition agreement valued above P1 billion are not allowed to complete their deal without notifying the commission.
The PCC launched a review of the transaction after Negros Holdings & Management Corp. (NHMC) filed a complaint in December 2016. NHMC is owned by the Tagud family which is disputing ownership of 2GO with Dennis A. Uy, whose holding firm is Udenna.
Udenna’s businesses include the distribution and retail of refined petroleum products and lubricants fronted by listed Phoenix Petroleum Philippines, Inc., as well as shipping operations related to the inter-island transport of petroleum products and other bulk products.
The Uy group is also involved in ship management, the operation of oil depots and storage facilities, industrial parks, real estate and property development, and waste management and environmental services. — Janina C. Lim

How SCG’s housing technology can help Asians beat the heat

By Arra B. Francia
Reporter

BANGKOK, THAILAND — Southeast Asian countries all experience one thing in common: the hot and humid weather that is a persistent presence all year round. For this week, temperatures in the Philippines are projected to play around the 30-degree Celsius level.
Here in Thailand, Siam Cement Group Public Company Limited (SCG) is introducing new ways to help homeowners in Asia combat the tropical heat. Combining materials with high energy efficiency labels and smart technology, the company has developed the AIRFlow and Well AIR systems that lets customers control ventilation systems in their homes.
“Active Airflow, our own innovation, is the way we force air by using the ventilation system controlled by smart technology, based on what you prefer,” SCG Cement Building Materials Brand Management and Communication Director Anuvat Chalermchai told reporters here last May 2.
The AIRFlow system is an application downloadable on smartphones, which can be used to control SCG-installed ventilation systems inside a house. The ventilation systems include having a roof that can better reflect sunlight and absorb heat, blocking it from entering the house; insulation above ceilings, and lightweight concrete.
“With the humid climate you feel very uncomfortable, even with the 25 degrees Celsius, you can feel a little bit sticky… The trick is how to make the air circulate in the house, let the cool air push the hot air away from your house up away from your ceiling,” Mr. Chalermchai explained.
Cooling solutions are among the dozens of products that SCG had on display during the Architect Expo ’18 held here from May 1 to 6.
The 105-year-old Thai firm welcomes around 400,000 people at its booth during the Architect Expo every year, showcasing its latest innovations in housing and construction materials. With around 70% of those visitors being homeowners, the company makes sure that its products fit the needs of customers guided by its “Passion for Better” slogan.
“It’s the way that we can show our brand promise to our customers. Passion for better in our context is passion for better living. What that means is we are going to provide the solution for the homeowners especially so they can have the best living factor,” Mr. Chalermchai said.
During the expo, SCG also unveiled the Home Buddy Application, branded as a thinking partner for home owners that can guide them in building a new house, renovating an existing one, or finding solutions for housing problems. The Home Buddy App connects users to end-to-end processes, from hiring consultants, to finding a contractor, up to project management.
While the app is only available in Thailand, the company is looking at testing it in other Southeast Asian countries as well.
Alongside developing housing solutions, SCG also went beyond building materials with the introduction of a robot it calls “Din Saw,” the Thai word for pencil. Designed with a square head that functions as a monitor, the Din Saw robot is SCG’s answer to helping elderly people with medical conditions.
“I think Thailand is one of the country that’s going to be an ageing society, just like many modern countries like Singapore and Japan… (There’s) a lot of elderly people, it’s a big segment so we want to provide a solution for this segment,” Mr. Chalermchai said.
The robot tracks bedridden seniors and instantly notifies family members or doctors through a mobile app should there be a lack of movement for a certain period. It can likewise track vital signs, give reminders for medication, store one’s medical history, and instruct them on recreational activities.
“It’s a companion robot that can be a friend of your parents that stay home with them alone, and you go out working if you can’t spend time with your parents during the day, this can be their friend. It can talk, sing a song, exercise, and even connect with you as well,” Mr. Chalermchai said.
Din Saw is part of SCG’s Eldercare solution, which also offers toilet accessories, mattress, cushion and bedding products, mobility devices, home use health care devices, and smart gadgets. More than this, SCG also connects homeowners to consultants with an in-depth understanding of the needs of the elderly.
For now, these SCG products have yet to be made available in the Philippines. But the SCG executive is hopeful that they can eventually use their local subsidiary, Mariwasa Siam Ceramics, Inc. — focused mostly on tile and ceramic products — as a platform to introduce other SCG products in the Philippine market.
“We use Mariwasa as a platform to introduce other products. Products will be imported from other production bases that we have in Southeast Asia, logistics and import to Philippine market. We see it as a very high growth country, which I hope will continue growing,” Mr. Chalermchai said.

Singer Gary Valenciano goes under the knife

ACTOR/PERFORMER Edgardo Jose “Gary” Valenciano underwent emergency open heart surgery on Saturday after feeling chest pains following a performance he did with his son, Gabriel, in celebration of his 35th anniversary in the industry.
The surgery was successful said his wife on a social media post.
“After that dance, I felt a sensation I’d never felt before — not even during the times I would push myself, riding my mountain bike on the trails for extended periods of time — I felt tightness and pain in my chest,” Mr. Valenciano said in a statement posted by his agency, Manila Genesis Entertainment and Management, Inc., on its Facebook page on Sunday.
Mr. Valenciano said that while he has a good strong heart, the main valve of his left anterior descending artery was 95% blocked and had very thin walls because of his chronic diabetes. This prompted his doctors to recommend emergency bypass surgery.
Mr. Valenciano is known for his high-energy performances despite living with Type 1 Diabetes for 39 years.
The surgery was successful, according to Mr. Valenciano’s wife, Angeli Pangilinan-Valenciano in an update posted on the agency’s page.
“Gary’s heart surgery was successful. Paolo, Gab, Kiana and I visited him at the coronary recovery room and doctors have said he is doing very well. In behalf of our family, I request for prayers for my husband’s speedy recovery,” Ms. Pangilinan-Valenciano said.
“I apologize to my ASAP, Your Face Sounds Familiar, and [It’s] Showtime families and fans, the companies and organizations i am scheduled to do shows for, the students from various universities I am so excited to meet… I was especially looking forward to Unstoppable, Darren Espanto’s concert. I need to excuse myself from all these commitments until I fully recover from the bypass surgery,” Mr. Valenciano said, referring to his various television shows and other engagements, in his statement.
Mr. Valenciano was scheduled to perform at Canadian singer Darren Espanto’s birthday concert on May 26 at the KIA Theater in Quezon City.
“Being active has never been my problem. But I now often feel tired and sleepy, despite being fully rested. The chest pains were an alert and confirmed, thank God, that something was wrong. I’m thankful I didn’t wait too long to take the necessary tests,” he said before adding that he thought it best to give his fans, friends, and family details on his condition “to prevent gossip and speculation that may cause worry and concern.”
“Do not worry please, only pray — I have an expert team of gifted doctors, some of them have taken great care of me for many, many years now… I will do my best to keep you updated as the days go by. Should I remain silent, it’s probably only because I will be recuperating, getting better, and building up my strength,” he said. — ZBC

Weak cement prices drag down Holcim PHL’s profit

HOLCIM Philippines, Inc. reported a 26.5% drop in its attributable profit for the first three months of 2018, as cement prices weakened amid “intense” competition.
In a regulatory filing, the listed cement manufacturer reported a net income attributable to equity holders of the parent of P691 million for the first quarter of 2018, lower than the P940 million it booked in the same period a year ago.
Net sales also declined by 2.3% to P8.6 billion during the quarter, as pricing pressures from imports dampened the 7% year-on-year increase in cement sales volumes.
“Demand conditions are improving as the government continues to ramp up infrastructure investments. However, its positive impact on our financial performance was not enough to offset higher energy costs and weaker cement prices brought by intense competition,” Holcim’s newly appointed President and Chief Executive Officer John Stull said in a statement.
The first quarter results is an improvement from the 61% profit drop Holcim recorded in full-year 2017 to P2.69 billion, where it also cited construction growth slowdown and tighter competition as the factors that dragged on its performance.
This year, Holcim said that it remains optimistic on the growth of the construction industry with the government’s rollout of more infrastructure projects under the “Build, Build, Build” program.
“Our company is well positioned to support this by providing reliable cement supply and rolling out innovative building solutions. At the same time, we will continue to improve and strengthen our cost management efforts centered on raising the efficiency of plant and logistics operations,” Mr. Stull said.
Holcim is currently expanding its cement capacity with the investment of $54 million until 2019. The capital infusion is expected to increase its capacity to 2 million metric tons.
Shares in Holcim added 47 centavos or 5.45% to close at P9.10 each at the Philippine Stock Exchange on Monday. — Arra B. Francia

1...11,12811,12911,130...12,735Page 11,129 of 12,735
© 2024 BusinessWorld Publishing.
All rights reserved.
Read our privacy guidelines
Facebook Instagram Linkedin Twitter Youtube